“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” – Benjamin Franklin

It’s important to understand passion. Good brands and companies are based in passion.

There are two types of passion: Hot, mindless passion and cold, mindful passion.

Hot, mindless passion is all about heart. The head is not even asked to participate. When you do not call upon the head, many things can go wrong. Hot passion is like the first girlfriend. It burns as bright as the sun but turns into a Moon landscape soon.

Cold, mindful passion is calm, considerate and focused on the long-term future. Heart and brain are aligned. Emotions are part of the equation but they don’t dictate decisions. They support cold, hard data with emotional support. Decisions take time, looked at from all angles. Cold passion is much more effective at getting results. Cold, mindful passion is like the marriage of 65 years. Once you go for cold passion, you can’t stop loving.

You need to be aware of the difference between mindless and mindful passion. 

Successful brands and companies understand the art of cold passion. They develop the discipline where head and heart can both be involved in the decision that will have to be made. Taking the emotion out of something you feel very passionate about is far from easy.

But easy seldom turns into great.