The fifth of the Seven Deadly Sins is worship without sacrifice. For purposes of adapting this maxim into the world of the entrepreneur, I have substituted the word spirituality for worship. In today’s Western society, while some will claim to have a set of religious beliefs, almost all of us feel we have a spiritual side to our being.
This sin affects the world of the small entrepreneur by how the entrepreneur fits his or her physical and spiritual side into one coherent entity for purposes of his or her relationship to the created business. In a sense, the entrepreneur is a creator. Many small business owners had followed a passion or an emotional connection to a type of activity, which lead them into the founding of a new entity.
Top thought leaders in the world of entrepreneurship will tell you that if your only purpose in creating a business is to make money, your risk of failure increases dramatically. You will be less likely to be engaged in creating and building an empire about which you care little. And, without hard work (see Deadly Sin Number One), a new business will have a tough road to travel.
Sometimes, however, we see individuals who are more interested in passion than profit. We all know hobbyists who make a few bucks off their efforts. Sometimes, their activities expand to the point where they are spending a lot of time on what they believe is a business, but what is in reality a “jobbie” — an activity that keeps one so busy that it is no longer really a hobby, but which is not being run like a business so as to earn enough money to support its prime enthusiast.
In the metaphysical world, we sometimes see this with the “name it and claim it” people or those who extol the virtues of the great power of intention. Yes, it is true that it is important for you to tap into your creative, intuitive side to fulfill the successful dream of your new business. And setting your intention, crystalizing a vision of your success, is critical as well. But do not forget the second half of the equation. Intention without action is generally ineffective. If you name it and claim it, but take no steps to take it, you probably will forsake it.
What is needed here is the proper balance. If you are concerned with only generating a profit, and ignore the fact that genuinely liking what you do is an important component to success, you are shortchanging one side of the scale. Similarly, if you blissfully pursue your creation much like a starving artist would his art, you may wind up as a starving entrepreneur.
Can your small business have a “spiritual” side to it? If we broadly define spiritual as including such things as creativity, intuition, or other emotional or “softer” sides of the human experience, I think the answer is a ringing yes. Should your business also have a hard-nosed, work-towards-a-profit mentality as well? Ditto this answer. Spirituality, or creativity or intuition or passion, without the sacrifice or work necessary to appropriately implement it, may create a hobby but likely not a business.