A common theme that many success speakers teach is that you have to work your passion and profit from it to be successful. I can definitely agree that you have to love what you do to really be satisfied with your life. The word passion always scared me a little though, because there are a lot of things that I enjoy a lot, and I don't feel like it's anything I could give up everything else for though. I recently met Derke Sivers(founder of cdbaby.com) at a conference and I had never really heard of him until that day. So what do I do? The same thing I do with any "big time" person I meet, I look them up on google. Well it turns out he has a blog and the post that he had written the day before was exactly what I needed to see at that time. You can read it here and I will give a brief summary as well.
Don't just think in terms of "passion" or "purpose" because for people like me it can seem very overwhelming. Instead find something you like/enjoy and dig a little deeper into it. If that still seems ok, keep going. Maybe you will get to a point where you don't enjoy it that much. Just before that point could be the level you are meant to be at or it could be a signal that it is time to dig into something else.
I too have difficulty with the word passion. Passion, in my opinion is an over used word, I find at times it tends to be more emotional than the real thing or it can be a bit too heavy.
As we know, real passion can demand sacrifice and discipline. It also means great joy and personal fulfillment. So the choosing is an individual one.
This is really good advice on how to go about choosing.
For me, finding my passion is linked to finding my because. You are right about making choices conciously. Since starting to apply Noahs steps for success in my life, I am thinking more than before about my purpose and reasons for doing things- and hadn't realised that my thoughts had been based on an attitude of not having enough. This means my subconcious had chosen to think mostly about all the things that hadn't been done, or I didn't have.
I am lucky to have a wonderful creative job, making jewellery and making music- two things that make people happy. But hadn't realised how much the negative thought patterns were stopping me (by creating bad habits and procrastinating) from producing the things that give pleasure to myself and others. Now the head trash has been exposed for what it is, I am able to feel the passion again for what I do- rather than focusing on the pain felt from not being good enough. So when I now see people getting into what I create, and enjoying my efforts- I realise I am living my because.
Thanks Noah, for helping me to re-find my passion, and reminding me how important it is to share the skills I have to make this a better world for everyone.
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