What is a "dream business"?

I took considerable interest, some months ago, when the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team hired Brian Burke as their new General Manager and, at the press conference to introduce him to the media and fans, he described his new position as a "dream job".

A "dream job"? What is a "dream job"? Is it a job in which you make a lot of money for very little effort? Is that a "dream job"? Is that what Burke meant when he described the General Manager's role with the Leafs as a "dream job"? Clearly, not. Burke had already been a General Manager in Anaheim, had won a Stanley Cup, and was one of the highest-paid G.M.'s in the game, so what did he gain by moving to the Leafs? It wasn't more money or power for less work. Yet, it was a "dream job".

A "dream job" is one which has special meaning for you. It is not about money, power or working a few hours a day. It is about the challenge of achieving a personal mission.

A "dream job" has to resonate with a personal mission - for Burke, that mission is, obviously, to lead one of hockey's most storied franchises to its first Stanley Cup in over 40 years. That's a challenge worth taking on, if you are a G.M.

As I said, I took considerable interest in Mr. Burke's comments because I wrote a book entitled "Don't Let Your Dream Business Turn Into a Nightmare".

What is a "dream business"?

For me, a "dream business" was one which provided me with an opportunity to accomplish my personal mission of helping men look and feel their best.

That was my personal mission, and that was the mission of the "dream business" which I created, called The Men's PowerSpa.

If you have a personal mission, and create a business to provide you with the opportunity to achieve that mission - i.e. your "dream business" - you had better have your own money to do it or only bring in investors who share your personal mission and the mission of the dream business.

Otherwise, you won't have a "dream business".

You will have a nightmare.