The Power of Passion
“There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela.
Most of us in life settle. Just admit it. We often accept less than we want in the job market, remain in relationships that don’t fully satisfy us, and compromise on the kind of life we really long for; perhaps most important, we frequently settle for our dreams. A dream can be a career we hope to build, a place where we want to live, or the kind of friend or partner we imagine having. At times we settle for comfort, fear, or convenience. The problem with settling is that, over time, we begin to lose much of who we are and gradually become someone else.
This is a dangerous place for us to be. It happens so subtly: one day becomes two days, a week becomes a month, and a month becomes a year. Children grow, careers change, relocation happens, and then one morning you wake up and realize you are no longer fully yourself. You have become someone different. The passions you once had, the innate qualities that burned inside you, the driving enthusiasm of your youth seem to have been extinguished. What you once believed you needed to chase, do, or become gradually reveals itself to be nothing more than a passing shadow, and you begin to see the clearer, quieter truths beneath it.
“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” — Vincent Van Gogh
Passion drives us all. Together, passion means taking an impossible idea and steadily turning it into reality. When individuals or teams with genuine, unwavering passion come together, that spark ignites concepts, ideas, hypotheses, research, discovery, and deep commitment. When you wake up and ask yourself, "Where am I?" that question is the echo of the same passion now screaming inside you like a lost child seeking its way. True, unwavering passion never burns out no matter how much you try to smother it; it is a blueprint the creator placed deep within you. You cannot hide from it, you cannot turn it off, you cannot replace it, and you cannot convincingly fake it. Pretending otherwise only causes pain later in life—take it from me, I’ve been there and learned the hard way.
But it’s not too late to get back on that track. It’s not too late to dream again, to allow new hope to grow. It’s not too late to take decisive action and rediscover the person inside of you that God created you to be. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself about your passion:
Is this a deep, burning desire that refuses to fade?
Have you been contemplating it for most of your life, returning to the thought again and again?
Do I carry a persistent, nagging doubt that I truly deserve this?
What do I need to learn, change, or do to realign myself and get back on track?
What obstacles must I remove so I can fully focus on and pursue this passion?
I believe these questions will help guide you or your team to find greater clarity and steer you more confidently back toward your passion. Passion is an incredibly powerful emotion that is often overlooked or ignored. When embraced, passion fuels and directs you toward your purpose. Once you discover your purpose, you open yourself to deeper love; and once you have love, you truly begin to live.
“A true passion that burns within your soul is one that can never be put out.” — Zach Toelke
Go chase your passion — and don’t waste a single minute trying to become someone else’s version of you. Time truly waits for no one, so move with purpose. Trust your passion in your work, in your family, in your creative pursuits, and in the way you love.
Best,
Tony
