If Passion is Possible Why Settle For Less

If Passion Is Possible Why Settle For Less?

 Have you lost the joy of working your business? Has it become a job that you simply do to pay the bills? Have you asked yourself if you still like the business? Have you ever blamed these thoughts on “how much the business has changed,” or “it just isn’t any fun anymore?” Could it be because you have forgotten why you came into the business in the first place? Did you have a burning reason to get into it or did you just end up in it? Would you like to find your joy again in Real Estate?

The secret ingredient in any venture in life is passion. Passion is a game changer, if the Dream is Big enough the facts don't matter. If you have a passion for something, then you will see magic happen. Not only will you find a way to see your dreams come true, others will follow. People follow passion. We see so little of it around us, it is a natural attraction. It draws positive people to you like moths to flame.

We only are given one chance to live our lives, what are you doing with yours? Are you going through the motions in autopilot where you go to work, go home, go to work, go work, home, work, home without any real punctuation marks to make it something other than a rut? Have you ever driven through a traffic light and then wondered if it was red or not? Does one day run into another in seamless sameness? The only difference between a rut and a grave is the rut doesn’t have to be permanent.

Mark Twain once said, "Most men die at 27, we just bury them at 72."

Henry David Thoreau said, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to their graves with their song still in them."

How sad is that, we know instinctively that those comments are true, don't we?

Why is this? What happens to the dreams inside we bring out of childhood? How do we start going through the motions of our lives and quit actually living them? I think it starts when we decide to start settling for safety and security instead of chasing our dreams. I believe that is why we see so many people taking anti-depressants and encumbered with addictions of all sorts. We are built to dream. God created us with dreams inside and we only function correctly when we are chasing them. God said, "Without a vision, my people perish." The sad thing is when you give up passion for security; you have traded for a mirage.

When was the last time you went “dreaming?” Thinking of “What would I do?” “What would I buy?” “For whom?” Hall of Fame Football coach, Lou Holtz, credits his career turning around from being fired and an unemployed high school assistant coach was a book his wife bought him called “The Magic of Thinking Big” by Dr. David Schwartz. He read it and wrote down a “Bucket List” of 106 things he wanted to do, two were to be head coach at Notre Dame and win a National Championship. He has now done almost all on his list. Your “Why” may not have anything to do with Real Estate, it could even be leaving a legacy with some charity or cause, but you might find that you can use Real Estate to fund your Dreams. Once you find the WHY everything changes, you will add passion to your daily actions.

Life is far too short to live it without a passion in your life. For me, I want to have a passion in everything I do. If it deserves my time and attention, doesn't it deserve my passion? I don't care if it is my marriage, my children, career related, spiritual faith, patriotism, hobbies, whatever, if it is worth your time, it is worth passion. If passion is one of the options, it should be the only acceptable one. I refuse to go through life timid or bored.

A friend and mentor of mine, Rick Setzer, taught a question we should always ask ourselves, especially if we are starting to get stale in our vision. "Are you working your business or are you chasing your dream?" There is magic in the latter.

If you have a true passion, you’re contagious. I once had a wonderful lesson in passion and its effect on others. My wife had read about an orchid nursery in Indianapolis that was one of the largest in America. She wanted to go buy orchids for all the ladies in our family for Christmas. I went with her and we were blessed with this amazing older gentleman as our guide and salesman. He looked like he had just been found on some deserted island, long gray hair and beard, skinny and gaunt, probably in his 70s, but had a twinkle in his eyes that captured you. He was a scientist who had traveled the world's jungles searching for new species of orchids most of his life. This was his collection of over 5,000 species he had found. He taught us all about them with a passion that sucked you into his world, so much so that I ended up raising orchids for the next ten years. I had never had a thought of them before walking in, but his passion was contagious. I will never forget that powerful lesson.

So, are you building your business, or are you chasing your dreams? Are you making a living or are you making a life? It is up to you; it is simply finding your passion and never working another day in your life!