Mind Your Ps: Passion and Purpose
At the core of success is passion and purpose.
In the words of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher and inventor,“Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.”
But passion without purpose is like energy without direction — it produces and accomplishes nothing.
Successful working women position themselves at the intersection between their passions and their work.
To be successful, you have to have the passion for, as well as be willing to work on, commit to, practice, and develop the expertise to produce results in your area of passion.
First, find your passion.
What makes you excited and energized? What makes you feel so strongly that you’d like to devote your professional (and some of your personal) time to accomplish it?
What makes you stop and say, “I definitely need to be involved here”?
- A cause
- A person or people
- An industry or profession
- The need to create or innovate
- Research
- Financial goals
- A specific type of work environment
Then, ask yourself*:
- Do I get excited when I think about this, and do I convey excitement when I talk about it?
- Am I convinced that this can be accomplished?
- Am I willing to put my credibility on the line to promise action on it?
- Am I willing to spend time to sell it to others who might not understand or support it?
- Can I make this the major focus of my activities?
- Am I willing to devote personal time, above and beyond organizational time, to see that this happens?
- Am I committed to seeing this through, over the long haul?
If you can answer yes to these questions, you’re on the right track. If not, ask yourself what’s holding you back, and evaluate whether you have correctly identified your passion.
Where does your passion and purpose intersect?