I have spent the past five years of my life analyzing people and trying to determine what makes one individual thrive, while others simply survive. Thriving does not necessarily have anything to do with money, but rather with establishing a BRANDENTITY: living with purpose while remaining true to the image that looks back from the mirror every single day. What I have found is that the missing link for someone who is in a survival state, which happens to be a place where absolutely no growth occurs, is LIVING WITH PASSION. Passion is the prospect that something incredible is about to take place, but note that prospect is not a guarantee, rather a chance that your world will be a different place as a result of your potential achievements.
My personal opinion is that you can have all of the intellect and money in the world, but if you do not have passion and enthusiasm for life, you have nothing! The irony of this concept is that passion is the most powerful force known to mankind. It is important to realize that it can serve dual purposes in our existence, which means that as positive as passion can be, it can also be destructive in such a way that people will forever be changed due to its wrath. Let’s think about Bernard Madoff, Adolf Hitler, and Osama Bin Laden, because all three of these infamous figures had passion, which is how they were able to manipulate the lives of millions of people. All three of these men obviously had intellect, but if they were lacking in the passion department, there would have never been a $50 billion ponzi scheme, a Holocaust, or 9/11. These individuals used passion in a corrupt manner which resulted in millions of deaths and billions of dollars lost. I am sure that all of you will agree that their passion was overshadowed by their sickness and lack of self worth, but this point proves that this term can receive a derogatory reputation.
Beyond the negative publicity, passion also has the capacity to be the driving force for the Three I’s, or in other words Innovation, Impact, and Immortality. Steven Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett and Biz Stone are currently doing what these three infamous men have done in the past, but the difference is that they not only have the secret formula of passion, but also an insatiable desire to influence the world in a positive way forever. All four of these individuals have contributed something profound to society, and as a result, could literally retire 100 times over, but their PASSION for INNOVATION, IMPACT and IMMORTALITY continues to keep their internal bonfire alive.
So let’s begin to relate this concept to your world because this could be the reason that you are currently “stuck” in survival mode. I started this email by stating that I have spent the past five years analyzing what enables people to thrive, and the one commonality is PASSION. This passion was not limited to one area of an individual’s life, but rather overflows into their career, family, relationships, personal well-being, etc. Passion is part of everything that you do and becomes viral, exuding positive energy to influence all of the people in your world, allowing them to realize that everyone is born with the capacity to LIVE WITH PASSION. The positive ‘passionites’ from above have found a way to create a cult-like following with millions of people from around the world simply because of their love for life and their insatiable desire to consistently own the Three I’s. You do not need to be a “celebrity” to exude passion. You can make the commitment today and make a conscious effort everyday going forward to refuse to live a life with a missing link, and instead, to fill this void with the prospect that something incredible is about to take place…PASSION!
Acknowledgements for the Picture from Flickr
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting and informative. But will you write about this one more?
Thank you for your wonderful words Peter. I will indeed write about the concept of PASSION on a regular basis because I believe that this is one of the foundational principles to creating an IDENTITY for yourself. Please subscribe via email because in the 11 Principles to Lighting Your World on Fire, there is an entire section on PASSION. I look forward to your future comments and have an absolutely wonderful weekend!
Ha! Everything you write about is perfectly on point; I’m writing about it, too, from the survivor perspective. Just this week I wrote about the importance of joy in healing.
In my PTSD recovery I deliberately constructed a post-trauma identity built around my passionate pursuit of joy. The experiment worked in spades: it helped lead me to where I am today, 100% PTSD-free — and living an incredibly joyful, purposeful and passionate life.
Michele…you are an inspiration and a leader in this world. I so appreciate everything you do and for communicating a congruent message in order to help HEAL the masses. I am eager to continue this journey with you and thank you for being YOU!!!!
Keep on, keeping on and remember to always reach for the moon because the worst that will happen is that you land amongst the stars!
Be TRUE to YOU,
JY
I am inspired, Jared. Your message was no more and no less than perfect in suporting me with a decision I made just a few hours ago.
All the best, and watch for my email coming to you, today or tomorrow.
—Mike Blackstone
Mike…thank you for allowing this message to seep into the “who you are!” I am happy that this philosophy further supported your decision and I look forward for your email! Your contribution is always something I look forward to receiving!
Be TRUE to YOU,
JY
WOW! Did I ever need to hear that this morning. Your words resonated loudly and clearly with my soul. Thank you. You speak directly to how I want to live and to the person I am and want to become even more of…so thank you. I have been blessed because of you Jared and what you are doing to make our world a better, safer and more positive place to live.
