By: Kevin Daum
Marketer, speaker, and columnist for Inc.com
I have always been a passionate person. Sometimes that works to my advantage — like when I am driving a project, building a company or charming my wife. In all these cases, carefully controlled passion translate to energy I can channel to achieve my objective. However, unabated passion can get the better of me. Too much passion can offend some people, push too far or drive a project off the rails.
Passion is a force that can make you incredibly successful or push you into oblivion. But worse than too much passion, is to not engage your passion at all. I submit that a passionless life is not worth living. No one needs to go through life as a zombie until they die. Passion does not require money or pedigree. It is innate within you. It belongs to you. No one can take it away.
Here are six ways you can engage your passion and feel the full dimensions of what life has to offer.
- Eliminate mediocrity.
Sadly, there is no shortage of passionless, dull products out there. The world cranks out products, media and services with no imagination and no concern for customers, then wonders why few want to buy. I encourage people to pursue the Awesome Experience, which I define as the convergence of need, entertainment and the unexpected. Give the world something to be passionate about.
- Hang out with passionate people.
If drudgery or blank automatons surround you, you are bound to become a cog in the machine. Find the people with life and joie de vivre! Bring your highest energy to an environment and attract the like kind. Then, you’ll feel encouraged to openly display your passion with pride.
- Decide where you are going.
It’s hard to be passionate if you don’t have something to be passionate about. Invest the time and define your preferred destiny . Choose the person you want to be in 10 years and start down the path to making it a reality.
- Pursue exciting opportunities.
Quit sitting around wondering when something cool will happen. Watch for interesting opportunities and prepare to pounce. Passion and momentum go together. Get one started and the other will follow.
- Stretch your boundaries.
Try and do one thing out of your comfort zone each day. Pretty soon, you may find your actual boundaries are much further out than you expected, and there is plenty of room to get excited and still be safe.
- Be responsible for your own experience.
This life belongs to no one but you. If your job is boring, there is no advancement and everyone else is happier than you, well, most likely, it’s your fault. Make a conscious decision to fix your job, your family, your body, or whatever it is that is getting in your way of happiness and passion. No one else is going to do it for you, so stop waiting and start today. Show some passion.
YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) is a not-for-profit, global network of young chief executives connected through the shared mission of becoming Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange™. For more information, visit www.ypo.org.
