What You See Is What You Get ®
THE POWER OF PURSUING YOUR PASSION
Do you ever ask yourself the following? Why do I experience little to no joy in my life? Is being successful really worth it? Who am I, where am I going, and what do I want out of life? How can I contribute more to mankind? In addition to these questions, you may have heard the sayings “pursue your passion and the money will follow”, and “pursuing your passion will draw people to you and bring immense happiness and fulfilment”. In this edition of “The Power Of”, a definition of “passion” will be explored and the accrual of benefits from pursuing your passion will be discussed. A short checklist is included to assist you in determining whether or not finding and pursuing your passion will change your life for the better. I’ll also talk about my own journey of discovering my passion and the positive effects it has had, as well as include a brief yet powerful article written by John Kehoe, titled “Find Your Passion”. Providing the aforementioned information is meant to enable/assist you to answer the introductory questions and to impart some wisdom which you may wish to weave into your life. Absorbing new information and guidelines has the potential to assist one to live a more balanced, effective, fulfilled – even PHENOMENAL life!
My intention here is not to explore a persons “purpose”, which could be considered as being an individuals “calling” from a spiritual perspective.
“Passion” Defined and the Benefits of Pursuing Your Passion
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/) defines “passion” (as we will be referring to it in this article) as follows: -
4 a (1) : EMOTION <his ruling passion is greed> (2) plural : the emotions as distinguished from reason b : intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction
5 a : ardent affection : LOVE b : a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept c : sexual desire d : an object of desire or deep interest
synonyms PASSION, FERVOR, ARDOR, ENTHUSIASM, ZEAL mean intense emotion , compelling action. PASSION applies to an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable <was a slave to his passions>. FERVOR implies a warm and steady emotion <read the poem aloud with great fervor>. ARDOR suggests warm and excited feeling likely to be fitful or short-lived <the ardor of their honeymoon soon faded>. ENTHUSIASM applies to lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity <never showed much enthusiasm for sports>. ZEAL implies energetic and unflagging pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause <preaches with fanatical zeal>.
From the foregoing it is evident that “passion” is a deep-seated feeling within you which you are able to sense and come to “know” as your passion. Passion comes from your inner life force and G-d/whichever higher power you aspire to.
When expressed, your passion generally propels you into action resulting in immense personal satisfaction. This in turn draws you towards living your passion on a daily basis. On the other hand, if you suppress the pursuit of your passion once identified, you are sure to experience negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, stress, discontent, disillusionment and fatigue. The euphoria of living your passion draws you to the pursuit of it, bringing about the realization that all else (money, status, position, objects, and so on) pales in comparison.
Richard Branson (Chief Executive of the highly successful Virgin Group) was once asked when he would stop work as he is already highly successful and wealthy. His response was “never”, as he is pursuing his passion and doesn’t see what he does as work. It seems Richard Branson derives enormous energy and pleasure from what he does; always ensuring the Virgin Group puts its people first. This alone is an exemplary example of how pursuing your passion benefits not only yourself but others as well. Keep in mind though that your passion may not be what you are paid to do. You may be working to support your passion (amongst other things).
Part of our journey in life and attainment of where we wish to be, is enjoying the ride. Richard Branson’s lifestyle and philosophy exemplifies this. Seizing every opportunity to have fun, Richard Branson has redefined the saying, “Life’s a journey. Enjoy the ride”. His autobiography, “Losing My Virginity” is truly inspirational, highly recommended, and will give you what I consider to be an unmatched example of living out your passion.
The attached checklist (at the base of this article, titled “Passion Checklist”) will assist you in determining whether or not seeking and identifying your passion is worth pursuing. That is to say, if you experience the items listed in Column A of the Checklist, finding and pursuing your passion will dramatically alter your life for the better (and therefore resolve the items listed in Column A of the Checklist). In addition to this, the checklist (Column B) contains some benefits derived from pursuing your passion.
My Journey to Discovering My Passion
As a young man I entered the job market as a qualified Public Relations practitioner, knowing that I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives but no clue how that would come to be. Being hard working, dedicated, focused, highly energised, always striving to make a value-add positive difference, intuitive, a big-picture thinker, drawn to taking leadership roles, I quickly moved up the ranks in the corporate world gaining a wealth of experience in an array of fields. Being as focused and people -orientated as I was, I built highly motivated, inspirational, value-add, positive teams, always focusing on attainment of the goals at hand. Having enjoyed a measure of success I began to feel something was missing. Continually bringing about best practices in my field of expertise as well as always meeting deadlines, goals, business strategies, and so on, started to become mundane and unfulfilling.
Seven years ago I read an article in a Psychology Today magazine on Life Coaching, which profession was virtually unknown in South Africa at the time. The article resonated deeply within me and I felt drawn to what was portrayed as Coaching. I remember visualising what I would need to do in order to coach people. Sadly the reality of my work situation at the time drew me away from venturing into Coaching, primarily because my work was very rewarding and fulfilling (but not my passion).