Harold…I think it is important you acknowledge yourself because you allowed this message to surpass your conscious state and become part of your internal being. In addition, you define living a life with PASSION. Your vision and pursuit to inspire the world is something that I admire on so many levels. Always remain true to yourself Harold and be proud of the image which looks back from the mirror every single day!
Be TRUE to YOU,
JY
Thank you so much for letting “US” into your life and sharing your Papa mark with us.
We all need a Papa Mark
Cindy…thank you so much for allowing me to enter your life by sharing the legacy of Papa Mark. I hope you enjoy all of the other messages as well and remember to always BE TRUE TO YOU!
JY
I just knew it!
I just knew that there had to be other people in the world that love to give wholeheatedly “just because” – not just with money, but with oneself – I so much agree that each of us have “much” to contribute – - I like to think of it as an investment, cause a little piece of me gets to go with you – - if I allow myself to share, even it is only a smile, a hug, an encouraging word – - my reward always outweighs my contribution. My personal mission statement is to be the kind of person that draws out the good in another. Thank you very much for being one of those positive influences in our world – - God knows we really need that! Love, cris
Cris…WOW!!! That is all that I can say. You captured the essence of my mission, vision, and premise for life. There is noting more liberating and powerful than giving for the sake of giving while expecting nothing in return besides for personal fulfillment and satisfaction. I hope you are subscribed to the blog and also to the motivational minutes/brandentity interviews because you are going to be able to relate with all of these resources in so many ways. I admire your mission and feel so fortunate to embark on this journey with you…Let’s get ready to profoundly impact as many lives as possible because you never know how far a good deed will travel (this happens to be a blog post that will be published soon)!!!! Remember to always remain true to yourself and spread your message regardless of who is listening…
Be TRUE to YOU,
JY
Interesting post. I often look at people like Dr. Phil, Oprah and wonder why they carry on doing it when as you say they could easily retire on the mega-millions they have made. There are 2 poss reasons they don’t:
a. Either they love their job and helping people so much that they don’t see it as work.
b. They don’t know how to relax and are too work oriented.
c. They are addicted to the fame and adulation.
I think all three possibilities show how they got there in the first place as their are 3 possible drivers -passion for the job, the feedback or simply they got so far because they love to work.
Definitely agree, a life without passion is dull. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone was driven by their passion and not just sleep-walking through life in jobs they don’t like…
Annabel…I enjoyed reading your philosophy on why some of the leaders in our world continue to work even though they could retire 1000x over. All three of these points are valid and I do believe that passion is truly the foundation for their drive. You obviously possess an incredible sense of passion for all that you do, which is why your dreams will become realities! Thank you again for your contributions!
Be TRUE to YOU,
JY
Hey Jared,
Passion is the fuel to your life.
That does sound super-cheesy, I admit. But the analogy fits. If your life is a car, then passion is what drives you to go places and do things. The GPS and the direction you go is dictated by your brain, but the movement to get there is pushed by your heart – your passion.
If you had little fuel (ie. passion), then your car would chug along to the nearest town that was good enough. You settle. This place ain’t so bad. I can get by. It could be worse. It’s not the place I was hoping to get to, but it’s decent, I guess. In other words, the mediocre day jobs people settle for (this isn’t looking down at those people, neither is it criticizing awesome jobs out there, but simply pointing out the fact of what unfortunately happens quite often).
But if your car was constantly fueled and refueled by passion, then you’d get to where you wanted to go, and keep exploring afterwards too. You decide what you want to do, and then you use your passion to get there effectively.
Your examples show this. Steve Jobs isn’t some super-human – he’s just a regular flesh-n-blood guy like anyone else. Not some hover car, but a standard four-wheel vehicle. But he just happened to have a LOT of fuel in his car, and he was able to effectively drive towards his direction of Apple.
Here’s to a passion-fueled life,
Oleg
Well said Oleg, very well said! I always enjoy using symbolism to create a picture for people to see and eventually adopt into their world. You did this wonderfully and the most impressive aspect is how you WRITE with PASSION! I can sense that you truly cared about the delivery of this message and wanted to assist people in finding the root to their missing link. I firmly believe that a life without passion leads to a life without results. If you are unable to awake in the morning, with newfound energy, excitement, and enthusiasm for the day ahead, then changes need to be made. If you are unable to look at the love of your life, right in their eyes, and feel your heart beating fast, then something needs to change. And if you are unable to dedicate time to yourself to exercise and eat heathy foods, then something needs to change. The change is finding PASSION in everything and anything you do. The change is fueling your tank and going on the ride of your life, where you create what the journey will provide and thoroughly enjoy the process. Amazing contribution OLEG and WELCOME to BRANDENTITY!