There was a time …yes there was… When great business people created extraordinary companies not on numbers or Wall Street green lights or the promise of personal wealth…
but instead on the power of love.
What?
We are so removed from this ideal now, that this seems like a fantasy. A dream, actually, like nonsense. But hold on cowboys and cowgirls, it’s true. Not in movies or novels but the cold reality of day.
Walt Disney was not a businessman first, he was a lover. Of ideas. Same for Henry Ford, and Ralph Lauren, Richard Branson, Thomas Edison, And Mary Kay.
Miracle men and women such as these fell in intoxification with ideas and then acted to bring their ideas to life. Did they become wealthy in the process? Absolutely. But did they do it for the money? Absolutely not. They did it for the love of the idea. For the realization that life is short and the spoils go to those who dream, love and take risks for the sake of their romance. Disney wanted to create a world of imagination. A world humanity could get lost in. Was it a sure shot then? The raving lover that he was didn’t give a damn.
Neither should you. Or I. Great companies, spiritual companies, dreaming companies, genius companies, world changing companies are not founded and grown by MBAs. They are cultivated like desert flowers by lovers.
Throw away your spread sheets for a moment and fall in love. Take a chance. Risk failure. But be driven by love. Sooner or later you will find excellence. The speed bumps along the way are simply the price all lovers pay.
Mark Stevens
CEO
Tell us how love has changed your business,
Leave a comment below.
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Top notch post! As we build our business in 2007 this is something we will keep fresh in our minds. Nice one Stevens!
I don’t have my own business but in the sense of managing my life and social life–it’s pretty much a business. People either love me or they don’t. They keep coming back to build our friendship or they just go elsewhere. It’s a risk everyday because I put a lot of love into my relationships with people and sometimes I feel that I don’t get enough back. That’s the risk I’m willing to take because if all fails, I know I tried my best.
I should save some before I become a bitter old lady…
Gaston,
So nice to hear. And yes, this is the best way to build your business. On love.
Mark Stevens
CEO
Tracy,
You can find a lot of things to put your love, your heart and soul into. It doesn’t have to be business. It doesn’t even have to be something that others find valuable. It just has to be something you are passionate about.
Mark Stevens
CEO
Love for my idea, left me broke and burnt out. love is great for getting people on your team to believe in the idea and the business. To really have a successful business takes people who know how to make it successful. It takes tons of money and people who can do it. Take it from me, I do not wish on anyone what I went through the past two years.
Don’t get me wrong, I did help a lot of people and aided in their lives being magical.
Victoria,
You can’t let ONE failure stop you from being an entrepeneur. All of the greats, and most of the average bussiness people have had more failures than successes. Gates and Jobs are exceptions. I’ve had failures too.
Perseverance, persistance and the ability to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back up on that horse again is what makes you a winner.
You will only be a loser if you quit when you’re losing.
All my best,
Mark Stevens
CEO