When you think of obsession does the idea strike a negative chord in your mind? For many, being obsessed is something to be avoided. Not so with entrepreneurs, who view obsession as a game, they love to play.
Personally, I’m always obsessed with something new. When I find something I enjoy I go all in for a time to learn all I can about the topic. Once I master it or at least reach a minimal level proficiency where there is a significant point of diminishing returns, I codify my experience and move on to my next obsession. As a kid growing up in New England I wanted to hunt.
However, the relativity confined spaces of my environment made it hard to find enough open ground to hunt with a gun, so I took up bow hunting. Obsessed with the idea of bow hunting, that summer I bought my first bow. I practiced every day for months and soon outgrew my first bow. I bought a better, more powerful bow, and continued to practice with it until I got pretty good. I would fill a gallon milk jug with sand, suspend it from a rope, and get it swinging in front of a backstop. Then I would take aim and practice hitting a moving object.
By the time hunting season came around that fall I was ready to decimate the local squirrel population. With my bounty of squirrels and other small game animals, I moved on to my next obsession, taxidermy. I had realized I could not only enjoy eating the game I killed but could make a few bucks mounting the animals and selling them to friends. When I discovered ways that I could turn my obsessions into something I could make some money with, it added an even greater level of excitement to the game. Many non-entrepreneurs see entrepreneurs as obsessed with success and making money, while they prefer instead to simply turn on the TV to entertain themselves. Being obsessed with something is the core of the entrepreneurial mindset.
Do you have an obsession? How can you turn your obsession into a way to make money?
