Passion

Image courtesy of adminsecret.monster.com

**Originally published in "The Source", November 2012.

Over the course of the last few weeks I have tried multiple times to write this month's feature article, and each time I have failed miserably. Some times my head wasn't in it due to illness or fatigue; other times the words just refused to flow. I knew the topic I wanted to discuss, but I was having difficultly telling a story about it. So I decided to stop trying to tell a story and instead just say what is on my mind.
There is a lack of passion in our world. People may be content. They may even be happy. But true passion is rare. It is clear when someone has it for something, and equally as obvious when they don't. Having it does not come from the compensation, notoriety, or status that accompanies what you do, but rather from an unwavering confidence that you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing.

You may not have a clear idea where your path will lead you, or even where you want it to, but that is almost irrelevant to you because right here, in this moment, things are exactly how they are supposed to be, so you have to believe that moment by moment, things will be as they are supposed to be, as well.

Let me stop right here and say I am a bit of a passion junkie. I'm attracted to it. I feed off of it. It fuels most of my waking hours. I'm attracted to others who have it. If you get hype off something, I'm hype for you.

I am by no means an expert on passion or anything even remotely close to that, but people ask me about it a lot because they can see how excited I get when I talk about what I do and where I envision my path leading. And a lot of people are struggling to find something in their own lives that they can get excited about. And not just excited in this moment, but have that excitement carry on from moment to moment to moment on and on and on. So if this is you, these are my thoughts.

I was going to write that you should do what makes you happiest. I had to erase that. I was going to write that you should surround yourself with passionate people both in person and through various forms of media. I had to erase that as well. With both ideas I was skipping steps and key points.

Happiness is far too fleeting to lead to passion, and while you may be inspired by the energy of other passionate people, it is not a skill you can acquire. If anything, it is a state of being. A mindset. A complete confidence that you will accomplish what you set out to do, not because the road ahead is without difficulties, but because you cannot fathom things working out differently. You live in every moment with that confidence, and you love it. And you love each moment. And there really isn't any other option in your mind.

So here is where my difficulty lies in writing this piece. I don't know that I have any sound advice to give on how to develop this. But to be honest, I think you have already developed it. Each of you. You just need to find what brings it out. And I think that's where you can start to do what makes you happiest and spend your time with people who are passionate about what makes you happiest because while neither will lead to the development of passion, both may provide an opportunity where the passion you already have can show itself.

It seems like a lot of people I talk to are scared to do what makes them happiest for fear of running into financial difficulty. To speak on this, I will default to Gary Vaynerchuck. If you haven't already, watch the YouTube video of Gary's presentation at Web Expo 2.0 NY. Additionally, check out his book, Crush It, which can be found in the Book Store. In both the book and presentation, Gary does a great job laying out different ideas on how to turn your passion into a viable business.

I don't know how to help you find your passion. I really don't. And it took me a while to realize that. But I don't think you need me to find it. I think it is within you and it is up to you to provide the opportunities for it to come out.

What makes you happiest? Do that. Who in your immediate circle has an expressed passion for something? Spend more time with them and let their energy bring out yours.

If there isn't anybody in your immediate circle, expand your circle. Find videos online, books, blogs, music, podcasts or any other form of media that allows you to experience others sharing their passion and connect with them.

Be great.

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