Defining Passion & Letting It Lead
Posted in Entrepreneurship on 22. Jan, 2012
“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”
- D.H. Lawrence (I checked and apparently he was some sort of famous novelist, so he has to be smart and stuff…plus he has a beard, which is cool).
Passion. This word really pisses me off sometimes. People abuse it. They use it as an excuse for stupidity. They make up stories of false passion when they should be using the word greedy. People get competitive about passion…which is fucking hilarious given the fact that passion is an internal thing. Yours is yours. Mine is mine. Yes the overlaps happen in life, but the passion itself starts inside of you. That is where it grows or {sadly} fades.
I want more of this in my life.
I can be aggressive sometimes. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told…in meetings, in relationships, in reviews, etc. The other day a colleague told me “he has never met a woman like me in business.” I wanted to take it as a compliment but I don’t think he meant it that way, or maybe he kind of did. I tried to explain I’m just passionate about all this. I want to give opinions when I think they need to be given. I want to tear down other opinions if I think they will hurt us. I’m passionate about going fast, and hard, and succeeding.
Then I realized…was my passion becoming an excuse? Was it becoming a competition between me and the other team members? I’m not so sure. Given the fact I’ve lived my life (like many of my start-up friends…likely you…whoever is reading this) telling myself that “passion” is what I need above else. I’ve been told by mentors and industry leaders that “passion” is what separates those that succeed and those that fail.
That one word is so big. So over the years I’ve worked on it. How can I give more? How can I try harder? How can I be more for this team? It’s the fuel. The hustle. The Eye of the Tiger playing in your head late night, after late night, after late night, after…
I came across this quote today. “Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”
I fell in love. That’s what I’ve been trying to say but never said it very well. I think it’s what I try to do, but maybe not very well. For me passion is something that moves you. And for the love of god when you are moved you are hot, and feisty, and aggressive, and real, and honest. Passion is not supposed to be whispered or second guessed.
I made a goal for the second half of 2011 that I would try to be less loud and more quiet. The only problem with that is…it’s not very me. Then all of a sudden blog posts like this jump out of you. Things get all sorts of crazy when you try to be less passionate for the sake of others. I do think there are better ways than others to be passionate. I think you can be passionate as a listener, as a team player, as a sounding board.
My goal for 2012 is to continue figuring out how to be my most passionate self…only for the right reasons. It’s an easy thing to let run away with you. When you love a company or an idea…it owns you. The tricky part is finding the balance in it all. Be quiet when you have nothing to say and be hot when you are passionate about something. I plan to reconsider how I’m handling it all because there are only two things that freak me out {like scare the bejesus out of me}…
1. I end up where I want to go but don’t recognize myself.
2. That I keep myself but end up some place I never intended to go.
I know resolutions rub some people the wrong way, but in this crazy tech world we all love, I think knowing what passion means to you and letting it lead you…is something worth resolving to do. And that’s exactly what I plan to work on this year.
Great post, Joanna. I never thought of how people would use passion as an excuse, but thinking back…I know sometimes it’s taken a backseat to some of my other goals driving me. It’s hard not to make money, or something like notoriety, become a motivating factor. But if that’s all that you’re seeking, I think you’re definitely going about it wrong.
Something I think I’ll always remember is a small comment my wife made to me a few years back. Frequently being on the phone with clients, my wife would hear what I’d be talking about and going over with them. I would talk about the progress their site was making and what other strategies we were working on for that month. She came up to me and casually mentioned, “you really enjoy talking with them about that, don’t you?” It made me laugh, at first, since she’s hardly known much about what sorcery I do here on the computer, but thinking back, she told me she could tell I really enjoyed doing what I do because she could hear it in my voice. I never thought about it like that, but I really do get animated and excited talking about this stuff (and I was thinking I was just that kind of person naturally).
You can definitely tell, just by talking to a person, listening to them at a conference or sometimes just reading a blog post of theirs what kind of passion they have. I think this post was a good reminder that it should be a top-level priority in whatever it is you’re doing!
