I was visiting with a friend of mine who is in his late sixties. He has been in the trucking business for most of his adult life. In fact, he owns a trucking company. Now that he is getting a bit older, he has tried several times to sell the company. He has tried to sell it to his son and to a couple of old friends. Every time they started to take over, but because they don’t have his experience, they don’t know how to run the company, and he ends up taking it back. As we talked, he admitted that he loved the trucking business. He said, “The only way I will ever quit is if I go bankrupt.” My friend is passionate about what he does. Because of that passion he is good at it and successful.
I have another young friend who is in his early thirties. He doesn’t have a high school diploma let alone a college degree. He has had a few setbacks in life and was going to, out of desperation, try and get a job working in a coal mine. As I talked with him the other day, I asked him what he likes to do and what he thinks he is good at. He told me that no one had ever asked him that before and that he had no idea. A couple of days later I talked to him again, and he said he that likes to help people and make them laugh. So we talked about how to go that direction instead of a career as a coal miner.
These experiences remind me of on of my favorite sayings, “Many things in life will catch your eye, few will catch your heart. Pursue those” (Author Unknown). Many people spend their life stuck, taking what life gives them and trying to make the most of it. They rationalize that it is ok because they feel that they don’t have any choices. But they do have choices and so do you! You can do and be anything you choose. If there is one thing I have learned from life it is that when you choose to pursue your passions, you will be successful and happy.
My mother used to say, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That is a good positive attitude. But I like to take it a step further. I like to ask the question, “What if you don’t like lemonade?” Why not trade those lemons for oranges or grapes or apples. I would like to challenge each of you to discover your passions. Think about what you really enjoy doing. What do you feel strongly about? What kinds of things would you do if money was not an issue? What kinds of things would you do whether others thought you were ridiculous or not? After a lifetime of doing what you might think is the right thing to do and what you think you have to do, it may be hard to discover your passions. But give it some thought – find your passions! As Dale Carnegie once said, “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
Once you think of some things you are passionate about respond below. I would love to hear what you are passionate about!
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