I’m a big
believer in passion and how it contributes to people's success. So much so, I developed a
seminar called The Power of Passion encouraging others to identify and follow their passions. Research shows it plays a big part in
one’s overall satisfaction with a chosen career, hobby, or other endeavor. If one is passionate about their pursuits they
are likely to stick with them - until they get good at them. Even
though I’m a proponent of passion; I’m
also a myth buster of it's significance. Passion alone will
not make one successful. It will not
cause one to achieve one’s goal. An
astrophysicist must know trigonometry to be good at this craft. He can’t build
a rocket ship with his passion. A
musician doesn’t win grammies because she’s passionate about music but because
she’s talented, practiced and accomplished as a musician. Likewise, if a
student is passionate about learning but doesn’t complete homework assignments
or show up for tests, he won't do very well in school.
When our passion is coupled with performance we have a proven recipe for success. And in order to achieve high performance one must have skills and knowledge; competencies and strengths. A friend of mine learned this first hand when he decided to change the brakes on his car – himself. He was passionate about doing it and he did it. He didn’t realize he had missed a crucial step until he was driving slammed into the rear end of another car. As he put it, that set off “a series of unfortunate events.” He learned that even though he was excited and confident about completing this task, he didn’t have the know-how to do it successfully. He hadn’t taken the time and spent the effort learning how to do it. He didn’t have a skilled professional show him how, either.
Clients have told me: “Angela, I was promoted because my employer saw passion and potential in me.” I don’t doubt that. Additionally, their knowledge, performance and reliability contributed to their success in those positions. The transition from potential to results is imperative. One of my clients is currently struggling because she’s worried that her passion will no longer be enough to sustain her at work. The boss who hired her for her passion is moving to a new role. Her new manager expects higher performance from her. She will have to produce consistently in order to keep her job!
Can passion lead you to make greater effort and try harder? Can it motivate you to be tenacious and dedicated? Sure; that’s the role of passion in your success! It doesn’t replace or override all else. Most of us know that hugely successful people like Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, and Richard Branson weren't immediately successful at everything they attempted. Nevertheless, they took their passion and transformed it into continual effort with impeccable results.
When our passion is coupled with performance we have a proven recipe for success. And in order to achieve high performance one must have skills and knowledge; competencies and strengths. A friend of mine learned this first hand when he decided to change the brakes on his car – himself. He was passionate about doing it and he did it. He didn’t realize he had missed a crucial step until he was driving slammed into the rear end of another car. As he put it, that set off “a series of unfortunate events.” He learned that even though he was excited and confident about completing this task, he didn’t have the know-how to do it successfully. He hadn’t taken the time and spent the effort learning how to do it. He didn’t have a skilled professional show him how, either.
Clients have told me: “Angela, I was promoted because my employer saw passion and potential in me.” I don’t doubt that. Additionally, their knowledge, performance and reliability contributed to their success in those positions. The transition from potential to results is imperative. One of my clients is currently struggling because she’s worried that her passion will no longer be enough to sustain her at work. The boss who hired her for her passion is moving to a new role. Her new manager expects higher performance from her. She will have to produce consistently in order to keep her job!
Can passion lead you to make greater effort and try harder? Can it motivate you to be tenacious and dedicated? Sure; that’s the role of passion in your success! It doesn’t replace or override all else. Most of us know that hugely successful people like Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, and Richard Branson weren't immediately successful at everything they attempted. Nevertheless, they took their passion and transformed it into continual effort with impeccable results.
