E.M. Forster wrote “One person with passion is worth forty merely interested” If you think back to all the great advances made in life generally, through the arts, science, ethics, sport, business and politics over the centuries- they all started with one person’s passion and desire to change the status quo, that internal feeling that something needs to change.
Passion is that raw desire that has been controlled, focused and directed. It is the excitement, energy, the power and enthusiasm that propels you towards the goals you most want to achieve in life. Albert Einstein once wrote “I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.” As one of the worlds greatest physicists it served him well. Having talent obviously has it’s advantages but having passion is even more basic and creates its own opportunities. When you make passion a deliberate choice, a living philosophy it can become the source of new attitudes and habits, it can help develop new abilities and shape new experiences. Passion exists in every winner and every champion. Passion burns white hot inside of every peak performer no matter what field or area of expertise. You can make passion a way of life, the choice is yours.
Each and every day you face new challenges and how you react to those challenges determines your own destiny. Your response to the challenge of a new opportunity, the challenge of beating your previous best or the challenge to grow personally, the challenge to overcome adversity are all affected by the choice you make…………face them with passion or without. It’s not what happens but how you respond that makes the difference.
How do you know if you possess the type of passion that will support you in achieving the success you want?
A young man once asked Socrates how to attain great wisdom. Socrates took the young man down to the riverside and held his head underwater for several seconds. When he finally released the young man Socrates asked “What were you thinking while your head was under water?” “What did you desire”
The young man replied “Air, I wanted to breathe air”
Socrates said “When you want wisdom as badly as you wanted air just now, you will find wisdom”
That is the kind of desire and passion you must cultivate, a burning desire and passion for the things you want to achieve in all areas of your life. You can distinguish real passion from a mere wish by asking yourself these questions:
- “What are the obstacles and roadblocks I must overcome to reach my goal?”
- “What must I give in time and effort to overcome those obstacles?”
- “What are the rewards I will have when I have succeeded?”
- “Are those rewards worth what it will cost me in time and effort?”
Genuine passion knows no such word as impossible, no such reality as failure. With passion you become a magnet, attracting like minded people to you. Your enthusiasm is infectious and you begin to attract whatever it is you need to be successful.
If you would like to understand more about our series on The 6 Success Essentials or take a more comprehensive look at our Effective Personal Leadership programme please get in touch via success@orangeandblueaction.com
“Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power” Lao Tzu
E.M. Forster wrote “One person with passion is worth forty merely interested” If you think back to all the great advances made in life generally, through the arts, science, ethics, sport, business and politics over the centuries- they all started with one person’s passion and desire to change the status quo, that internal feeling that something needs to change.
Passion is that raw desire that has been controlled, focused and directed. It is the excitement, energy, the power and enthusiasm that propels you towards the goals you most want to achieve in life. Albert Einstein once wrote “I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.” As one of the worlds greatest physicists it served him well. Having talent obviously has it’s advantages but having passion is even more basic and creates its own opportunities. When you make passion a deliberate choice, a living philosophy it can become the source of new attitudes and habits, it can help develop new abilities and shape new experiences. Passion exists in every winner and every champion. Passion burns white hot inside of every peak performer no matter what field or area of expertise. You can make passion a way of life, the choice is yours.
Each and every day you face new challenges and how you react to those challenges determines your own destiny. Your response to the challenge of a new opportunity, the challenge of beating your previous best or the challenge to grow personally, the challenge to overcome adversity are all affected by the choice you make…………face them with passion or without. It’s not what happens but how you respond that makes the difference.
How do you know if you possess the type of passion that will support you in achieving the success you want?
A young man once asked Socrates how to attain great wisdom. Socrates took the young man down to the riverside and held his head underwater for several seconds. When he finally released the young man Socrates asked “What were you thinking while your head was under water?” “What did you desire”
The young man replied “Air, I wanted to breathe air”
Socrates said “When you want wisdom as badly as you wanted air just now, you will find wisdom”
That is the kind of desire and passion you must cultivate, a burning desire and passion for the things you want to achieve in all areas of your life. You can distinguish real passion from a mere wish by asking yourself these questions:
- “What are the obstacles and roadblocks I must overcome to reach my goal?”
- “What must I give in time and effort to overcome those obstacles?”
- “What are the rewards I will have when I have succeeded?”
- “Are those rewards worth what it will cost me in time and effort?”
Genuine passion knows no such word as impossible, no such reality as failure. With passion you become a magnet, attracting like minded people to you. Your enthusiasm is infectious and you begin to attract whatever it is you need to be successful.
If you would like to understand more about our series on The 6 Success Essentials or take a more comprehensive look at our Effective Personal Leadership programme please get in touch via success@orangeandblueaction.com
“Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power” Lao Tzu