Summary
Oprah Winfrey says, “Passion is ENERGY! Power comes from focusing on what excites you.” Unfortunately, most people do not truly know their passions let alone understand how to make them a key driver of their success.
Why do you think 74% of Singaporeans and 80% of Americans dislike what they do for a living? (Human Resources Magazine) Are they using their passions at work in a career they are passionate about? OR… did they take a ‘job’ to ‘pay the bills.’?
Unfortunately, most people live lives of mediocrity, filled with ambiguity and disappointment. Each day blends into the next until one day, we look back and wonder, “Where did it go?” or “Is that all there is?” Don’t let this be YOU!
Don’t you want, desire and deserve a better life? Wouldn’t you like to know your purpose in life and how to live a richer more rewarding life? Knowing and using our passions can be the key to unlock our fullest potential.
Think for a moment, who are the people you most admire? Whom have you read about or seen on TV that pursued a dream they wanted and achieved it? Have you ever wondered, wished or dreamt. “That could be me!”
STOP DREAMING and start MAKING your dreams come true. Ignite your passions! Don’t know what they ALL are? Discover them now! It’s never too late and always better earlier than later… or never. Become the person you always wanted to become. Then learn HOW to apply them at work and home.
STEP 1) List what things in life give you the MOST JOY. List at least 10 activities or dreams you might consider to be passions. Do NOT write ‘watching TV’ or ‘playing Candy Crush’ just because they are an ‘escape’ from life. Write down the activities that fill you with energy, vitality, which you can do tirelessly because they are fun, engaging, stimulating and give you a sense of fulfilment and accomplishment.
Step 2) Formulate and diagram how you can put all these passions you just noted down into your daily life. You may be an accountant that is passionate about music, dance, theatre, arts, colour, design and antique furniture… as well as order, routine, numbers, perfection, creativity, individual work and keeping to yourself. WONDERFUL! You probably are using the last half of the list already but maybe not putting enough of the first half into your life. Start listening to the music that moves you all day long. Take dance classes and / or buy tickets to a series of dance performances, theatre dance shows and put dance and music posters and art all around you and as screen savers. Get rid of the ‘office desk’ and replace it with a 200-year old antique table in your ideal style. In other words, don’t expect fulfilling ONE passion is going to be sufficient to fulfil your life’s passions or to make you happy and prosperous.
Step 3) Keep revisiting your passions. A child may have a passion for Barbie Dolls or Legos. Most adults don’t have the same passions they had at 8-years-of-age. Don’t expect your adult passions to stay the same either. We grow, mature and outgrow some passions while growing deeper in love with others. Until I met my amazing, loving, giving, beautiful, dare I say ‘sexy’ bride, (we’ve only been married just 17 years so still on honeymoon), I had no IDEA how a woman can become such a life’s passion. My penchant now is to know her more every day, growing closer to her and aspiring to please her as much as possible. WOW!
In my 20s and 30s, I thought a hot car was an ESSENTIAL passion of mine. Living in Singapore, I don’t even own a car. An underground train is at my doorstep and with my senior citizen rate, I can travel 13 miles (21 km) for 81 cents. I do computer work on the train, arrive with no stress, run up and and walk down the escalators (my 2nd gym) and have no NEED or DESIRE for a car. No longer a passion. Whodathunk?
If we can just harness the power, energy, motivation and drive from our passions, we can accomplish AMAZING things in our lives. HUGE SUCCESS comes from doing what we love and loving what we do, especially HOW we do it. Stay tuned for more on this subject. AND, if you are in Singapore or Malaysia…
Singapore & Malaysian Readers Only – Complimentary programme this Monday
I am extending to you an invitation to be my personal guest next Monday, 14 August for a 2-hour Learning Circle (LC) I am conducting at the Lifelong Learning Institute by Paya Lebar MRT. Why? I want you to Discover Your Passions in this DIY session.
Methodology is cutting edge BLENDED LEARNING and EXPERIENTIAL ONLINE LEARNING. You will not only discover your passions (at least 10), you will learn ways to apply them to your work and home and capitalise upon your strengths.
Key Learnings:
- Learn what a ‘passion’ is and what it does for us.
- Discover many passions you may not have been using to fuel your success
- Applying your passions immediately to change your life at home and at work.
- Uncover your own personal passions.
- How are passions different from strengths and talents?
- Get a free autographed copy of Michael’s McGraw Hill book for registering and attending!
