Each of us has at least one thing we chase, pursue, hunt and obsess about. Each of us has at least one thing that keeps us awake at night, haunts our dreams and wakes us up in the middle of the night. Each of us has one thing that is our oxygen and water, our purpose and desire. This one thing – this passion – defines us, drives us, motivates us. It could be writing or speaking, mentoring or leading. Without it, without the opportunity to pursue it and pursue it wholeheartedly, we would lose our way. Our compass would stop pointing north, and we would wander aimlessly.
Each of us has a passion, a fire inside of us that wants to spread and turn into a conflagration. The problem many of us have is twofold. First, we misidentify our passion. Second, we don’t pursue it with everything we have.
As to the first issue, many folks never define their true passion. Mine is writing. It’s like breathing for me. Absent it,
I would suffocate. It’s my oxygen. Because I write as much as I do, I often get asked for writing tips from others who want to write too. Often it’s someone who needs advice on writing an article or perhaps a book. Sometimes, it’s from someone who wants to be a writer, put himself or herself out there as a writer, and wants to become prolific. Curiously, these same folks who want to dedicate their lives to writing always ask me the same question – How do you find the time to write? I can understand that question from someone who wants to dabble in writing, wants to try it out as a hobby or it’s something on their bucket list. But for folks who want to call themselves writers, they should never ask where or how to find the time. I would expect the question they would ask is how do I break away from the writing? So much of it is getting in the way of my personal relationships, so how do I write less?
So first and foremost, find your real passion, the one that consumes your waking moments. If you’re seeking motivation to pursue your “passion,” you’ve likely chosen the wrong one.
Second, some of us don’t choose our passions with sufficient vigor because we let other interests, hobbies and curiosities get in the way. You have a passion in your heart, mind and soul for a reason. It’s to pursue it with every fiber of your body and every ounce of your will. So you have to block out the noise and avoid the distractions. If you want to do something truly great, life altering, even revolutionary – you have to dump all the excess weight to fly higher.
For those who ask me that they want to be writers and can’t find the time, I explore with them their true passion. It’s generally not writing. It’s generally something else they really want to do but they’re too scared, or conflicted or hesitant to pursue it. So they fill their time with other “passions” which aren’t really their passions at all.
So remember the two rules:
- Find your passion
- Pursue it, and ignore most everything else when doing so.
