More on Passion

Yesterday's blog was all about finding your passion but after thinking more about it I feel I left a few things out that I would like to share.

First off, finding your passion does not mean you need to stop everything you are doing and go off on some wild sabbatical into the mountains to find your new life. It doesn't mean you need to quit your current job and join the millions of other Americans that are jobless right now. Your passion may be right in front of your face, staring you down, waiting for you to discover it. Your current job may be exactly what you have been looking for and may be something you can get passionate about. Maybe there is another position within your current company that is where your passion lies. Just because you haven't found your passion doesn't mean it may not be present. Simply changing your life will not ensure you find passion. Opening your eyes and allowing yourself to be passionate will help you find this passion.

Passion and purpose go hand in hand. When you discover your purpose, you will normally find it’s something you’re tremendously passionate about.
~Steve Pavlina

Also, it is so important to stay realistic with your passion. Of course we all would love to go and be a professional golfer, or become a famous actress or model but passion must be focused precisely on an accomplishable goal or vision. Now I am not hear to shatter the dreams of those of you who want to play professional sports or earn a spot on TV. If you have a natural talent, along with unmatched dedication, commitment, drive, determination and of course some good luck, then go for it! But for most of us, these "far out" dreams may be unrealistic and could be a waste of good passion. If you love golf so much that you want to become a professional, how about the idea of becoming a golf coach, or looking for a job within the PGA? Passion is not about making a lot of money and passion shouldn't be about holding a certain position within an organization just because you think it would be fun. Passion is about doing what you love and loving what you do!

When writing my blog yesterday I actually deleted a very important part of the message that I wanted to add back in. That is the understanding that some of us may have to take a job for financial reasons, or for some other circumstance(s) that force us into less than ideal scenarios. I get this 100% but if this is the case then shouldn't this current job or situation just be a "means" to the things you are passionate about. If you focus your mind on the place you want to get, then you should be passionate about the current situation as it now becomes a part of fulfilling your passion. Too many people get stuck in a bad situation without a plan to overcome it, to change it. If you hate working mindless jobs and want to own your own business, then get passionate about starting a business and find a way to use your current job to help fuel that passion. Here is an idea, get a mindless job at a company that is similar to the type of business you want to own. Instead of walking in the door of work with a bad attitude, go in with the mindset that I am going to be a sponge and soak up everything I can about this industry, business, product, work environment etc so that when my time comes I will have the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve success. (Of course you may get in trouble for this type of behavior but you get the point.)

"A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means"
~ William Hazlitt


Waka Waka Wednesday!

-EC