Achieving Success by Following Your Passion

By Carole Nicolaides
Posted Monday, August 23, 2004

Feeling passionate about something, or someone, is very powerful. However, having your passion guide you in whatever you undertake can move mountains! The people that have identified their passion and live it on a daily basis are not afraid of the little nuisances that may come their way. They may fall down but they certainly do not stay down for long. Somehow, they find the strength to get up and fight for what they believe in. They are very clear in believing that with passion, life has meaning.

As I was organizing my database, I realized that of all the friends I have, the ones that are really happy, content and successful are the ones that followed their passions. These are also the same people that were thought of as being crazy, senseless or off the wall. But they persisted until it paid off. Even those who’ve had endeavors fail were still content, and still passionate. They learned from their mistakes and moved onto bigger and better things.

So, how do they do it? They’ve identified their true passion and made it an focal point in their lives. Have you identified your true passion? We all have unique passions and talents yet we often bury them under daily obligations and other restraints that come our way.

You owe it to yourself to identify your passion. That is your key to success. Take time out to learn about you. What do you like? What do you love? What gets you excited? How can you transform your passion into a life you’ll be thrilled to live?

Take one hour of your valuable time and invest it in you. Reflect on the following questions. Be completely honest with yourself and, if possible, write down the very first thoughts that come to your mind.
¨ Who are you really? What is your purpose in life?
¨ How clear are you about what you want in your personal and professional life?
¨ What motivates you in Life?
¨ What keeps you up and moving?
¨ What are your true desires?
¨ What do you really hate? What do you do about the things that annoy you?
¨ Do you have a compelling vision?
¨ What is important to you in your career?
¨ What activities seem to come naturally to you?

Next, ask yourself this question. “What can I do in my life to incorporate more of what I love and less of what I hate?” Is it possible to change careers or change one element about your existing career? Sure it is! Can you involve yourself in hobbies that will allow your passion for a sport or skill to flourish? Of course! There are a number of simple ways to alter your current circumstances and include what you’re passionate about in your life.

We all have obstacles that get in the way of our success. However, successful people develop new skills and focus on their gifts and talents in order to eliminate the hurdles that block their path to success. You too can develop these skills and live a happy and successful life!

So many people think they have no choices, and that they are stuck with the present situation. Well, the good news is that you always have choices. Sometimes you are just too busy to notice them. Once you are able to define a vision of what you truly want to improve or achieve in life, you will also be able to come up with many ways of working toward your desired outcomes.

You will be able to listen and to trust your inner voice, follow your instincts and move closer to your desired results. Just ask the following questions and see how it can help you in identifying your vision. What do you want to improve and why? What gets in your way? Why are you pushing that hard?

A final thought is to realize that without a plan nothing is achieved. Many times people with great ideas and great passions fail to succeed because they have not put the right strategy in place. This is the hardest part, even for people that know from the beginning what their passion is.

Always keep in mind - begin with an ending. First consider what outcome you most desire, then work backwards in order to find your starting point. Brainstorm on ways that you can develop and stick to a realistic strategy, otherwise your plan will fail. Talk to a friend, a mentor or coach and ask them to assist you in co-designing or supervising a plan that will help you achieve your goals faster and with fewer struggles. Enjoy your life, follow your passion, stop putting up with what is not working and take smarter steps toward changing your situation.

About the Author
Carole Nicolaides is President of Intentional Success Coaching offering Personal Success Coaching, Marketing, Business Planning and Internet Success Consulting to small businesses & large organizations. Subscribe to Carole’s FREE EZine at newsletter@intentionalsuccess.com or visit her at (http://www.intentionalsuccess.com) to book your FREE coaching session.