Finding Your Passion: Key to a GREAT Life!

Jason Kotecki wrote an excellent article about Staying in the Wrong Job. Below is the money quote I took from his article.

I believe the key to a truly happy and fulfilled life is spending a good chunk of your time pursuing the things you’re passionate about. The things that really fire you up. The things you’re good at. The kinds of things you’d do whether you got paid or not. The lie is that it’s not really work if you’re having fun. The truth is that there are more ways to earn a living doing what you’re passionate about than you’ve ever considered.

I wanted to share my thoughts on this, as it's something I have wrestled with quite frequently in my life.

While what Jason says is great and definitely ideal, this "find your passion and go after it," many don't know what that passion is, and think that if they can just *get through* to the next day, the next month, the next promotion, it'll get better. I sometimes have tried to fool myself with this, so recently I've given it up and let the Big Guy drive the bus, and help steer me towards what I love.

Right now, I'm doing a lot of that outside of my usual work, though I still manage to find something to be passionate about at my job now, namely the awesome people I get to serve. If you look for something to be passionate about, chances are...you'll find it. If you're looking for what's missing, chances are you'll find it too.

I would encourage everyone who knows what their passion is and that can't afford to do it to offer it up and see if you can't find an answer better than what you came up with on your own. Stop trying to steer and let go of the wheel for at least a little while. If it works for you, then try to stay off of that wheel more often. I certainly don't do this all the time, though I find when I do, I get great results.

Please share your thoughts in the comments or with me via e-mail. I'd love to know what you think about this.

Make it a GREAT day!
Phil Gerbyshak


Technorati Tags: passion, lifehacks, career, job

Comments

[Trevor Gay]

Hi Phil

Great topic.

I regularly ‘take my hands off the wheel.’ I find this enables me to reflect and that is a wonderful thing to do. I also believe the big man will show me which way I need to go if changing direction is what is called for.

I feel we can become far too insular, restricted and comfortable if we never think about following our passion. We are usually held back by worry and fear of failure or even survival. Will I be able to pay the bills? What happens if I don’t get work?

I am not suggesting anarchy by blindly following our passion (although part of me likes that concept)

Although I take my hands off the wheel a lot I always keep my eyes on the road.

[Raymond Salas]

Great reminder Phil! Through many trials, I have become a big believer in the power of surrender too. It opens me up to possibilities that I have not considered or may not be aware of. Also, I have found that asking the Big Guy to decide for me in the different areas of my life, actually brings to me all that I am truly passionate about much more quickly.

[Kate]

It's a paradox - if you let go, and see what happens, are you just being lazy and giving up on a goal?

How will ever really know?

To me - it doesn't matter. It's always an opportunity, regardless of what/how that door opened.

It's how I got as far as I have, and how fast. I went to school for Art History with no idea of a 'real job' when I got out. I picked up a few IT/computer skills while doing part time office work.. threw in some project management, and a major 5 consulting firm picked me up giving me client experience. Most of my work there involved non-profits, so I slid in that direction and have almost come full circle - project manager/account rep at a software development firm and service provider specializing in non-profit applications.

Ask me 6 years ago when I studying Rembrandt and Gothic Architecture where I thought I'd be, I'd have no idea. But being here now, it all makes sense. All the little pieces fell into place (with my own motivation and drive just to learn and BE GREAT!) and here I am. Still no idea where I'll be in 6 more years - but I have a feeling, I'll get there.

(Besides, I have a friend who got his Masters in Music, and was an amazing pianist. The day he graduated - he vowed never to play again. I don't particularly want to do that to any of my passions - I prefer to keep passion/work much like church/state, if only for the balance.)

[Kammie K.]

Hey Phil,

How have I only just discovered you? Where have you been all my blogging life?!

I hear you on the whole passion & purpose thing (that's actually the name of my business)...so I often am asked, "how do I find my passion and my purpose?

I think living passionately everday is our purpose. Stepping up to the plate and participating in life - FULL out - each day is the best place to begin the journey.

I too still work my day job as I continue to grow my coaching and writing business. While I am anxious to BE full time my business, I stop and take notice of WHY I'm still where I am.

There are many reasons the universe still has me "on duty" at the university that I work for. I am still impacting students and parents lives in a way that allows me to enhance the skills I will need to grow my business, and stretch myself.

So yes, surrender and be receptive to the gifts of where you are. Like the Beatles said, sometimes you just gotta...Let it Be!

Kammie K.

[Jason Kotecki]

Phil,

Good stuff. In regards to the idea of people not knowing what their passion is, I offer this technique I once heard years ago: Think back to what you wanted to be when you grew up. President? Astronaut? Ballerina? This holds a clue as to what you're supposed to be doing now. It helps to look at WHY you wanted to be/do that thing, as opposed to heading straight for NASA. If you wanted to be an astronaut, was it because you wanted to explore new worlds? Were you intrigued by the physics of it all? Or did you like the idea of going really, really fast?

For instance, I dreamed of becoming George Lucas of Star Wars fame. Looking back, I think I was most enamored by how he used his creativity and imagination to create characters and worlds and stories to entertain millions of people. Now that I'm all grown up, I can see how through Kim & Jason (my comic strip), I've used my own imagination to create characters and stories to entertain lots of people. (I'm not quite to the million stratosphere yet.)

Anyway, just some food for thought for people out there wondering what exactly they're supposed to be doing with their life ;)

[Stacy]

I've been saying for at least ten years that each of us deserves to have work that lights us up inside. Is that "passion?" I sure dunno. But I still believe it's what we deserve to have--each of us.

A couple of months ago, Curt Rosengren and I had a conversation in which I said I wasn't sure I'm passionate about *anything* at all. He challenged me to consider what "passionate" means. To me, it has had the connotation of that state of being where you're almost high on the thing in question, all the time. Kinda like you are, Phil, about making it great. You, for me, are the poster child for being passionate.

But is it intensity that defines passion? Curt didn't seem to think so (Curt--chime in here, will ya?), necessarily.

What I want for myself, personally and professionally, is a soft, gently unfolding journey. A sort of peaceful, contented, MOR experience of life, peppered with some intensity at times (like meeting you, for instance!). At the core of it all, I want everything I do to light me up--to make me glow from the inside out. And, by and large, I think I have that (although there *are* moments!) whether I'm steering or not. :)

S

[Ameeta Kaul]

Great post. I struggled with this business of finding my passion for a long time. After 5 years, I have something to share, something that may seem counter-intuitive and frankly irritating....
Check out my blog at
http://mirasz-blog.blogspot.com/2006/10/love-your-job.html