How To Enliven Your Passion to Guide Your Career
Originally published on Iris.
There’s no one-size-fits all for discovering and following your passion. If you ask, some people are born with it driving every step of their lives. Some people say it just happened to them one day; they couldn’t ignore it after being put in a situation where they were faced with it. And some people find it along the way after they try, see or learn something new.
After listening to four very different stories from four very passionate people, I’ve compiled some ways you can enliven a passion lying dormant within you.
1. Search within yourself
Jade Simmons is a rock concert pianist. Oh, you didn’t know those existed? That’s because they didn’t until she invented a new genre of music to speak to her soul. She grew up playing the classical piano and ended up training at a top University. She spent her whole life working towards playing in a symphony and learning the “proper” way to use music.
But she also had her own musical interests outside of her “job.” During self-reflection she had an ah-ha moment—”won’t I be my best self if I’m doing what makes me happiest?”
It wasn’t until she broke away from the norm that she found her true passion. She has created a hybrid music genre that is completely hers and allows her to spread her motivational message while expressing herself fully. She travels the world encouraging others to be their unique selves to make the world a more magical and passionate place.
2. Try new things and search out new education
Scott Harrison had a very different journey to find his passion. He was working as a nightclub promoter in New York when the fast life of the party scene finally caught up to him. He was at a breaking point and didn’t know how to get back to being the person he wanted to be.
So, he educated himself. He researched charities, opportunities to give back, and nonprofits. He finally found a charity that took him to Africa on a trip to bring medical aid to those in need. While he was there he realized the people he met had little access to clean drinking water.
This experience brought him to his life’s work, charity:water, a completely transparent charity that makes clean water accessible to people in remote villages.
3. Examine what’s going right in your life
Bert and John Jacobs are brothers who were raised to see the good in life. They were selling shirts out of the back of their van, traveling the country on top ramen and the small profit from their shirt sales. Along their travels they saw how people responded to their shirts with the phrase “Life is Good” on them. It brought smiles to their customers’ faces and people were happy to buy them.
With no experience in business they launched the Life is Good company with the core principles being optimism and resilience. They created a Life is Good Kids Foundation that donates 10% of their annual profits to bettering children’s lives.
These four individuals found very different passions in very different ways. Whatever your passion may be it’s time you awaken it within you. Try these approaches to see if anything lights your fire.
Written in partnership with BigSpeak.