Make Your Passion Follow YOU

The phrase ‘Follow your passion’ is among the top lazy clichés spoken by motivational speakers.

When I was a kid, my friends and I didn’t wait around for inspiration. We just did things out of curiosity, excitement, or simply because we felt like it. Success isn’t some destination you arrive at after a flash of passion. It’s a journey made up of small wins and failures, encompassing the good, the bad, and the ugly lessons from the school of life. Living fully is what makes us passionate.

Don’t sit around hoping passion will fall from the sky or smack you upside the head. Make your passion follow you. You don’t have to tap into some lofty purpose to start doing what you love. Remember Forrest Gump? “I just felt like running.” He didn’t need a mission statement. He just ran, and good things happened.

Ralph Waldo Emerson put i this wayt: Do the thing, and you will have the power. Michael Jordan, with help from Nike, said it too: Just do it. I’ll bet there were days Michael didn’t feel like practicing basketball. He did it anyway.

Stop waiting for a feeling or an inner voice. The wind blows on all of us, but you have to set your sail to catch it. You must be in motion before you can steer the boat.

“But if I could just feel it, then I’d know what to do with my life!” Really? Think of three things you did this past week that you enjoyed. Did you need inspiration or passion first? Probably not. You already know what you care about—you’re just ignoring it.

The problem usually isn’t a lack of passion. The problem is a lack of action.

Stephen King nailed it: Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, while the rest of us get up and go to work.

Get up. Get to work. Be productive on and off the job. Look for ways to create value for other people, and your passion will follow you, not the other way around.

I recently spoke with Terri Trespicio, whose TED Talk, “Stop Searching for Your Passion,” inspired me. I encourage you to watch her short video—it might change the way you think about passion forever.