Passion is a powerful emotion. It ignites energy, enthusiasm and creativity, and brings meaningful purpose to life. The passion that motivated you to take a risk and start your business is also the fuel that keeps it moving ahead. It’s important to keep it alive and not allow it to fade as you focus on the mundane but necessary daily tasks of running your business.

Below are seven tips to keep your entrepreneurial passion aglow:

1. Keep the big picture before you—what you ultimately want your business to look like. Have someone paint a picture or make your own from magazine photos. Hang it where you’ll see it often.
2. Set clearly defined goals to get you there. Break these down into smaller, bite-sized goals and daily ‘to-do’ lists. This will help connect even those humdrum daily tasks to the passion that drives you. Celebrate your progress—recognize every major step that moves you closer to your dream.
3. Verbalize your passion. Talk about your dreams and goals with others: employees, vendors, clients and prospective clients. Passion is highly contagious and voicing it will excite and energize you as well as inspiring that same enthusiasm in your audience.
4. Commit to explore new ideas. Fresh ideas can re-ignite your enthusiasm, enliven business and increase sales. Schedule time for a meeting of one each week with yourself—to step back, gain perspective and think about new possibilities, ways of doing things, markets you could test, and products or services you could develop.
5. Let your customers inspire you. Talk to them. Listen. Learn how you can make life easier for them. Ask for their suggestions. Make a point to find out what else they might need that you could offer.
6. Review why you started the business in the first place and rededicate yourself to pursue your dreams.
7. Take care of yourself and avoid burnout. To successfully make it over the long haul, it’s vital that you achieve and sustain a balanced lifestyle.

Don’t allow your entrepreneurial passion to wane—take time regularly to nurture it and re-ignite excitement for your business.

Written by Victoria Munro.