“Instead of sharing my passion, I started helping others discover their passion.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell from his book, Beyond Talent (p. 37). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Do you want to reach your potential?  Do you want to be really alive?

John says, “To do that, I ask these questions:

            What do you sing about?

            What do you cry about?

            What do you dream about?

“The first two questions speak to what touches you at a deep level today. The third answers what will bring you fulfillment tomorrow. The answers to these questions can often help people discover their true passion.”

He goes on, “While everybody can possess passion, not everyone takes the time to discover it. And that’s a shame. Passion is fuel for the will. Passion turns your have-to’s into want-to’s. What we accomplish in life is based less on what we want and more on how much we want it. The secret to willpower is what someone once called wantpower. People who want something enough usually find the willpower to achieve it.

“You can’t help people become winners unless they want to win. Champions become champions from within, not from without.”

He then says, “When you have passion, you become energized. You don’t have to produce perseverance; it is naturally present in you. It helps you to enjoy the journey as much as reaching the destination. Without it, achievement becomes a long and difficult road.”

He later says, “During a Q-and-A session at a conference, an attendee once asked me, “What is the secret of your passion?” It took me only a moment to be able to articulate it:

            1. I am gifted at what I do (strength zone).

            2. What I do makes a difference (results).

            3. When I do what I was made to do, I feel most alive (purpose).

“I believe all passionate people feel that way. Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh observed, ‘It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you’ve wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane.’

“Some people say that they feel burned out. The truth is that they probably never were on fire in the first place. Writer and editor Norman Cousins said, ‘Death isn’t the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live.’ Without passion, a part of us does become dead. And if we’re not careful, we could end up like the person whose tombstone read, ‘Died at 30. Buried at 60.’ Don’t allow that to happen to you.”

I am about to turn 72 and I still am excited about each day.  What about you?  Do you want to be really alive?

Yes, yes!