What must Millennials follow – Passion or Reason?
It is an age old debate as to which one is superior – Passion or Reason?
Plato would definitely have vouched for the superiority of Reason, as is evident from his ideal “city state.” But do you think Reason was enough alone for Mother Teresa to help hundreds of less privileged? Or was Reason enough for Mandela to lead the fight against Racism? Well, it is indeed a certain grey area between both which can answer such questions. Certainly, Jeff Bezos combined both Passion and Reason to get where he is, and so did Mark Zuckerberg.
Passion tends to overcome the balance of mind often. Let’s say you are the founder or co-founder of some start-up with an innovative pitch. You have put your heart and soul into the success path of the platform. And one fine day, during your initial days with the company, you have this sudden adrenaline pump. You wake up to an idea which seems mellifluous to you in the middle of the night. What would you do? Would you pursue the idea till its completion into reality? Or ponder upon it for some more days?
Well, one must realise that ideas may seem great, but the pros and cons must be weighed thoroughly before implementing it. Moreover, one must understand what the customers want. Surveys are very helpful in such cases. These are scenarios where the need of Reason and Numbers arise. Surveys call for qualitative as well as quantitative analyses which cannot be done without the play of numbers. The number of pros of an idea must outweigh the number of cons as well. Another instance when Reason must prevail is the problem of adrenaline rush in the middle of the night. Every activity has a definite time in the course of the day. One must try to relax during sleeping hours. Such rush of hormones due to overdoses of Passion is the main cause of Insomnia for young entrepreneurs. The sane instincts are overlooked by the heart and mind. Hence, decisions must be taken when both body and mind is well rested, and not in the middle of the night usually.
Yet passion and reason cannot do without each other. A person is truly successful when there is a proper balance between the two. It is Passion which makes us start something worthwhile in life; while it is Reason alongside of Passion which makes us take the right steps. Think of a situation when you have been given a free chocolate cake at the restaurant you visited for dinner. The first instinct would be to devour the whole cake. But your mind would take control in sometime and tell you that you must consume only the part you can, and get the rest parcelled. Making an idea work takes a lot of hard work in reality. That is why reason must balance out the wild waves of passion. Every successful entrepreneur out there would tell any young entrepreneur that it is necessary to balance passion and reason on the journey of a start-up. Moreover, one must understand the market scenario and the needs of the customers before putting the accelerator switch on any idea borne out of passion alone. It is very easy to be influenced by something nowadays, but tough to make the idea persist.
Dear young Millennials and Entrepreneurs, take care to maintain the balance between passion and reason. The balanced combination of both is definitely a package meant to harbour in success.
