This year which has seen me dive head-first into the Purpose Party and the personal exploration that goes with it, has brought a few terms into focus (the same way that when you buy a new car, suddenly you notice that half the city seems to be driving the same make and model), notably: purpose, action, and passion.
Part of the reason I am seeing these words more often is the blogs and motivational speakers whom I am following. Yes, I signed up for a lot of lists and my email box is now stuffed with “How to embrace your passion” “How to live with purpose” “Move forward TODAY!” and so on. Most are pitches for workshops or books; some are blog posts (by people pitching workshops or books) and the rest are promoting their affiliates’ workshops or books. (Seeing a trend here?)
Purpose seemed like the obvious one to come into focus first. We called our little mid-life-crisis collective the Purpose Party in order to highlight the key concept (“What the hell am I supposed to be doing with my life — ’cause I don’t think it’s this“) and remind ourselves that we were doing it to find joy (it’s not a workshop, it’s a party!).
Action is another word I see thrown around all the time. Make an action statement. Follow through with action. Take decisive action; bold action; big action; broad action; concrete action; irreversible action. Unfortunately for me, action is often the hardest part of any equation and could fill its own blog post or its own book.
That leaves me with passion. As hard as action is for me to take, passion has always baffled me. It’s a funny word because I still associate it with this:
… as in, romance bumped up to near scorching levels. That kind of passion; the kind that earns filmmakers NC-17 ratings if they aren’t careful. To apply it to work just seemed inconceivable for many, many years. I mean, a hobby, maybe but work? Nah.
And yet… with the spotlight on Steve Jobs the past couple of days one quote keeps slapping me in the face:
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. — Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Speech, 2005.
If that isn’t passion, I don’t know what is.