See Your Own Potential and Develop a Passion

by Zig Ziglar

My friend, Fred Smith, says that passion for anything occurs at the moment you get a glimpse of the potential for a project, yourself, your mission, and so on ... When you get a glimpse, passion is born. And passionate people get things done.

How can you develop passion?

1.Analyze what you want in life and come up with a plan for reaching those goals. Though passion can be brought on by almost instantly by a life-changing event, it usually begins with a careful analysis of what you want in life. What is your direction? What are your goals? When the plan makes sense, then and only then do you make the commitment to move ahead.

2.Take steps toward your goals. As your plans unfold, each step that you take toward your goals has direct bearing on your excitement, enthusiasm, and confidence. As you enjoy little successes, your imagination explodes, and passion enters the picture. And when passion is full-blown, it's unlikely that you will abandon your objectives.

3.Use your head to direct the passion that develops. Effective passion is a directed emotion that synergizes all your qualities to make a total you that is considerably greater than the sum of all those qualities. Some identify passion as "heart," because people with passion accomplish things that go beyond their physical and mental abilities. My personal conviction is that your heart is the dominant force, but your head provides the direction, brings the passion into focus, and provides the imagination that makes things happen.

Any study of history or current events reveals a multitude of stories about average people whose accomplishments have been extraordinary. You can give passion the credit. Take Bill Bates, a special teams player for the Dallas Cowboys, for example. Bates was considered too slow and too small to play in the NFL. He wasn’t drafted but made the team as a free agent. For the last 15 years, he has been an invaluable member of the Cowboys’ secondary.

He not only gives his all but also inspires the other players to do the same. He brings more than just his ability; he brings a commitment fueled with passion that makes him infinitely more valuable. The same approach to any job, professional or other endeavor is the different between survival and genuine success. Check the records: Whether it's in music, medicine, physics, science, academics or athletics, the great ones have passion for what they're doing.

Adapted from Success for Dummies © 1998 by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.