by Royalene Doyle

Created on: August 22, 2010

Have you ever looked into the sky and noticed thin, translucent wisps of clouds evaporate in the air?  That’s what it’s like doing a job—walking through a career—without passion.

There have been a lot of folks written about in history books who were labeled passionate about their work.  Unfortunately, too many walked on the cruel side: the ancients had Caligula and Nero, the moderns Stalin and Hitler, individuals who expressed their obsessive passions (or maybe neurotic self-absorptions) through the strategically planned murder of countless innocents.  Their passion to control the world certainly had a devastating impact on all future generations.

However, I prefer to look toward the diligently working heroes of history, authors such as C.S. Lewis and Lloyd C. Douglas; boat-shakers like Martin Luther and Martin Luther King; those who reach out their hands to lift people up such as Florence Nightingale and Mother Teresa; visionary inventors like Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver and Alexander Bell; trailblazers such as Rosa Parks and Colin Powell.  What do they have in common?  They poured themselves into their work and never quit!  And each goal they reached eventually brought about success for themselves—and others.

All the clichés about having passion for what you do in the work-a-day world apply.  Putting your heart into your work will not only bring a smile to your face, and your boss’ face, it will strengthen your physical heart and extend the enjoyment factors of life.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going!  That truism hits the nail right on the head!  Releasing our personal passion into our work environment brings about the toughness required to stick to the task until it’s finished.  Then, of course, you’ve heard the statement, life might be hard, but the experience makes me stronger.  That one ties right in with, what doesn’t kill me makes me a better person.  In this time we’re living in, most of us “enjoy” careers that are indeed making us stronger, better people.  Two of the blessings that come along with that toughness is wisdom and knowledge—fortification bookends to support our daily lives.

So, when someone tells you to “Relax,” “Don’t put so much effort into that job,”  “You’re not getting paid to work that hard,” you can casually show them your muscles—your physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual muscles.  You won’t need to show them the increase in your paycheck, because they’ll see it in your smile, and the photos you’ve taken while on your dream vacation.

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