How do you find your passion? Can I become a billionaire with my passion? How do I build a business around my passion? Why do I need to find my passion? Can I start a business and achieve success with my passion? How can my passion help me become a millionaire?
These are usually the questions thrown at me whenever I discussing the importance of finding your passion.
If any of these questions is running through your mind at the moment; I
will suggest you read on as I have provided the answers you need.
“This is the reason why I stay up twenty hours a day.” – Sean Diddy Combs
Why do you need to find your passion?
I don’t really know the conventional answer to this
question but I will express myself in my own way. Success coaches and
experts recommend you find and follow your passion in life because following your passion increases your chances of success; whether in business, workplace or personal obligation.
“Work hard; have fun, Make history.” – Jeff Bezos
For me, I believe that sticking to your passion eliminates the boredom and stress associated with making your life a success. Now with respect to starting a business; I will say sticking with your passion will reduce your chances of business failure. I often advise my protégés to start or build a business around their passion because it’s a great way to start; provided the passion satisfies a demand and my reason is this: “it takes passion and determination to successfully go through the entrepreneurial process.”
“It’s not really work; if you are having fun.” – Pierre Omidyar
Following your passion brings out your personal power and awakens yourself to the beauty of the world. It leads you to the heart of spiritual journey as it changes your thoughts, perceptions, and feelings. Finding your passion does not promise an easy life; rather, it promises a rich life open to hopes and possibility.
“Without passion, you don’t have energy. Without energy, you have nothing.” – Warren Buffett
Are there individuals who have found success following their passion? My answer is a resounding yes. Tiger Woods starts playing golf at the age of 3 and turned pro at the age of 20. As at the time of this writing; he is the richest sports person, the first billionaire golfer and the greatest golfer of all time. Serena and Venus Williams also achieved success by sticking with their passion for Tennis.
“You are nuts and you should be proud of it. Stick with what you believe in.” – Trip Hawkins
Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson and Celine Dion took their passion for music to the streets and became the greatest in Rap, Pop and blues respectively. Rachael Ray leveraged her passion for cooking and became a success; so also did Debbi Fields. J. K. Rowling leveraged her passion for writing and became a billionaire.
“You
have to have passion when you’re finding a recipe for a career. If you
love what you are doing, you’ll never work a day in your life.” – Debbi Fields
Warren Buffett, Sir John Templeton, Peter Lynch and George Soros became billionaires with their passion for stock investing while Donald Trump did his with real estate investing. Larry Ellison, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg leveraged their passion for software programming and became the richest drop out billionaires. Oprah Winfrey became the richest black woman in the world with her passion for public speaking; so also did Martha Stewart.
"Passion is what drives me forward. Passion is what makes me go to bed at 2am and wake up at 6am.” - Aliko Dangote
This list can go on and on but I believe the point is made that your passion can take you to the greatest heights; if only you can find it and harness it. Now how do you find your passion? In this article, I will restrict myself to helping you find your passion. I will explain in detail how to build a business around your passion in subsequent articles but we have to start from somewhere; which is how to find your passion. Below are six easy steps to finding your passion.
How to Find Your Passion in Six Easy Steps
1. Speak your truths clearly
To find your passion, you must speak your truths
and prepare yourself for new adventures. Finding your passion begins
with you answering these questions.
What really matters to you?
What truly makes you happy?
What drives you crazy?
What do you do best?
And what makes you feel complete?
Once you begin challenging your mind with these
questions, your mind will provide the answers and once you have figured
out the answers, you are on your way to finding your passion.
“Whether you’ve found your calling, or if you’re still searching, passion should be the fire that drives your life’s work.” – Michael Dell
2. Be open for support
You must also keep in mind that you are not an isolated being. Sometimes in life, it takes external influence and inspiration to find your passion. Therefore you need the support of family, friends and positive minded social circle that will help you reach your goals.
“Be careful of the environment you choose for it will shape you. Be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.” – W. Clement Stone
3. Keep an open mind
You need to keep an open mind to find your passion.
When you open up your senses, you tend to experience God’s blessings
and you feel more peaceful and serene. This allows you to be more
patient and be reminded the cycle of nature. When you experience this,
you become more positive and calm.
Keeping an open mind allows you to observe your environment and how it relates to you. One thing you must note is this; you might not be the one to discover your passion.
Someone else might and you need an open mind to take note of such.
Observe the traits and talent you possess that your friends and family
admire a lot.
“You
are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will
best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of
its environment. Are the things around you helping you towards success?
