Unless you actually see it in action and played out in front of you, live your passion is just another self-help line that’s nice to say, but is more a myth than current day reality. We have even been told that living your passion is all well and good unless you don’t have a job.
This past weekend we were in Atlantic City attending an international convening of some of the world’s greatest martial artists, of which many are actors, stunt people, models, speakers, instructors and authors. What we noticed as we mingled with the crowd, talked with the celebrities and talked to people who were not celebrities – all had passion for what they did. More than once we would be watching a seminar and a proud instructor insisted that we watch his student – wasn’t he/she terrific. Pride borne out of a true passion.
We also see this with some of our clients and colleagues. But we don’t see it very often when we attend business meetings or when we meet with corporate teams. Many of these people see themselves as just “having a job”. Some like their job, but a recent survey by the Conference Board revealed that only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work. We didn’t meet anyone at the Action Martial’s Arts event who didn’t love what they are doing. (There was 1200 in attendance, and true, we didn’t get to speak to them all…)
And it didn’t seem to matter if they were focused full time on their martial arts career, or if they were doing it part-time. Here are just two examples:
An intriguing man and sincerely delightful man, Maurice Elmalem holds eight Guinness Book of Records for breaking (boards, cement slabs, ice and glass). He has written books on it, appeared on the nightly and morning talk shows, teaches, and publishes a martial arts magazine. And that’s not only what he does for a living. He’s a successful architect in New York City. He has high passion for both the martial arts and for architecture, and is a huge success at both.
Christine Bannon-Rodrigues, a dynamic and amazing woman, is a nine time world champion in fighting, weapons and kata (forms), a member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame, an actress, model, instructor, gear designer, martial arts school owner, wife and a mother of a “house of boys”. She is a role model for women in her state and around the world. When asked why she is in the martial arts, she said, “It is a way of life”.
Passion applied to your work is a state of mind, fueled by emotion and intention and is a driver of results. But the big question is, can you develop it or is it just something that the lucky people have and others don’t. We firmly believe you can develop it if you want to. It is a choice like so many other things you do in your life. You can love what you do, you can be agnostic toward your work, or you can hate it. The choice is yours.
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Tags: Passion: Myth or Reality? Lessons from the Martial Arts
