i want to thank @raymondpirouz for his thoughts on my blog post last night via twitter. he had some great insights, but really what I took from him the most was what he referred to as the triangle of life: passion, love, and faith. For faith, i could also think of this as hope, as my previous post from shawshank referred to.
think about that for a moment. i mean literally, stop reading, breathe, close your eyes, and think about those three words: passion, love and hope. do you find those three things prevalent in your life? If so, do you feel your purpose or do you question it?
i look at my life, and i have hope. I have love. And well, i think I’m missing passion. i wrote one of my first posts about being lost when i quit golf back in 1999. i was more passionate than you could imagine back then. I loved golf, and in turn, I loved life.
I practiced when the sun was out, before school, after school, in my room when it was dark, studying books on the sport, practicing in my dorm hallway at school when it was raining outside. I was truly passionate, and each day, I was so happy to wake up and play that game. it carried forward through my life. i was a happier person back then…
quitting left a void. And i became diligent about business, studying and learning so I could be as good as I could be, but there is a big difference between diligence and passion. Passion has an underlying happiness under it. I believe with passion, combined with love, I feel like I could die tomorrow and I would be happy. Passion makes you appreciate everything around you. When I was playing golf, I could appreciate the feeling of outdoors, the sprinkles of rain, the sun, the grass, visualizing a shot, the beauty that lies within a golf course and the camaraderie of playing with fellow golfers and teammates.
now I sit here, 10 years later, making a good living, loving unconditionally, enjoying work, developing friendships, but missing that piece that drives me. I loved @chathri‘s comment about being attached to material things. ive felt that recently, and i’m finally aware of how unhealthy it is. @raymondpirouz also talked about this today referring to CEO pay and how ridiculous is it for someone to need millions of dollars. what world do we live in when that becomes what most people (as opposed to everyone) want?
if we’re driven by money, i believe we end up unhappy. in the end, money doesn’t get us connection, love, passion. but for some reason, it seems to buy temprorary happiness. but when that is gone, what do you have? who are u?
#1 by Sherry on March 12, 2009 - 11:30 pm
I think the focus of @inculink – small, and priceless ventures – is one step in the right direction.
Remember, passion doesn’t have to be one singular thing. I find my passion in sharing my time, skills and knowledge with others – an endless reach. Knowing that I’ve been able to put a smile on one person’s face each day leaves me content. And on bad day’s when I shun the world, I definitely feel the step backwards, the punch in the stomach.
As for faith, well, I’m jaded with most things organized – politics and religion, included. But I do have plenty of faith in individuals, especially family and friends.
You’ve got a good formula: Passion + Love = Die Happy.
#2 by Adam Ainbinder on March 13, 2009 - 6:52 am
agreed! but replace faith with hope and now you have something that gets out of the organized. that’s why i like that trifecta better.
i love ur perspective. ur right, every time I can make someone smile, I feel a bit better. had the thought this morning of being an enabler, like Hiro’s friend on Heroes whose super power is to make other people’s super power greater. interesting perspective, yeah?
#3 by Sherry on March 13, 2009 - 3:23 pm
I think you hit the nail in the head with regards to a significant other! We all should be an Ando to each other. I’m a better person because Paul enables me, and vice versa.