Business can be fun

The biggest myth about business is that it is very serious stuff that isn't much fun. Conventional wisdom states that after college it is time to grow up and act like an adult. That means doing hard busy work during the day and "putting in your time" to the organization. In return, you can slowly climb up the corporate ladder. \nWhat a load of crap!\nThe truth is the best business people have the most fun. In fact, the fun they have is the driving force behind the success of their business. The more fun the activity, the more time and resources they are willing to put behind it. The more fun the activity is, the more passion that drives it.\nIf you look at the most successful businesspeople you will see that they have never really "grown up." Bill Gates is still playing around with technology. Mark Cuban is arguing with referees and trading real-world basketball cards. Donald Trump is building houses and hotels and having people land on them. Billionaires continue developing their business because they enjoy doing it.\nFor my birthday, my sister gave me a book called "Everything I Know About Business I Learned From Monopoly." This book argues, quite successfully, that the same skills people use to win at the game, Monopoly, are being used by businesspeople to achieve success in the business world. Regardless of whether you are in real estate or not, understanding how to create win-win deals, taking calculated risks and investing in the future are some of the best business skills you can acquire. I always found it amusing that people still consider Monopoly to be largely a game of luck. This is very analogous to how people consider building business to be largely dependent on luck. \nBefore I start any kind of venture, the first question I now ask myself is: Will it be fun? Over the years, I have learned that if something is not going to be fun, it will probably not be successful. Even if you do have some success, the problem is that it's not fun. I have found that business, as life, is as much about the journey as it is the destination.\nIt's important to understand that just because something is fun doesn't mean it is easy. In fact, few things that are easy are fun. Personally, it is the challenge of business that really makes it fun and rewarding. Yes, even if something is largely fun, there might be certain aspects that are a pain to deal with. However, if you believe in what you are doing, it is worthwhile to deal with these problems. \nIn our great capitalistic country, there are literally millions of ways to make money. I am not going to give you some idealistic crap and tell you to chase your dream and sacrifice financial reward. Indeed, I will tell you the opposite. Find your passion, have a good time and bring home the dough.