You don’t necessarily need to have one true passion in life, but you do need to have passion for success, writes Stan Gordon.

It’s the same question many small business owners, start-ups and even those at the helm of big conglomerates find themselves pondering at various stages of their career: ‘Am I passionate about what I do?’

If the answer is no: get out!

When I stop to think about why it is that we’re eager to really love our job and feel passionate about it, it leads me straight to an obvious answer. This emphasis – no matter who is focused on it – is so important because it is what keeps us moving forward and returning to the job; motivated to achieve and to be powered to succeed.

When we talk about passion, it may evoke imagery of heated arguments or perhaps a forbidden desire. But here we are talking about a leader’s drive, or an employee’s focus and their desire to pursue something with total commitment, giving their absolute ‘all’.

What sets a business owner’s passion for what he or she does apart is not necessarily whether or not, for example, the CEO of an ice cream franchise loves ice cream (which I can quite passionately tell you that I do), but whether you are passionate and driven by how your offering makes a difference to the lives of others, for the better.

With our brands, it’s simple. We’re making people happy with a treat offering and giving them a reason to smile. Maybe you’re the head of a new technology company, and your offering is making people’s lives less complicated. Whatever it is that you do, without passion, your drive can’t possibly be at its optimum.

My point here is that having a sincere commitment to what you do makes you get out of bed in the morning. It encourages you to spread the word about what you’re doing, it’s what enables you to celebrate that ‘win’, feel disappointment in the down times and strive for constant betterment.

It’s also so important to remember that you don’t have to have one true passion in life, but in my opinion, you do need to have passion for success. When I think about it, I have many passions – I’m passionate about what I do for a living, passionate about success and happiness, and passionate about my family and the relationships I have with others. It doesn’t mean that my passion for any of these things is diluted.

As the late Apple frontman Steve Jobs once said: “People with passion can change the world for the better”. It’s this sentiment that really rings true. Are you more likely to support a businessperson who is gunning for what they do because the really believe in it? The answer must be a resounding, unequivocal yes!

My parting words of wisdom are… if, when you look at the big picture, it’s not getting you out of bed in the morning, making you happy to head into work, excited to embark on new projects and continue working towards your goals, perhaps passion isn’t there. And that’s OK. Maybe it wasn’t there from the start, and that’s OK too.

Don’t feel the pressure to find your passion immediately. Just do what makes you happy, and all else (including passion) will follow.