Business can be stimulating and somewhat addictive. There’s a thin line between addiction and passion. Addictive behavior is a behavior that is so controlling, stimulating and rewarding that it leads to lack of control and harm to those around us. Passion is a strong, barely controllable emotion that drives success and often leads to excellence. The National Institute of Health estimates that one in 10 Americans have some type of addictive behavior.
Addiction also contains a strong element of denial. This is where the problem magnifies itself as people practice the same behaviors repetitively and expect different results. What’s inspiring this article is the transition of one of my networking customers. Fifteen years ago, he was several hundred thousand dollars in debt and made no money. He was addicted to buying the latest equipment, trying the latest business idea and the philosophy that selling would take care of everything. And boy, can this guy sell. But the problem was he would sell himself on his own flawed thinking, the same way he would sell his customers. Last year, his salary and income amounted to $441,725. He also took four vacations and the business and his personal finances are rock solid.