Where Passion Comes From
Passion is longing to be what you could be, but aren’t.
Passion for leadership is the combination of falling below your imagined leadership potential and longing for exceptional leadership – at the same time.
The gap between longing and attainment is passion.
You:
ABC’s of finding your passion:
- Accept disappointing performance. You read leadership books, blogs, and articles because you long to be better. You aren’t there yet. Pain gives birth of passion.
- Believe improvement is possible and worthwhile. Hope makes you bold.
- Create a Picture of the preferred future. Think about ultimate goals not the process. You aren’t sure how to get there. But, when you close your eyes and dream, you see the end.
- Deliberate steps – action. The whole path is never clear but a step is always possible.
Others:
People fuel our passion when they make us feel we matter.
Recently, people fueled my passion, again. It happened during a presentation to a group of Human Resource professionals.
I paced the back of the room like a caged animal while announcements were made. A participant came back and said, “Can I do anything to make you more comfortable?” I’m not sure if my pacing invited the question but it made me feel I mattered.
A participant asked me to sign their program. I felt awkward and didn’t respond well. “Really?” I said. I regret saying that. After reflection, it makes me feel I matter.
About half-way through my presentation, someone asked, “What’s the future for you, Dan?” That wasn’t the topic. I almost brushed it off. Instead I gave a short reply and moved on. It made me feel I mattered.
Leaders make others feel they matter.
Any fool can make others feel they don’t matter.
Passion – the courage to act on dreams – comes from within and without.
How are you making people feel they matter?
Where does your passion come from?
Reblogged this on Ashishtandon's Blog_The traveling Salesman and commented:
Pure unadulterated passion is the critical ingredient that separates the leaders from simple managers.
Passion gives the leaders courage of conviction, the ability to drive through with their innovative thinking and ideas, and surf through turbulent times with immaculate ease and Succeed in the end!!
I also think passion is being totally immersed in the task at hand.
I love when that happens. Thanks
Love this statement!
Gonna try to keep this as simple as it is.
We feel as a result of the thoughts we choose to string together.
We have a thought, then if we choose to repeat it over and over feeling results.
Passion can be felt so if one wants to feel passion be the gatekeeper of your thoughts.
This is absolute, along with death and human stupidity. Works the same for everyone, all the time. Your thoughts are yours as are your feelings.
What happens lots of times is people use this absolute to blame their feelings on others or anything outside themselves. “I feel this way cause my Mommy did not love me enough as a child.” “I feel this way cause the Tornado ruined my house.”
Blah blah blah. Works in reverse, I feel great cause I made that deal, feel great cause I won he lottery. Loti-Dah!!!!!
No, no, no. You feel that way because of the thoughts you strung together about the things you perceive happened outside of you. That is how human beings feel good or bad, period.
Want to feel passion? Understand yourself and how your brain works and find thoughts that will produce passion if you choose to repeat those thoughts together.
It really is that simple and does not work any other way.
If you disagree you are doing THAT with the same thought process I am describing. You getting it yet?
I Concur!
Shifterp Out!
Thanks Scott. It’s odd to me that we can think things we don’t believe. As a matter of fact, thinking something is true in order to make it true is thinking something we don’t believe. For example…
I think I matter.. I think I matter … I think I matter can be a response to believing we don’t matter.
Emotion is response to perceived reality not simply our thoughts. Think about the feelings you feel while watching movies. We feel fear or joy based on perceived reality, even though our brains tell us it isn’t real.
Thinking matters but there’s more to feelings than thinking.
Hi Dan not sure why you feel it’s odd we can think thoughts we do not believe. Happens all the time, everyday, all the time. The thinker machine has no governor!!!! Works with whatever is allowed in!!! Once we get that we can be the governor if we choose! Or not so much!
Of course there is more to it. Napolean Hills book is more than a few sentences. Oh yeah his title of the macDaddy book on Success…..Think and Grow Rich. Wonder why Nap chose Think as the first word in the title. Hmmm.
Also according to Anthony Robbins we can use repeated thoughts to learn to believe. Nuerolinguistic programming is quite interesting. Ever hear people say, act as if? Can’t ACT till ya think it first.
Out thoughts are what lead to our emotion, they connect us there. Our brain is a thought connecting machine.
My point is YES we feel when we watch a movie knowing it is not real and when we say we see something that we tell ourselves is real….we did that exactly the same way. That is exactly my point.
There is absolutely no confusion on how we take in info, process it, believe it, act in it ect ect ect.
Dudes and dudettes much smarter than me already figured that stuff out a long time ago.
Only difference is choosing to understand it, taking the responsibilty that my life is the sum of my thoughts, which sadly most people don’t, they choose to blame anything outside them but never themselves.
