Evan Carmichael addresses losing passion after entrepreneurial failures, using Oprah and Steve Jobs as examples of obsessive drive. He shares bombing a free YMCA event but loving the work anyway, which led him to YouTube, radio, and coaching. His rule: if passion remains, change the business model; if it's gone, move on to something that excites you.
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I keep failing, what should I do? So I got a great question from one of my YouTube viewers, love you guys, Trentz, who wrote in to say, "What do you do when you've lost all passion due to continual failure?" This is such an important question and one that I think almost every entrepreneur can relate to because this is the ultimate test of if you are actually passionate about your business or not. It happens so often that you start a business, you're all excited about it, And you think you're gonna make a lot of money with it, and you start, and it's not as easy as you thought it was gonna be. It's way harder than you ever— it's way harder than your worst-case scenario on paper. It's way harder than that. And the test is, are you passionate about this enough to keep going? Because you're gonna get hit with failure after failure after punch in the face over and over and over again, and the only thing that keeps you going is the passion, the love of what you're doing. A lot of famous entrepreneurs say you'd be crazy to start a business unless you are massively passionate about what you're doing. And a couple examples come to mind. Oprah Winfrey, when she started her talk show, when she started interviewing people, she said she felt like she was breathing, and she would find other jobs just to make ends meet to keep doing that. Steve Jobs calls entrepreneurs a little bit crazy. You have to be crazy because who would, who would put up with all the crap that you have to go through and deal with? The only thing that gets you to keep going, to keep pushing through, is your deep passion for what you're doing. That's why most people quit, because most people are not super passionate about their business. They're in it just trying to make a lot of money, and they don't because it's hard. And the thing that gets you through is that passion. When I first started helping entrepreneurs, I had 3 people come out to my event, for a free event that was at the YMCA with a lot of promotion. 3 people came out! And I felt like a failure. But I loved it so much that I knew I had to find a way to keep going. So it's a test. Are you actually still passionate about your business or not? Because if you are, then you have to find another way to stand. You have to find a business model that will work. A business model that supports your passion. Right, for me, I couldn't do what I do and make money if I just stuck with doing YMCA presentations, right? There was no model to make money there. 3 people show up to a free event. You look at that from an outsider, you say, "How are you ever going to turn this into a business?" I found other ways to stand. I created the website. I have my YouTube channel. I have a radio show. I do partnerships with big brands. I coach entrepreneurs through my movement program, right? There's other ways to do it. Still pursuing my passion. And that's what, 10, 12 years later? If you have lost your passion, then stop tweaking the business model, stop trying to find a way to make it work, and go do something else. Because if you're not, if you're not loving it, if you're not feeling that passion, it's over. And it's better to realize that now, move on to something that you are passionate about. And that can happen too. Right, you could be in a business and love it and be super passionate about it, and then you change, the market changes, you know, you don't like it as much, you grow out of it, the passion fades. That's cool. Move to something else. Follow your passion, always. Whenever you have a big decision that you have to make in your business or your life, you have to listen to this. You listen to your heart first. Even if it doesn't make any sense on paper, you listen to your heart. You've got to follow your passion. Now I've been fortunate that I still love entrepreneurs, right? I've been in this game for, like I said, 12 years and I still love it. Like, I love answering these questions, I love meeting with entrepreneurs. I can meet with entrepreneurs all day long. It just, ah, fuels me, right? I get so much energy from you guys and the comments you leave and being able to help you guys out. I love it. Hopefully you can feel my passion, boom boom boom boom, coming out here. But if that fades, if I ever look at it like, "Oh, I gotta do another video, man, this Trent wants an answer," and if that's my attitude going in, then I can't do it anymore and I have to do something else. And if I stop loving entrepreneurs, then I gotta go find something else that I love doing and I can jump all in on, because that's how you're gonna create amazing work. So your question is, what do you do when you've lost passion because you failed a lot? Well, have you actually lost your passion? If you haven't, then find another way to stay. But if you have, then move on to something else. Follow a new passion, because that's going to guide you towards a happy life and having an impact on this world. Believe. For those of you watching, like the video, subscribe to the channel, see more just like it. Thank you so much. I'll see you soon. Psst, make sure to check out my newsletter. You're gonna love it. Hi, I'm Jason J. Ros Fonseca of RiseOnline.com, and I want to say Evan Carmichael's newsletter is consistent, fun, inspiring, and it's the only newsletter I prioritize and look forward to. Period.