Great post Joanna! Found it on Facebook btw.
I chose to comment simply because I too am passionate and at times, my “passion” for doing the right thing and being a better company have got me in “trouble”
As a manager at a company, I was never afraid to tell my “superiors” what I really thought. I mean, if they ask, wasn’t I supposed to just tell them?
I stirred feathers when most of the people around me were kiss-ass yes men who were all about staying on the good side of “upper-management”.
My point is, that passion sort of got me on their radar (in a bad way I thought at first) and ultimately caused me to leave the company. That same passion has taken me where I am today and I’m excited about the future.
Not sure this all makes sense but your article hit home: to me it’s ok to have a voice, to speak your mind, and to let your passion lead you.
Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks for sharing. What is passion — that’s quite the challenging topic.
I doubt it’s this simple though. It’s easy to get romantic and marvel AT passion, or wish FOR it or lament the LACK of it. But to LIVE IT? I dare say that’s painful… and it should be. What would come of passion if it were easy to endure? Lazy passion… or painless passion… somebody should bottle that and sell it… to passion tourists.
True passion hurts. It kills. It definitely can’t be constrained for reasons of decorum or logic. Puhleeze.
Name a truly passionate person. Now name one that didn’t get into trouble. Right.
I suspect the very dispassionate folks who attempt to restrain (and kill off) passionate people secretly wish they had that magic. Too bad they win sometimes. They stomp it out. But maybe… and I believe this… they are only able to stomp it out when it lets them.
Keep on keepin on.
Ah, Joanna! Well done. It’s amazing to see the woman you’ve become. This one really hit home to me, as it’s something I’ve struggled to develop, then define, then somehow reign in and readjust! Still working it out as I approach 40, but I at least notice it more! And adjust when I can. I find I’m most passionate about my children, and my teaching. I can live with that – it’s purposeful! I love where it’s gotten me. And, well, if it makes others uncomfortable, at least I’ve left them with something to ponder on and hopefully make a difference with!
I struggle with passion if I’m honest, I’m probably the opposite to you Joanna. Life has led me to a place where I’m probably a little cold, logical and analytical.
9 times out of 10, I’ll let other people take the spotlight, or the companies I represent (I only have a linkedin page to manage various company pages for example).
But when something does stir me, people better get out the ******* way
Thanks for hopping in here John. I know you and I have talked about this before and I’ve always appreciated your advice/insight into it all. I think you are right when you say “Name a truly passionate person. Now name one that didn’t get into trouble.” and I think its a mental change to realize that and live within that reality. I’m a people pleaser and often that gets in the way. I’m hoping my thirties involve a little more ruckus, and a lot more passion.
Great post. I know and have been told I tend to come of harsh with people when it is usually just excitement or passion for my ideas. Learning to bring people along and sparking passion in them is really hard. I work all the time at thinking about how to communicate with people in a way that works.
Best of luck in your journey to being more quiet but hopefully not too quiet.
Exactly. I know I need to get better at “sparking passion” in others and that can be a real challenge sometimes. Hopefully just having it front of mind and realizing there needs to be balance to the feistiness is a good start…I guess we shall see.
Hi Joanna,
I loved your post and I felt the passion!
Your conundrum of channeling passion or finding appropriate uses of it gave me an idea. What if people with this fire could systematically channel that energy for the greater cause. What if funneling passion was like developing a business model, you file certain parts of it here and there to make a successful product?
Thanks for making me think
What a beautiful post, however, it really made me think about how lucky we are to worry about the “passion” level in our career and how we manage it. I am shackled with the thoughts of the millions of people around the world performing work, not to feed their passion, but their families. Being passionate about our work is sure to make our product better right? We are blessed to have these things to ponder…
Thanks for that reminder Jessica. Its so true. We are so lucky to have these be the things that fill our thoughts.
i like your passion, Joanna! and i admire that you let it show. transparency is good.
don’t stop being who you are.