Or are they holding you back? – W. Clement Stone
For instance, Debbi Fields was constantly praised by her family and friends because of her ability to bake delicious cookies;
and she was able to respond positively to those compliments by starting
a business around that passion. If Debbi Fields hadn’t kept an open
mind, I don’t think Mrs. Field’s Cookies will be in existence today.
“You
know, all these years, all these years you’ve been eating my cookies.
All these years you’ve been telling me how wonderful they are. Well,
I’ve decided I’m going to go into the cookie business.” – Debbi Fields
4. Give yourself a time for pleasure
How do you feel waking up in the morning away from
busy schedules and having the freedom to do the things that bring you
pleasure? Well, following your passion can put you in such state of mind and lifestyle.
“I get to do what I like to do every single day of the year.” – Warren Buffett
To find your passion, you must
allow yourself a time for pleasure. For many people, allowing pleasures
induces guilt as they tend to feel it is not productive and hinders you
from getting important things accomplished. But this view of pleasure is
actually a matter of opinion.
Gentle pleasures are good to your health and are productive. By allowing yourself time for pleasure, you become more focused and passionate in your job. Most importantly, you will have the right aura to decide what’s best for you and what your passion is.
5. Liberate yourself
A person who finds his or her passion is a truly wise person. Doing a work that reflects your personality and values promises you a lifelong happiness and contentment.
It is easier and liberating when we accept who we are and we allow
other people to accept us too. The human psyche is a holistic system, to
numb one part of our being is to numb the rest and create constant
struggle.
“Remain true to yourself and your philosophy.” – Giorgio Armani
To be able to discover and harness your passion, you must accept and appreciate who you are. I have seen people with talents that seem weird to others; I have also seen people with gifts that are psychic in nature but they get rejected by the society.
While in high school, I recall meeting a little
girl who could tell you private things about your life just by simply
looking your palm. I can’t really tell how she came about such ability
but all I can say is that she was regarded as an outcast by her peers;
she was called a sorcerer.
I also noticed in high school that most gifted kids
are usually lonely; kids with artistic abilities or computer geeks are
usually the loneliest. But I have also seen such kids who stuck with
their passion not minding the jeering and booing, rise to become
successful individuals. So don’t be discouraged when others laugh at
your ability; instead, be proud of yourself and vow to positively
utilize such abilities to its fullest.
"Do
you know that within your power lies every step you ever dreamed of
stepping and within your power lies every joy you ever dreamed of
seeing? Within yourself lies everything you ever dreamed of being.
Become everything that God wants you to be. It is within your reach.
Dare to grow into your dreams and claim this as your motto: Let it be
me." – Mary Kay Ash
6. Feed yourself with affirmations
“Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” – Proverbs 18:21
“A man is what he thinks all day long.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Positive affirmations are important to
finding your passion in life as it makes you feel secure and optimistic
about reaching your goals. A lot of people don’t get to their
destinations out of fear of failure. You should not allow yourself to
get upset by some downturns in life; instead, pull yourself together and
get on track again.
“There
is little difference in people but that little difference makes big
difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is
whether it is positive or negative.” – W. Clement Stone
“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:45, Matthew 12:34
Some people might influence you into thinking
negatively. I know it may not be so easy to shut them out of your life
but it’s easier to practice blocking the negative energies that they
bring into your life; it keeps your sanity. Never ever allow cynics and
naysayers get the best of you. Remember, you are unique and you have a
purpose or mission here on earth; so it’s up to you to find this
purpose.
“Be careful of your thought, for they may break into words.” – Anonymous
“As a man thinketh in his heart; so he is.” – The Holy Bible
As a final note, I want you to know that finding your passion is an endless song; an ever going process. You don’t just find your passion and sit there; instead, you find your passion and make something worthwhile out of it.
“I
had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t
sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” – Madame C. J. Walker
When you do the things that you are passionate
about, you allow your life to flourish. You let yourself connect to
everything you are – in mind, in heart, and in spirit. When you find and follow your passion, you emerge a stronger person that can face challenges better; because you are reinforced by being able to do the things you love.
By finding your passion and sticking to it;
you feel more alive, positive, self-respecting, and determined. You
live your life with confidence and high morale and the best of it all is
that you feel you are contributing goodness and positivism to the people in your life. So I challenge you to get up, find your passion and make it a reality. I will see you at the top.
Written by Ajaero Tony Martins
Ajaero Tony Martins is a serial entrepreneur and investor with several successful companies in his portfolio. He does business in one of the world’s toughest environment and has an audacious goal to become a billionaire in his life time.
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