“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say and say it hot.”  D.H. Lawrence  “Every man without passions has within him no principle of action, nor motive to act.” Claude A. Helvetius   “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” Anthony J D'Angelo

Passion is the Antidote

 The dictionary defines passion as “a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object or concept.”  I define passion to mean a deep caring, caring enough about something to stick with it in the good times and the bad.  When you are truly passionate about something people will hear it, they will see it and when they are with you they will feel your passion.  The passion becomes a fire burning brightly from within you.

 Passion is the antidote to the “I Can’t” syndrome.  In this incredible, abundant world in which we live there seem to be an awful lot of people giving into the “I Can’t” syndrome.  These are the people that try something once, or never at all, and then they say “I can’t.”  “I can’t sing.”  “I can’t sell.”  “I can’t speak in public.”  “I can’t ask for a raise.”  “I can’t move up in life.”  “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t……”  They’re right you know.  One symptom of the insidious “I Can’t” syndrome is that we begin to believe it ourselves and once we believe we can’t do something, we go about proving ourselves right. 

So where does passion come in?  When we experience true passion for something we become an unstoppable force.  We stop wasting precious time thinking of reasons why we can’t and, like a bulldozer, we begin to push aside the obstacles in our path. 

People with passion still experience fear, that clutching in the chest that makes them think of taking the easy road out by saying “I can’t”, but they don’t give up.  Why?  Because of their passion.  Because when they want to give up their passion overrides their fear. 

What can passion do for you?  When a person is passionate about something they are on fire and their fire can light a fire for others around them.  Are you passionate about your work?  Do you represent a product that you could passionately promote and watch it fly off the shelves?  Are you passionate about your friends and family?  Do they feel your passion?  Passion in your life can be like icing on an already delicious cake making it even better. 

How do you become passionate?  Start by letting yourself feel passionate about something, anything.  Challenge yourself today to feel deeply and passionately about at least one thing.  I love the exuberance of youth.  My daughter will frequently say things like “this was the best day of my life.”  Try living in the moment, passionately savoring your life.  As I write these words I am sitting outside listening to birds singing and my daughter playing beautiful floating music on the piano.  I feel a soft breeze on my skin.  I almost feel as though I can sense the turning of the earth.  I am passionate about life.  I love to drink in each moment and savor it on my tongue. 

I am also passionate about helping others to experience the unparalleled joy of having passion for life.  It’s a funny thing about passion, it grows.  When you begin feeling passionate about something or someone you will find that your feelings for other parts of your life and other people will grow as well.  

What are you going to begin feeling truly passionate about today?  Feed that fire inside and begin to spread that flame.  There’s a whole world out there that needs to feel the warmth of your fire of passion.  Live with passion!   

To Your Continued Success,

Janice MadariagaJ