Benny Lewis graduated from a university in Ireland with an engineering degree, but never put it to use. Instead he found a way to make a living as a “professional language hacker,” traveling the world and helping students quickly learn to speak other languages.
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Let’s look at another example. Benny Lewis, originally from
Ireland, likes to say he gets paid to learn languages. Benny’s story is
inspiring: He makes more than $65,000 a year, reports to no one, and goes from
country to country immersing himself in different cultures. But as we look at
the story more carefully, we find that there’s more to it.
I first met Benny on a layover in Bangkok. Benny doesn’t
drink, which is probably a good thing because he is quite possibly the most
naturally enthusiastic person I’ve ever met. Over a couple of mango juices, he
told me his story. Twenty-four years old, Benny had been traveling abroad for
the past two years. As a child, he spoke only English. He graduated with an
engineering degree and no known aptitude for foreign languages. Moving to Spain
after graduation and consulting with clients back home, he became determined to
learn Spanish.
Six months into his stay in Seville, however, Benny felt
frustrated with still not knowing the language, spending most of his time with
a group of expatriates and Spaniards who spoke English. He decided to speak
only Spanish for an entire month, with no exceptions. At first it was awkward
and embarrassing; he didn’t know how to conjugate verbs, so he just used the
present tense and wildly waved his arms behind him to indicate that something
had already happened. But the funny thing about using only another language is
that you learn it much more quickly than when you rely on English as a backup.
Within a few weeks, Benny was speaking comfortably. The month-long immersion
was much better than the six months before it, and he was now hooked on
learning other languages. He moved to Berlin and learned German, then to Paris
to learn French, and then to Prague to learn Czech, a notoriously difficult
language.
Putting his engineering career on hold, Benny started
traveling and never stopped, working at short-term consulting jobs to pay the
bills wherever he could. With his non-stop energy, he got up in the middle of
the night for conference calls in North America. Being single (and not
drinking) made it easy to live on a small amount of money, but it was obvious
that Benny had a great skill to share with the world. His message to everyone
who would listen—by this point the whole bar of expats had heard about it—was that
anyone can learn another language even if you think you aren’t “gifted” or
spoke only one language as a child.
Benny’s method was based on proven success. Within two years,
he had learned seven languages (fluently!), and regularly tested himself with native
speakers he met while traveling. Once in a while, he tutored someone in
language learning, but the approach was scattershot.
“Benny, your skill is amazing,” I said when I met him that
night in Bangkok. “Why don’t you get more serious about teaching this method to
more people?” (To be fair, I can’t take much credit for pushing him. Benny had
been thinking about the idea for a while, and many other people had gathered
around the bar at that point, encouraging him.)
He toyed with a few different names for the idea before
hitting on the perfect one: Fluent in 3 Months. Everyone raised a bottle of
beer in approval while Benny sipped his juice. Just as soon as he learned Thai
(his eighth language), he would get to work outlining everything he knew about
language hacking.
The vision was solid, but the work was tough. Benny struggled
with fitting everything he knew into a collection of documents, videos, and
interviews. He kept waiting for it to be perfect … and then he kept waiting. “I
finally just had to give up on perfection and get the thing out the door,” he
said later. The course is now available in eight languages—all taught by Benny
himself, naturally.
To market Fluent in 3 Months, Benny made YouTube videos
giving a tour of his apartment in five languages (including different
dialects). He stood on street corners in various countries and sang in the
national language, dressing up in native costume and offering free hugs. When I
ran into him next in Texas, he was wearing a set of goggles on top of a hat.
“Uh, what’s with the goggles?” I asked. His answer was typical: “I wear them
when I travel so people will ask, ‘Why are you wearing those?’ Then I have an
easy way to get to know them and try to learn their language.”
Benny says he gets paid for learning languages, but as you
can see, there’s more to the story: He actually gets paid for helping people.
True, the inspirational side is important (people enjoy watching and sharing
his videos), but without the helpfulness, he would just be the sober Irishman
who speaks a lot of languages and there would be no business model.
Along with first understanding that not every passion makes a
good business and then realizing that businesses and hobbies are often
distinct, there’s one more important point: You may just not want to combine
your hobby with your work. If the hobby or passion serves as an important
stress reliever from your day job or other commitments, are you sure you want
to assume full-time responsibility for your hobby? Some people find that it’s better
to keep their passion separate from their work.
Review the Reality Check Checklist below to see if a
follow-your-passion business is a good idea for you. Benjamin Franklin, an
old-school entrepreneur, put it this way: “If passion drives you, let reason
hold the reins.”
Exerpt from The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
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