"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
Nelson Mandela.
The sixth and final part of Exploring the Intersection of Endurance and Creativity.
Being around passionate people is infectious. It doesn't matter what their passion is for, it's the level of passion that counts. It is also important to let people into what you are doing. It provides not only encouragement but the opportunity for constructive criticism and feedback.
One week before the printer was ready to run the final draft of my book, I gave an Advanced Reader's Copy to a dear friend. It had been proofed, edited, copy-edited, and proofed again. I was certain it was good to go. My friend not only found a few errors but he completely took apart the last chapter and reshaped the finale. I was horrified until he explained what he had done and why. It completely changed the pace of the chapter and drove home exactly what I was trying to convey. This experience not only brought us closer together as friends but gave him, and many others, part ownership in my book.
Also, taking a break from your own passions to invest in theirs is a great way to recharge your batteries and fire up your own motivation. We are drawn to people who are impassioned.
Many of the great speeches throughout history were delivered by people with an unwavering belief in what they were doing. Who can not be moved by JFK's speech at Rice University in September of 1962 when he said,
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too"
Kennedy's passion and belief brought the country together in a unified dream and hope to do the impossible. His passionate words became a reality less than 8 years later when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and changed forever how we look at human possibility.
It is your passion, your voice, and your heart that will resonate deepest in your community.
Now go light up your imagination and light up the world.