A time of reflection: What’s Your Why?

Many of us are working from home during this time of uncertainty and if you are anything like me, being “socially isolated” is weird. BUT I have taken this time to reflect, and I encourage you to do the same.

I’ve been fortunate to experience success in the entrepreneurial realm—Patel Gaines, FSM, F45—I get a lot of questions from dreamers and visionary entrepreneurs who like me are exploring new industries to invest in, whether that be an opportunity with an existing business or a new business. I find myself coming back to the same questions when giving them advice though—why do you want to do this? What is it about this particular business, idea, startup, etc. that inspires you?

The secret to making worthwhile investments—be absolutely sure that you’re totally 100% into your why.  I’m not talking reasons like, “I want to make money and it looks like this will get me there,” or, “I want a side hustle and it’s been successful for others.”

The reality—you are not the same as those around you and furthermore, you are going to find success in very different places than they do.  Most entrepreneurs and investors that I see succeed are those that are driven purely by raw passion and rarely the true economics. Not that it’s not important, but, if it’s one of your top reasons, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. Trust me when I say that unless you are all in, and I mean ALL in and so thrilled to be doing this one very particular thing, it’s not going to work.

Side hustle? I have seen a lot of folks that gravitate toward these opportunities. Not that they don’t or can’t work, but an investment of time is vastly different than investing money alone. Success most often grows out of those opportunities that you lose sleep over because they’re scary or they’re going to take a lot of work. They’re ones that require you to be present and active, but they’re also so very perfect and leave you hooked. They’re the ideas that you want to be a part of for you, as much as for others. Those are the investments and business opportunities to pursue.

I launched the Patel Gaines law firm because I am driven by helping others and passionate about law—it’s not just because I went to law school and had to do something with my degree. I live and breathe my work there and get great joy out of making a difference for my clients and community. Guiding my clients through good times and rough times are the moments that get me most excited!

When it comes to F45, I guarantee you——that I was in the F45 gym and on my fitness grind more than anyone else at F45, period. I’ve logged 125 + workouts to date and climbing! I’m their biggest customer and truly believe in the F45 approach to fitness, which is exactly why I wanted to bring the concept to San Antonio.  Fitness is not only an interest of mine, but a fundamental aspect of my life.  But, beyond the gym side of it, our team has spent countless hours learning the business, understanding the space and developing the tools to run a membership-based business.

With FSM, my broad expertise aligned nicely with sports management, but I am really here where I stand today, as the founder and CEO of FSM, because I LOVE the NBA. I am a basketball fanatic, who’s always dreamed of playing a larger role in the sport. This is my way of making that dream a reality.  But again, economics was not the driver, the desire to change the critical path of young athletes and their lives was the driver. The passion behind marketing, sports and creating opportunities is what led me into FSM.

I give you these examples, because this is exactly what I’m talking about. Investments, businesses—they take so much more than you could ever anticipate to truly make successful, but if you love what you do and your why is strong enough, it will never feel like ‘work’.

Think about your current investments: both in time and money. Does it bring you joy, motivation and inspiration to get into the weeds and work every single day?

As we hit pause on our typical workday, don’t simply continue as normal once the world does. Learn from this reflective time, proceed with caution, follow your passion and success will find you!