Identifying your passion is pretty important. Passion, as in having or developing a passion for you do is recognised as an essential for success in all of the best-known books on the subject of being an entrepreneur. All of the motivational speakers and “gurus” also cite passion as the key to their success and longevity. It got them where they are and it keeps them there. So aside from buying all the books and going to all the events, can we create a passion for something if we don’t feel it?
For me its easiest to compare things from my own experience and I find that everything is comparable to something else. Passion is no different. I’m thinking about my first real passion, the guitar. I’m a good guitar player now but it took me a long time to learn – I’m still learning – and it was passion – a passionate desire to be as good or better than players that inspired me to persevere when there were many times I felt like just giving up.
Learning to play any instrument is difficult. It’s uncomfortable, unnatural and takes tons of practice and perseverance to get to a point where you start to sound good. There’s the simple mechanics of the thing for a start: Learning where to put your fingers, learning musical rules, scales, chords etc. Then there is the gradual process of getting it all to sound natural and harmonious.
Passion is the key to success
It’s the same with learning anything really. If you don’t have passion – a burning desire to get to your goal – whether that be playing an instrument or mastering digital marketing – the chances are you won’t make it. You’ll lose focus and give up.
So really, for me at least, passion comes from that burning desire to get where you want to be. If you have that then all the stuff in between is just a case of taking one step at a time. With the guitar you start with a few chords that sound good, perfect the fingering and execution of those then move on to the next thing. Same goes for digital marketing – piece by piece it starts to fall into place.
Passion is very contagious
Having role models and mentors is also a great benefit because passion is contagious. It’s what gets you inspired in the first place – what makes you buy into what they are saying. I sometime marvel at how people who I consider as mentors can talk so quickly and for so long without pausing for breath – it’s passion what for what they do that creates that though.
It’s almost as if they are so bursting with the need to share their passion that they just have to get it all out there – to stress the strength of their belief in what they do and what they can teach.
Another big lesson for me with the guitar thing and indeed with digital marketing is that money in itself is not a great motivator – it shouldn’t be the primary goal. If you decide to learn a musical instrument with the goal of becoming rich and famous from it, trust me, you stand a very good chance of starving no matter how good you become !
The Power of Identifying Your Passion
For almost all successful people the financial reward has been almost a by-product of their success. It was the passion to achieve a greater goal that drove them. For musicians it’s the goal of creating something artistically great and for the digital entrepreneur it’s usually the goal of being masters of their own destiny. In both cases a huge passion is self-evident. They are prepared to fail many times but see that as progress, a necessary part of the process. They keep on keeping on.
My own passion to learn guitar led me to a lot of adventures. I collaborated with loads of great musicians and have a legacy of musical recordings I am proud of. It allowed me to travel widely and play in front of people and best of all it’s how I met my life partner. Identifying your passion might come early in life or later but it brings great things when you do it.
My current passion is to create an individual lifestyle through digital marketing and I have some great mentors, colleagues and partners whose passion keeps me learning, keeps me inspired to not stop till I get there. You can meet them by clicking on the link below and signing up for some free videos that will show you what a passion for cutting your own path can do.