At such time I had begun to seek deeper meaning to life, sensing within myself that something was missing, that I was not pursuing what I was truly passionate about. I felt a pull toward making a positive contribution to our fragile world. This led me to briefly explore possibilities within Greenpeace and the United Nations, neither of which came to be because I listened to my inner voice and singled out my greatest strength (approximately ten years ago). My strength during that period was to act as a facilitator for people to see where they wanted to go in life and guide them on how to get there. My motivation was also to share my intuitive insight and wisdom with people, to guide others through my natural ability to sense their needs, emotions, and so on. Without consciously knowing it, I was well along the path to ultimately pursuing my “purpose”. You may ask why this was the case. Quite simply it was because I was pursuing my passion.
Eighteen months ago I took a week’s holiday in the Tsitsikama forest area. During that time I joined a group and hiked along our magnificent coastline and through the awesome Tsitsikama forests. This was a truly magical experience and I was afforded an opportunity to see and sense the immense power of nature. It was a humbling experience and within days my life came into perspective. I felt entirely at peace, re-connected to my roots and in total harmony with nature. My inner spirit was calm and at one with the universe (G-d/higher universal power). In what seemed like an instant, I had the realization that my life was going to change dramatically. Part of the realization was that I knew I was not being my authentic self, was totally out of touch with whom I truly was, and was living a lie in my so called perfect life with a great job, home, car, and so on. Being in the forests and so close to the ocean exposed me to a reality I was out of touch with. At this point I made a firm commitment to myself that my life was going to change for the better.
On returning to work, I wrestled almost uncontrollably with disillusionment concerning my work and life. Although I had enjoyed enormous success at work including a high paying position, prestige, influence, and status, I had reached the point where it all meant nothing to me. I knew that changing jobs, moving to a different country, buying a new and better car, or moving house, would not fulfil my yearning to make a difference, give something back, and live my passion. As “fate” would have it, three months later I “stumbled” across an article on Executive Coaching and associated qualifications. The time had come to pursue what I knew in my heart was my passion. As a result I embarked upon attaining certification as a Transformation Coach (Executive, Life, and Relationship Coaching) through the I-Coach Academy in the United Kingdom and the University of Stellenbosch, Executive Development Ltd.
Two weeks into the certification course, I realised that I had been coaching intuitively for at least ten years. That is, over the years I had intuitively taken on various coaching methodologies and processes which I had been using on a daily basis for over ten years. As soon as I had this realisation, I mentioned to my mom that my intention was to have my own coaching practice by the end of the year (at the time it was early February 2005). Thereafter I clean forgot about this “intention” but because I had unconsciously placed this goal in my subconscious, a string of events (some extremely unpleasant and life altering) ensued that catapulted me into starting my own coaching practice seven months later.
And so began an even deeper exploration of myself and the pursuit of my passion, “sparking” me into truly living life with enormous energy. As you are sure to be aware, the vast majority of individuals put on “masks” in their lives and as a result we seldom get to truly know one another and experience the uniqueness and magic of one another. Pursuing my passion has led me to getting in touch with my inner spirit, being my authentic self, and dropping my “masks”. As a result, everyone now sees and experiences the authentic unedited Steve. I now enjoy more rewarding and authentic relationships with family, friends, and others that I come into contact with on a daily basis. My life as a whole is more rewarding, holistic, balanced, fulfilled, and purposeful.
As a nine year old child I began to sense and be aware of things that others were blissfully unaware of. This “awareness” led me to embrace my inner wisdom, which to this day people comment on once they’ve spent a period of time with me. It is my firm belief that it is this “knowing”/wisdom within me that played a major role in leading me to the point I’m at today. Therefore I encourage you to take the time to know who you truly are and get in touch with your deeper (spiritual – if appropriate to you) side. In so doing your life will unfold before you, perhaps not all at once, but the pieces of your “puzzle” will gradually fall into place before your eyes.
So what are some of the key points to note in my abridged journey?
· Pay attention to your inner knowing and sense of what your passion is;
· Pursue your passion with vigour. Everything else will become less important (other than the loved ones in your life, including G-d/higher power) thus bringing you far greater fulfilment;
· Money, prestige, position, and success pale in comparison to truly living your passion;
· If you open yourself up to being drawn and guided by G-d/the higher power towards your passion, you will ultimately reach the point where it is inevitable that you pursue it in one way or another;
· Being guided by G-d/the universe/a higher power (whichever you embrace in your life) to realise and follow your passion, you will receive signs/prompts and when you’re ready, you’ll pursue them;
· If you state your goal (a realistic, achievable goal) clearly, place it in your subconscious, trust in the power of your mind and G-d/universe/a higher power, it will be achieved (assuming that you are simultaneously taking whatever action is appropriate to bringing about the stated goal);
· While pursuing your passion challenges your ability to persevere, it is also uplifting, energising and fulfilling. The pursuit also fosters personal expression, which in itself leads to growth and as a consequence is highly rewarding;
· Take time to reconnect with nature. A large portion of the population has separated itself from nature often exerting a selfish and enormously damaging effect on our fragile planet. Connecting with nature helps you to put the artificial business world in perspective, enabling you to reconnect with yourself, your loved ones and your creator (nature/G-d/the higher universal power). You gain a new and valuable perspective on your life and the world around you.
“Find Your Passion” by John Kehoe