What a Great Gift .... Passion!

"A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position."  

This is one of my favorite all time quotes and when I am feeling like I am spinning circles or going through unnecessary challenges in life... this is the quote that reminds me that having a passion for something is a great gift.   Passion allows us to excel on both a personal and professional level.   Passion is contagious and others see it and they want it.

Passion is giving more of yourself and letting your love for something shine through whether in work, personal or everyday occurrences.   Passion is being yourself and doing what you do best and allowing your energy to show in your effort and ultimately in the results.  Often, I think that many of us go through our daily lives without ever knowing such a passion.  For me, I am one of the lucky ones and I know how fortunate I am to truly enjoy being in the industry I am in, doing something that I REALLY love to do and...  to add icing on the cake... love the people that I get to work with on a daily basis.   Honestly, most of them have become life-long friends that I enjoy sharing my life with every single day.     

For me... I have a passion for people and relationships.  I love the challenge of creating unique opportunities that allows people to engage and work together to get business done.  I love being able to take a single idea and put forth all my effort, passion and dedication in it to develop, create and implement it into something viable and successful.  I hope that through-out my career if there's one legacy that I am known for is that my passion has shown in every single opportunity that I have been a part.   Passion is what comes from inside and if you have that then you have something very special to share with the world.

I've been to many conferences over the years and sat in on many keynotes speeches and panels.  There have been a few that really made me sit on the edge of my seat and take notice.   These individuals truly had a passion for who they were, what they were doing and why I should even want to listen to their story.  Honestly, they made me want whatever it was that they had... it was magnetic.   At most conferences, they provide you with a networking hour in between sessions, so I took advantage and approached these individuals... and what surprised me the most was that their answer was the same.  They love what they do... they are passionate about it and believe in it with all their heart.  I realized in that particular moment... that I would no longer just "settle" for working everyday.  I wanted to love it to the point that even on the worst of days... I knew why I was there and what I was working toward.

Have you ever been to a sporting event and watched a player with great skill, but he simply had no passion?  He knew he was good... but, it felt like his heart wasn't in it.   At the same time, have you seen a player who may not have been the best on the team... but he had the heart of a champion?    He had fire and passion.  He loved the sport, the game and it shone so bright, it blinded you by his love of it.  His effort and attitude and passion were contagious.  You wanted this player to win and excel. 

In today's economic situation, many people are just grateful to have a job to go to every day.   If you're one of the lucky ones like me and have the gift of being passionate about your job, school, life.....share it with a smile and share it often.   Motivating another person might just change their life.

Passion... is a gift from within and when you find it for something in your life... enjoy it.  It's the best feeling in the world.