Pillar 2: Live with Passion

What is passion? Passion is not an intellectual thought. It is a feeling, an emotion.

A Burning Desire or Hunger

Mahatma Gandhi had a burning desire, or hunger, to help his fellow human beings. He had a burning desire to spread awareness of two basic principles – truth and non-violence – and his vision was so powerful that most people in his country eventually adopted these principles. Gandhi was a passionate man, and his passion enabled him to produce extraordinary results.

A Feeling of Inspiration

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents, become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

A Feeling in the Pit of the Stomach

If thinking about an issue, task, or activity gives you a ‘punch’ in the stomach with nerves, tingling, pressure, or palpitations, you could be passionate.

A Sense of Excitement

Like the example in the preceding paragraph, your excitement may arise in your stomach, or any of your five senses. How do you know you are excited? Where is the excitement located? Where in your body do you feel the emotion?

It can be something you see in your mind’s eye; it can be something you hear in your head; it can be the incredible lightness of being; it can be a taste or a smell. Each one of us has a unique mix of these sensual experiences when we are excited. Becoming aware of your own unique mix will help you recognize states of true excitement.

A State of Arousal

Being aroused is different to being excited. How different is it for you? Sometimes, the passion could be an arousal caused by an injustice, such as unjust treatment of children. The state of arousal is different from an ‘excited’ state.

A Feeling of Limitless Energy

Passionate people do not get tired easily. Which people around you demonstrate such limitless energy? Would you describe them as passionate? Do you envy their energy, their apparent ability to work harder than most people?

The Feeling that ‘I Shouldn’t be Paid for Doing this; I am Having too Much Fun!’

The way that we earn a living, or work, does not have to be boring, dull, and uninspiring. However, the statistics quoted earlier – that less than 10 percent of workers in Australia impress their fellow workers as being passionate – can easily cause most people to believe that work, almost by definition, is a struggle and something that can only be enjoyed in exceptional or unusual times.

If you are not passionate about your work, then it is hard to see how it could be fun. What would it be like if work was so much fun that you would do it for nothing? Or, alternatively, if you had R10 million in the bank, would you do the work you are now doing? If the answer is ‘yes’, you are clearly passionate.

The Belief that Nothing is too Much Trouble

The rewards for me, in those circumstances, were greater than the fees. The rewards for a job well done, of a grateful client, of seeing a little more fairness, created a sense of well-being that generated and fuelled the desire to repeat such moments.

Clarity of Vision

Can you ‘see’ what business or enterprise you are trying to create for the future? Can you see how it will operate?

The quality of the picture in your mind’s eye will demonstrate to you the power of your passion. Passionate people have a spectacular clear picture of what they want to create, of how the world will be when they have achieved their passion.

A Sense of Caring Deeply

What do you care about? Who do you care about? This is a slightly different experience from the feeling that nothing is too much trouble, but when you care, you have greater energy, a greater ability to create, a greater ability to produce. Caring comes from a part of us that is more than body or mind: it is a soul connection, or a heart-to-heart connection.

Make People Feel Important

People can feel when they are important and valued. Telling them that this is the case will not create the feelings. If they do not feel it, they will not believe it!

Listening Shows Respect

Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers said: “Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery.” Whenever you don’t pay attention to what others have to say, you send them the message that you don’t value them. But when you listen to others, you communicate that you respect them. Even more, you show them that you care. German-born philosopher-theologian Paul Tillich commented, “The first duty of love is to listen.”

A mistake that people often make in communicating is trying to impress the other person. They try to make themselves to appear smart, witty, or entertaining. But if you want to relate well to others, you must be willing to focus on what they have to offer. Be impressed and interested, not impressive and interesting. Poet-philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson acknowledged, “Every man I meet is in some way my superior, and I can learn of him.” Remember that and listen, and the lines of communicating will open.

Build Relationships

By becoming a good listener, you can connect with others on more levels and develop stronger, deeper relationships because you are meeting a need. Author C. Neil Strait pointed out that “Everyone needs someone who he feels really listens to him.” When you become that important listener, you help that person. And you take a significant step toward becoming a person of influence in his or her life.

Increase your Knowledge

Wilson Mizner said: “A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he knows something.” It’s amazing how much you can learn about your friends and family, your job, the organization you work in, and yourself when you decide to really listen to others.

One common problem, as people gain more authority, is that they often listen to others less and less, especially the people who report to them. While it’s true that the higher you go, the less you are required to listen to others, it’s also true that your need for good listening skills increases. The farther you get from the front lines, the more you must depend on others to get reliable information. Only if you develop good listening skills early, and then continue to use them, will you be able to gather the information you need to succeed.

Everybody wants to be Somebody

There isn’t a person in the world who doesn’t have the desire to be someone noteworthy, to have significance. Even the least ambitious and unassuming person wants to be regarded highly by others.

Nobody Cares how Much you Know Until He Knows How Much You Care

To be an influencer, you must love people before you try to lead them. The moment that people know that you care for and about them, the way they feel about you changes.

Showing others that you care isn’t always easy.

If you want to help others and become a person of influence, keep smiling, sharing, giving, and turning the other cheek. That’s the right way to treat people. Besides, you never know which people in your sphere of influence are going to rise and make a difference in your life and the lives of others.

Everybody Needs Somebody

Contrary to popular belief, there are no such things as self-made men and women. Everybody needs friendship, encouragement, and help. What people can accomplish by themselves is almost nothing compared to their potential when working with others. And doing things with other people tends to bring contentment.

Everybody needs somebody to come alongside and help. If you understand that, are willing to give to others and help them, and maintain the right motives, their lives and yours can change.

Everybody Can be Somebody When Somebody Understands and Believes in Them

Once you understand people and believe in them, they really can become somebody. And it doesn’t take much effort to help other people feel important. Little things, done deliberately at the right time, can make a big difference.

When was the last time you went out of your way to make people feel special, as if they were somebody? The investment required on your part is totally overshadowed by the impact it makes on them.

Everyone you know and all the people you meet have the potential to be someone important in the lives of others. All they need is encouragement and motivation from you to help them reach their potential.