THE POWER OF PASSION

Have you ever felt frustrated by not having the energy to push toward your goals? Are you feeling stuck in a rut in a hut (SMILE)? Do you feel overwhelmed by the lack of achievement you have experienced in your life thus far? Do you lack a desire to begin to pick up the pieces of your life to start believing in yourself again? Please do not be discouraged there is ALWAYS hope and a solution.

What is it that fuels the flames that produces success? Is it a person’s abilities or talents? Is it a person’s relationships? Well, what I have found in life is that a person’s life is meaningless and their talent useless without the real match behind it. That lit match is their passion. We often take for granted how powerful passion is but I will tell you that without passion you will not reap the real rewards of your abilities. There are 6 major effects that passion can have on your life.

1. Passion can affect your level of achievement

I have heard it time and time again especially when it comes to artist, but it applies to any profession. You will do well what you love to do. When I look over my life I have noticed that the areas I succeed where there is no real struggle are those areas that I love and or are passionate about. I love to speak and help people so when I am in situations that allow my gifts and talents to freely flow I excel. When you find yourself in a situation that you are not happy about or love what you do you will not achieve success.

I tell a particular story about a young man who goes to a philosopher and the young man asks the philosopher “how do I achieve success?” The philosopher takes the young man down by the sea and they both are standing in waist high water. The philosopher proceeds to push the young man’s head into the water making it difficult for him to come up. He holds him down for a few seconds and ask the young man “now what do you want?” The young man yells out wisdom, then the philosopher pushes his head down again, holding it down a little longer. He brings the young man up and asks him again, what do you want now? The young man says knowledge. Again, the philosopher dunks his head, holding it down a little longer than last time and brings the young man out of the water. He asks him again, what is it that you want and the young man replied “I want to breathe”!

When you want success as much as you want to breathe as the young man did that is when you will begin to see your passion and talent come together in a syncopated rhythm and success will begin to flow in your life. The only way success and achievement at any significant level happens is when you have a real burning desire and guess what that match that I spoke about earlier “Passion” is the only way that you will get it.

2. Passion will enhance your level of determination

I have been blessed to have been in the ministry as well as network marketing which allows me to utilize by gifts and talents which is to help people reach their possibilities. However, throughout my years in the ministry as well as through Network Marketing I have learned something so vital in helping others and that is that you cannot ignite a person’s passions through informing them of your own. The best way to help another enhance their level of being determined about what makes them passionate is to ask questions that will allow them to open up about what makes them emotional, dream, and shout. These are the questions that will lead someone to find out their passions. The sad thing about seeking out your passion is that although God has given each and every one of us passion within us we do not always take the time to realize it. What is so interesting about passion is that when someone really wants something they will always possess the determination to go get it. Again, I have learned that the only individuals who will succeed are those who want to. I cannot want something far greater for someone else than they want it themselves because it will never be successful. John C. Maxwell said it best, “champions become champions from within, not from without.”

3. Passion effects your energy level

My wife and I know someone who is an incredible aerobics instructor. My wife takes a couple of her classes and she tells me how energized she is teaching them. The interesting thing about the fitness instructor is that she does not need help in developing a level of excitement because she possesses it already. She is extremely high energy because of her passion for what she does. Anytime you are fueled by your passion you do not have to be coerced into doing it. You do not have to be reminded, nor do you need pushing. In fact, you will push yourself beyond normal when you have a passion for something. Haven’t you seen people who work tirelessly at something and you wonder whether they get tired or not. Well, the answer is they get tired but their passion is so great for whatever they are going after tired isn’t something that exists in their world.

4. Passion effects your level of excellence

I am a former athlete and I have played with and against some talented individuals. In all my years as an athlete I am most intrigued by the individuals who started out as what we would call average but they had a superior work ethic that made them excellent. So much so that it sometimes far exceeded the talent of those who were just plain gifted. You see, passion will take that average person beyond those who just have raw talent if it is great enough. Therefore, you do not have to just be talented or gifted to succeed, you can possess a passion and that passion can be so great that it takes you from being a stand out to a standalone.

5. Passion can be the super ingredient for success

It is funny how we often think that in large companies executives do not put much credence in passion of their employees. But it is quite the contrary. Executives are often asked what quality that they would like for their employees to possess if given only one answer to choose from. The main quality is enthusiasm. Enthusiasm or passion if you will far out ranks talent because the executives understand that talented people come a dime a dozen, but individuals who possess a passion for their work leads to success every single time because you can teach a person to perform a job.

6. Passion can be infectious

I have said it before that I do not motivate people, I inspire them. One of the ways that I go about accomplishing that is through my passion. Anyone who meets me or talks to me I pray that through our interactions, they can sense how passionate I am for what I do. One of my all-time favorite artists is Michael Jackson. I believe the reason that people always wanted to meet him was because of his passion for his work. No one could ever see the type of work that he produced and say to themselves "there goes a man who does not care for what he does." I was able to watch a behind the scenes series of him preparing for a concert and I noticed how focused he was and how detail oriented he was about everything. He was always polite but he showed a craving for greatness and excellence like none other for his life and guess what he received exactly what he desired. And that type of zeal others always want to be around.

If you are not getting the results that you seek look inside and find what makes your emotions rise. I will share with you some tidbits on how to ascertain what your passions are. Look for a future post entitled “Manifested Passion”. You can have Purpose Directed Success today!