Once heard there are three kinds of people People that make things happen. People that watch what happens. And those that wonder what happened. Hehe
So yes Dan there is much more all I have done here is hope to share the starting point. Yes more but the starting point aka thinking is not up for debate. Fact.
People have their right to their own opinions but not to their own facts.
Change your life, change your thoughts, only way to start.
Hope that helps to clarify.
SP Out!
What an important and poignant blog Dan. I have often responded the same way (really!?) to someone’s care or attention to me. It is a shortcoming of mine and, for me, is a reflection of the fact that I dont receive well. I believe we all deeply crave knowing that we matter. That knowing ignites us.
Thanks for your candor. Best wishes for the journey.
Hi Dan,
I love this! it speaks to me on so many levels. Worked my way up the leadership chain and then some business decisions were made that left me “jobless”. Luckily my company sees the value of great leadership and decided to create a business within our business entirely dedicated to the development of leaders and asked me to be part of the team.
Although I am considered one of the more senior leaders in the company, I often question whether or not I’m still a leader….you know the old saying…”Those who can do, those who can’t teach.” Sometimes I think – “If I only knew then what I know now I would be awesome!”
This article reminded me that I am still a leader and developing my own skills. I will hopefully be the Business Leader of this business within a year, but with what I am currently doing I’m “bridging the gap” in a very different, but important way.
Thanks for writing!
Congratulations for your achievements and continued passion to matter more. Keep bringing yourself to opportunities and challenges.
A very provocative blog today, Dan!
As much as I love this definition, for me, it begs a further question of whether or not we have passion when we achieve the goal we were passionate about?
Your comment/question suggests passion is about something more than goals. It seems it must be. Plus, I think passions evolve as we grow. I used to be passion about one thing…now I’m passionate about another. Thanks for poking the box.
Those who continue to have passion find new gaps between what is and what could be. ???
Happy Saturday ,Dan! First I want to say I LOVE you blog. I have known of you for quite some time but recently took notice when two friends I admire tweeted your blog out– Bob Burg and Skip Prichard.
Bob and Skip are two people I admire greatly, and so I was curious of finding out what your blog was all about.The last month have been receiving your blog daily and enjoy the intellectual and stimulating conversations here.
Today’s Blog Post: I find this statement: “It made me feel I mattered.” to give one a very perspicacious understanding of a saying Les Brown always uses. Les always says,” there are times in our lives that we need to believe in the belief that someone else has in us, until the belief in ourselves kicks in.
Lets face it,we are all human. Sometimes we feel important and sometimes we wonder if we are. It is nice to feel we are important to others. It is nice to know that what we have to say and the contributions we make are making a difference.
In personal development leadership most of get into the field to make a difference. It is nice to know that we do. It then feeds are Passion to continue doing what we do.
Please forgive the typos.I wish I had an edit button. As the mistakes “are” (for lack of a better term) driving me crazy.:O)
Great post. I needed to read something fresh, rather than the regurgitated leadership gospel some leaders and pretenders tend to just recite. Your article is believable, and transcends field or occupation. To me, that speaks volumes when considering a leader.
People can be aware of the skills required to be a good leader, but if you can’t execute them with a believable sincerity you may as will give up.
So, Dan, what is your passion? What IS the future for you? You matter to many!
Dan,
Passion comes out of our Purpose & Goal. You added lot of value in my evolving . with gratitude. vskumar. Mumbai.India
Dear Dan,
An interesting post. Passion comes when you realize that you have a right aptitude and the liking for a particular field. Your interest coupled with small achievements and praise makes you more keen to pursue the things what you enjoy the most.
Good leaders identify the hidden talents in their followers with a close observation and the dialogue. They delegate independent responsibilities that each one is passionate about and encourage them to perform by providing an operational freedom. The results are obvious beyond expectations and in the process you are creating future leaders with core strengths which are time-tested.
I feel ‘passion’ is the key to success and the pace of success will depend on the environment that a leader has created for you to innovate and excel.
This is true even for parents to help build children’s career by spotting the passion in children at an early stage and provide full support & encouragement for them to achieve what they aspire.
Love this, Dan. Deep down, we all know what our passions are. Time to get busy pursuing them!
It’s always the little things that matter the most, to make one feel… mattered ! The word passion feels so diluted, every person & their
poodle use it to convey a drive !!
Enjoyed reading your post! I think my passion is definitely driven by my dreams, and the life that I hope to live. I can see the end like you said, and I can at least take one step!
Hello Dan,
I love this! Passion is a driving force to achieve more and to not settle in one place. There is always room for growth and improvement and your passion will help you get there!