Passion

In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter exactly what you do during your lifetime as long as you are passionate about it. From my experience, passion always leads to happiness; for example when I am passionate about my next project like starting this blog or making my next video, I am also the most cheerful person you can find. Additionally, the more passion and energy I let out onto the project, the better it becomes, which in turn makes others happy (hopefully). So, essentially, I am making others happy by making myself happy. How awesome is that?

Before you continue reading I wanted to write the exact definition of the word ‘passion' from the Oxford English Dictionary: “a strong and barely controllable emotion.” Which is the energy I let out onto a project.

Now here are some of my favourite quotes on the subject.

"Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless." ∼Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is a very successful businessman and this quote probably refers to the hiring process of an employee. I agree with him. When searching for someone to hire, I wasn’t looking for someone who could do what I wanted them to do. I was searching for someone who shared the same vision that I did. Who wanted help others as much as I did. Who wanted to succeed as much as I did. Who had the same amount of passion as I did. On the one hand, I could’ve hired someone who would’ve just mindlessly done exactly what I told them to. But what if I wanted their help in coming up with a new idea for the next project? Or for example, would they have told me their opinion on a subject before I explicitly asked them to? I don’t think so. I must say, it is extremely hard to find someone who fits perfectly with what you want as a partner or employee. That’s probably why Gary V. says it’s “priceless.” On the other hand, if someone shares the same passion as you when working together, it is no longer “I tell you to do this and you do it” or “what is the next thing to do for this project?” The person starts to take the initiative on things and doesn’t absolutely NEED your help on every step. You automatically have an emotional bond with that person and you want to help each other, like for example speaking your opinion on a subject or trying to bring more ideas to the table. Metaphorically speaking, it is much harder to show someone the train tracts, tell them exactly when the train will arrive, exactly what they will need for the trip, and what to do on the trip than to tell them you need something done in another city and they come up with everything they need on their own. Through this, we can deduce that passion leads to creativity.

"My passion and fire run deep through my veins, my blood, there’s no doubt about that." ∼Carolyn Aronson

Carolyn Aronson is an entrepreneur and philanthropist in the hair styling industry. This quote has a lot to do with the definition of passion. It is a deep energy that flows through your entire body. I always base my decisions on this energy. It is exactly as she describes it. A ‘fire’. Whenever there is a decision to be made in my life I always go with the one that gives me a more energetic and emotional reaction to it. For example, whenever I think about the things I want to achieve in life, my exact goals, I feel an extreme adrenaline rush in my entire body. It isn’t just a burst of energy like you feel after having ten cubes of sugar. It is an energy so deep coming from my core that suddenly surges through my entire being. My body feels like a star that is about to explode, sometimes so much so that my mind goes blank. It is the most joyous feeling I can have. There is another quote that is also very similar to what I am describing.

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you." ∼Oprah Winfrey

It literally is absolute power. I love this quote. Imagine drinking six coffees all at once and then going for a run with 10,000 people cheering you on. That is the amount of energy and happiness you get by doing the things you are passionate about.

"The presence of passion within you is the greatest gift you can receive. Treat it as a miracle." ∼Wayne Dyer

This is one of the things about society today that saddens me. People go to a job that they don’t love for the sole reason of earning money to be able to have “fun" on weekends. If they were doing the things they loved for 100% of the time they were working, they wouldn’t NEED to have fun. Imagine going to work every single day and feeling exactly what I just described. I am absolutely sure that almost none of you feel it. I do. I don’t earn much, but I am extremely happy. It really is the greatest gift you can receive. But the problem is, most people don’t even know what their passion is.

"We all have a gift; we all have a passion - it’s just about finding it and going into it. Being an asset to your family and community." ∼Angela Bassett

‘It’s just about finding it and going to it.’ In my opinion, the way of finding the thing you love is by imagining the situation in which money is no issue, and you have all the time in the world. What would you do for the rest of your life? Now all you have to do is find out how you can help others with it. I am so lucky that I already found mine at a young age. When I read this quote, I immediately thought of another of my favourite quotes.

"The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away." ∼David Viscott

Find the thing that makes you the happiest. Then find out how you can benefit others with it. Maybe it’s entertaining someone, maybe it’s teaching someone, maybe it’s curing someone’s sickness, maybe it’s creating something that someone else can decorate their house with, maybe it’s creating music.

I don’t know what you love. You decide.