Starting a business is hard. Really hard. You’ll work like a crazy thing and have to sustain that over a long period of time.  Any normal, rational person would quit. And that’s what happens. When things get tough, and there will be a point when they do, sane people quit.

You see rational, logical folk understand just how difficult it is, how poor the pay is, and how much stress and worry comes along with you on the journey. They also know even with all this hard work that you will still need a bit of luck in order to pull this thing off. And luck is random.  Luck is not what normal folk want to stake their entire future on.

But then there are people like you and me. We fall in love with what we are doing, so we have to find a way to make it work. Our love stops us from quitting. Love makes us persevere. Love fuels our stubbornness. Love blinkers us to all the problems. So we put up with the worry of it all – all the stress that seems to come along for the ride, and just carry on.

The upside of love is that it attracts other people who love it too, and pretty soon there are a bunch of you working crazy hard but also laughing your way through the day. Working with people as mad and as driven as you is just the best fun you can have.

When you ask them what is it that you love about what you’re doing? Well, they aren’t so good at articulating it. But my guess is this: it normally comes down to the fact that they are changing something. They are in love with the change they are making.

It is the change that gives them a sense of purpose.

And, it is this purpose that multiplies their chance of success. 

(Extract from Do Purpose - published 1 May 2014)