Is the fire out?

Is the fire out?

Tim Connor

There are many factors that contribute to or determine our ultimate success but over the years after meeting thousands of successful people worldwide I believe at the top of the list is passion or what Napoleon Hill called in the classic book, Think and Grow Rich – “a white heat of desire.” 

Got it?  Lost it?  Losing it? Trying to get it back? Not sure?  Well let me share a few thoughts with you on the simple concept (and no – getting or maintaining passion is not simple) of passion – in a career, business, relationship or just life in general.

Passion - intense or overpowering emotion such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.

Mine – an inner fire that drives you toward your dreams, goals or success (however you define success) regardless of obstacles, challenges, problems or even failure.

I have never met anyone who has achieved significance in life who lacked passion.  I don’t care if it was Jesus, Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Lombardi, Jordan, Billy Graham or anyone in any profession throughout history.

What is passion? It is an inner driving force that leads, prods or even requires you to keep on keeping on and never quit, give up or let circumstances beyond your control cause you to relent or retreat.  It is in your DNA.  It touches everything you touch and it is simply a way of life.  Yes, at times in life it can fade or seem to be absent, but it is always there lying beneath the surface waiting for you to act.

No matter how discouraging situations might seem it will not let you let go of the need to move forward. It is not attached to specific outcomes or achievements but it is relentless keeping you moving one step at a time into the future no matter how difficult those steps might seem.

It overcomes despair, failure, uncertainty, hopelessness and even fear.

Why is passion necessary? Without passion yes, you can succeed but often without it our definition of success changes or is modified to maintain congruence between what we thought we wanted and what is manifested.

Everyone has creative ability to do more, do it better, do it sooner or just do it, but without passion over time people tend to settle for less when more was possible for them.

There isn’t a pill you can take to gain passion.  There is no book you can read or seminar you can attend.  Yes these can help you identify what might bring your passion alive but in the end passion is an inside-out mindset that refuses to give in to anything and I mean anything.

Why do we need it? Read the above paragraph again.

Why do we lose it? There are many reasons why people lose their passion for life, career or any other goal, objective or dream.  But, I have found the following are the most common;

The need for others approval or acceptance.

When people are surrounded by invalidators.

When they are too attached to a specific outcome or outcomes that are not realized.

When they fail to trust themselves during challenging times.

When it seems to take more time than they planned for to reach their objectives.

Yes there are more but let me ask you are you Guilty of any of the above?

How do we get it back? There are dozens of ways – the first however is to effectively deal with any of the above issues that might be in your way. After that there are many actions or steps you can take.  Here are just a few.

-Spend more time with dreamers (and not just dreamers but people who are moving toward their dreams).

-Find some mentors who have achieved what you want to achieve and spend time with them.

-Read books by inspiring authors who have overcome challenges and who have lived their dreams in spite of challenges, failure or adversity.

-Let go of the people in your life who bring you down or criticize your dreams, actions or goals.

-Spend more quiet time in solitude (even a quiet retreat somewhere – the beach, wilderness etc.) and get back in touch with what you want and why.

-Learn to trust God and your inner guidance voice that gave you the passion in the beginning.

-Take the words – never, can’t, too hard, takes too much time, I’m too old, I don’t have the skills, education, experience or resources and any other negative words or phrases – out of your vocabulary, thoughts and emotions.

The future is a blank slate and its success has nothing to do with present circumstances unless you let them dominate or even control your inner thoughts, goals or dreams.  So, what are you waiting for – get moving.

“A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.”

Hazlitt