Five years ago, I had a couple of friends who would come by my place to jam. With guitars and portable amps, they would arrive at seven in the evening. We would catch up a bit before kicking off our sort of rehearsal with “Hosanna”, a song by Brooke Ligertwood, and play a couple more pieces. That makes three songs in a row, played and sung on repeat mode. Call it passion in action.
These sessions went on for almost two weeks and every single night, we’d finish past midnight. No breaks but just focused work and the occasional exchange of ideas on how we can deliver better. My roommate would quip, “You guys are definitely in the zone. Anybody could see it”!
In the zone. Wow! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to experience that every single time? Unfortunately, we don’t.
Many people don’t get to find their passion as easily as maybe you and I. So for us, we have a responsibility to keep it alive and burning. To have the constant eagerness to strike while the iron is hot.
A good friend of mine told me once, “If you stop singing, you’re going to explode. So don’t ever think about quitting”. She was right. When I did quit, I exploded.
Letting go of your passion, may not cause you to burst into pieces as fast as fireworks vanishing into thin air. But slowly it will leave you dry, dull and bored. Imagine a canvass with nothing on it, no lines, no shapes, no color, just plain, white, empty space.
Yours can be the hand of a painter who could bring colours to life.
Yours can even be the wits of a comic who could make people laugh with peculiar jokes.
Yours can be the words of a poet who could melt any maiden’s heart with a lyrical prose.
Whatever that passion is, you are alive because of it. It’s your GIFT, and it will lead you to you’re unique CALLING.
We are all pieces of a puzzle. If we don’t fit in our piece, the whole puzzle will never be put together. Think about it, in God’s grand design, you are part of it. Quite a responsibility isn’t it? But quite an honor too!
Friend, my desire for you is to find your passion. Nurture it, and share it with the rest of the world. We’ve waited long enough for you.
“How do I find my passion”? You ask.
Get to know your self.
Explore the many things you’re curious about.
Try. Make mistakes, and fail forward.
Be true to who you are. Stop pretending to be someone else. Stop living somebody else’s life.
Go out there. Get out of your comfort zone.
Get a coach, a mentor or have a role model.
Talk to people you trust and ask them what they think are you good at.
Take heed of compliments freely given to you.
Fill a gap, a void, a lack, or solve a need, a problem, or answer a call.
And to nurture it?
Find your tribe.
Focus on your WHY.
Yes, it’s always hard at the start. There are many roads out there and it can be confusing and frustrating. But the one who searches, the one who looks, will have increased his chance of finding his true north.
Passion. Let it burn you. Leave a glow or better, dazzle the world!
