Why You Should Explore Your Passions

To say I was excited would be quite the understatement. I had been thinking about doing this for some time now. Up until this point, I had always come to the conclusion that it just wasn’t the right time. I needed to wait. But something clicked for me, and I realized that I had waited long enough. It was time to take action.

So I decided to launch my own website.

I’ve written about that process before, so that’s actually not the reason I’m writing this post.

I’m writing to encourage you.

You see, this goal of mine probably wouldn’t have been realized when it was if I hadn’t explored a passion of mine — movies. That’s right, movies. I love a story well-told, and there are so many movies that fit that description.

I’ll be honest, when I first thought about doing movie reviews, I wondered if anyone would be interested. But guess what? I already know that I’m interested to the point of being incredibly passionate about storytelling in movies. I decided it was a passion worth exploring.

So…what are you passionate about?

People are Drawn to Passion

Maybe you’ve considered a new side project or working to accomplish a long-held goal, but something’s holding you back. If you’re anything like me, that something is — Well, no one’s going to care.

Hogwash!

If you care, explore it. If you’re passionate about it, investigate that. People are looking for other people who are passionate about something. Take business marketing expert Seth Godin, for instance. He is famous for his consistency. He publishes a blog post every day. Never misses one.

If you were starting out today and you wanted to publish one blog post a day about your thoughts on marketing, do you think people would care? Just that thought alone, without knowing what you may already know about Seth, sounds a bit far-fetched, right?

But that’s the point!

It sounds far-fetched to people who aren’t passionate enough to do it every day. But Seth has done it. He’s passionate enough to post a new blog post. Every. Single. Day. His passion has drawn others in. Now, he’s one of the most well-known experts on business marketing strategy.

If you’re not passionate about business marketing, that’s fine. You don’t have to copy Seth Godin. In fact, you shouldn’t! The point is, you should find whatever fuels your passions. When you find that, dive into it. When you’re ready, share it with others. Even if it seems small to you, other people will be drawn to your passion.

Start Small

Look, you’re also not going to become Seth Godin overnight.

He put in tons of work before he became who he is today. I’m certainly not a big writing celebrity or a top movie reviewer. My goal is to become an author, and I’d certainly like for people to be impacted by my movie reviews. But right now, I’m just starting out. I’m simply pouring into my passions — among those are writing and movies.

Where can you start small today?

What’s one step you can take towards your passions?

It doesn’t have to be anything earth-shattering. Just take a step. If it pulls you outside your comfort zone — good! That’s where growth happens. I had a college professor who told me that if you’ve never failed at one of your goals, you’re probably not aiming high enough. I think there’s a lot of truth there. Sure, none of us like to fail. Failure is hard. But sometimes doing things that scare us a little is worthwhile. It stretches us. Even if we “fail” it’s really not a failure. Because at least we’ve learned something we can use next time. What’s more, we’ve learned something about ourselves.

Start small and put your work out there.

Don’t Limit Yourself

That headline might be misleading, so let me explain myself. I’m all for waiting to launch something new until you feel you’re ready. I’m all for planning and giving a new venture some thought.

But that’s different than limiting yourself.

A year ago, I wasn’t ready to launch a website. I certainly wasn’t ready to start doing movie reviews! There were many classics that I had never seen. But this past January, I realized that my love for movie analysis was more than just a passing fad. I was truly passionate about it. I couldn’t get my brain to shut off after watching a movie I really liked. I’d be constantly thinking and analyzing.

After a few months of watching many classics that I hadn’t seen before, I started thinking about doing movie reviews. I even thought I could combine in my other online writing and make a personal website out of it. But I kept thinking — Nah, I’m not ready. Or — nobody will be interested.

That’s what I mean when I talk about self-limiting thoughts. I was ready. I was passionate. I had the skills and the opportunity. But I waited.

Don’t get me wrong, things worked out fine. I’m really excited to have my site up and running, and I love putting movie analysis out there for others to discuss. But there were so many moments when I told myself to wait because I didn’t think I could do it.

Take it from me — you CAN do it.

If you feel like you’re not quite ready, that’s fine. Maybe there’s some more learning you have to do before you launch your new thing. Great! The learning is part of the process. Telling yourself — I’m going to take this online course that will help me towards my passion — is just as important a step as saying — Hey, look, I’m ready to launch my website TODAY!

Write that book. Build that website. Paint. Sing. Speak.

I know there are passions inside of you that could have a huge impact on the people around you. Don’t deprive the world of experiencing that solely because you’re listening to those self-limiting thoughts.

It’s time to break out.

Save Some Passions for Yourself

You know something else? You don’t have to share all your passions with the world. You contain multitudes. You are a multi-faceted person. And that’s a beautiful thing. I share my passions of writing, movie analysis and cooking with the world. But there are other passions that are for me.

Like watching Netflix with my wife.

Playing fantasy sports.

Reading.

Reconnecting with friends.

You don’t always have to be this factory spurting out things for other people to consume. You need to recharge too. Find some passions that you can use to refuel your fire. Then you’ll have the kindling you need to share your other passions with the world.

Think About the Possibilities

I get excited when I think about all the creations that are out there waiting inside of people. I know that I have a lot left to share with the world, and I know that you do too.

Get excited! Think about the passions that you have inside of you that just might impact someone else.

Let me encourage you — look for ways to share those passions. Look for the next small step you can take to make those passions become a reality. Then, when you’re ready, take action.

We’re waiting for you, maestro! When you’re ready, we’ll all be blown away by what you create.

I’m excited to see what you come up with.