Passion Motivates: What I'm Passionate About

What motivates you to keep going with your business? Is it a love of the product you sell? Or of the process? I'd really like to know. I read a post over at the wonderful blog mywifequitherjob.com about passion and motivation. Steve (the blogger) says that the product he sells doesn't really excite him: "...wedding linens definitely aren't my passion." So what keeps him going? One of his reasons is "I Love the Competition."

When I told the Biz Diva about this story, she said, "From my experience, competition is not a big motivator for women." 

I know, in my business life, that's true. I don't really care about winning in and of itself. I run an online marketing company (you may have guessed that Deputy Diva is not my real name). I have been in marketing since one of my friend's dads called me at the law firm I worked at while studying law and said, "I can triple your salary." But I didn't take the job for the money.

It was for the next thing he said: "You'll be working with words." Now that was where my passion lay. And still does. In words and stories. And good marketing is all stories.

What about the Biz Diva's passion? "It's always been helping women in one form or another. When I started Making It Big, we provided high quality, stylish, natural fiber clothes, with a lot of attention to fit for plus size women. It changed so many women's lives for the better. We received hundreds of letters from women who said things like, 'I would never leave my house. But now I'm applying for jobs.' The product I sell has changed—now I provide a service—but my passion for helping women is the same. Now I help women learn how to take their passion and turn it into a revenue stream."

But competition doesn't enter into it for the Biz Diva. 

What motivates you to keep running your business? Where is your passion? Does competition spur you on or leave you cold? Let us know in the comments below.