(This is the sixth installment of a twelve part series on passion.)

pas’sion, n. from the Medieval Latin word “passio” which means “to suffer.” 1. strong feeling or emotion. 2. boundless enthusiasm or the object of such enthusiasm. 3. zeal, fervor. 4. the Passion, sufferings of Christ.

Passion = What you hunger for so intensely that you will sacrifice anything to have it.

Suppose you were shipwrecked on a deserted island in the South Pacific. Fortunately, most of the ship’s supplies have washed ashore with you so food and shelter is not a problem.

Getting off the island is your problem.

At that point, your passion is to be rescued. This is what you think about all day and dream about all night. You are consumed with this challenge. You burn smoky signal fires. You have a huge SOS made out of rocks and coconut shells on the beach and you keep a steady watch on the horizon for another ship or airplane.

Your passion is to get back home. Your passion is also your hope.

The things you are passionate about are your preferred future. You are passionate to see change because you envision that change to be better and more enjoyable than the present. Knowing that your passion is more desirable than your current circumstance, you have hope that tomorrow will be better than today. Passion gives hope.

In the early days of ministry, I served in several traditional churches. They were good churches with wonderful people. But my passion was to be a part of a new kind of church. A church with a music style that suited my generation. A church that stressed the Bible over denominational tradition. A church with a casual dress code. A church that my friends could attend without being intimidated.

In the days when that kind of church was nowhere to be found, I still had hope. My passion to worship and serve in a new kind of church gave me hope for the future. As I worked toward my preferred future, I was filled with hope that my passion would one day become a reality.

It did.

Passion gives you a reason to bounce out of bed each day. Passion energizes you to work toward your preferred future. Passion sees better days ahead. Passion stretches you and makes you better when hope becomes reality.

Passion is hopeful. The things you are passionate about today give you hope for tomorrow.

Does your passion give you hope?

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In honor of my daughter and education in general, here’s an article that I stored away for one of those times when I wouldn’t be home on a Monday morning to write. It’s amazing what you can achieve in just 30 minutes a day. Maybe this will inspire you to learn and do something great!

How 30 Minutes a Day Can Increase Your Intelligence by Zoe B (from Lifehack.org)

If you ask me, where humans go wrong is with their lack of patience. That, and their recent acquired taste for instant gratification.

The reality is that things take time. Richard Branson didn’t become a millionaire overnight. Madonna was not an overnight success. David Beckham was not born a superstar footballer.

That said, it’s actually pretty easy to improve yourself. Why? Because most people don’t bother.

The majority of people don’t do a single thing to improve themselves. They just coast along expecting the world and everyone else to change for them and then get frustrated when they end up stuck in a rut.

So I’ve come up with a new theory: The Half Hour Theory.

I love it because it’s actually pretty easy to integrate into your life. The general idea is that you do one small thing every day for half an hour and then as time goes by you gradually improve. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? You’d be surprised how many people don’t do the obvious. They do a lot of ‘talking about the obvious’ – but rarely do they take action.

This could take the form of half an hour’s reading every day. Doing so for one year will mean you have read the equivalent of 24 books – that’s more than most people read over a decade, let alone one year!

You may even want to improve the speed of your reading so you can learn faster. It could take the form of half an hour of study everyday – a new language or a new skill. This would equate to a full 6 week course by the end of the year.

This theory could even rely on you taking a half an hour every day spending time on the Internet, researching into something that really interests you. Doing this will ensure that you are always up to date with new trends and breakthroughs in your area of interest.

The point is that by dedicating a small amount of time every day to something that will expand your intelligence or improve your life in some way, you will (after a while) notice a large result.

Here’s how to implement The Half Hour Theory:
•    Pick something you’ve always wanted to learn or become more proficient in.
•    Schedule in a half an hour everyday to devote to learning the new skill (early morning is often a good time as there are no distractions, times during a commute are also great as this is dead time).
•    After a considerable amount of time (a few months at least) check in to see what you’ve learned. You’ll be surprised to see how much progress you’ve actually made.
•    Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a few sessions – simply get back on track. Remember: you’re doing more than the average person even if you fall a little bit off course.
•    Be patient. Don’t expect results overnight. It takes time to build up a new skill.

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Leonardo

(This is the fifth installment of a twelve part series on passion.)

When you look at the following list of people, what would you say they have in common?

Leonardo da Vinci
Steve Jobs
Walt Disney
Thomas Edison
Rick Warren
God

They are all creative. Their passions led to creativity.

According to one biographer, Leonardo was a man of “unquenchable curiosity” and a “feverishly inventive imagination.” His passion to learn and discover led him to become one of the most incredible people in human history. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. He was a creative genius.

Steve Jobs passion for simple, functional, futuristic technology has changed the world. His creativity has allowed me to do things that I used to watch The Jetsons do on TV when I was kid.

Walt Disney wasn’t afraid to think outside the box. His passion for quality entertainment still rules the industry even years after his death almost 50 years ago. It is said that when Disney World opened someone remarked, “It’s a shame Walt didn’t live to see this.” Another person replied, “He saw this before anyone else.”

This morning when we experienced a power outage, I found myself grateful for the creativity of Thomas Edison. Thanks to his passion, creativity, and persistence (see previous article), we enjoy lightbulbs, power stations, and power grids. With over 1000 patents to his name, Edison is another shining example of passion leading to creativity.

Rick Warren has become a household name because he is passionate about the Church. He saw that the Church was becoming irrelevant to the culture and that many people were losing interest in Christianity (if they were interested at all). He realized that many people didn’t have a problem with God. They had a problem with the Church. Rick would quickly deflect credit to others who helped develop a new, creative, and contemporary style of church. But there is no doubt in my mind that his passion for God and the Church has led him to do some creative things that has changed my generation and my children’s generation.

And while I’m on the subject. God is pretty creative too. Not only in the creation story, but also in how he forgives, redeems, restores, and loves us. The Bible is a story of God’s creative work in our lives.

My posts about passion aren’t designed to be in any particular order but you can almost create a flow chart based on the first five posts:

Passion gives you focus which leads to inspiration and motivation. Inspiration leads you to persistence and persistence leads to creativity. When you follow your passions, you influence those around you.

Passionate people don’t stop when they face impossibilities. They tap into the creative part of their mind and ask, “What if?” over and over until their questions become “Voila!” Passion fuels creativity.

How boring would our world be without creativity? Let your passion lead you to out of the box thinking and inventive, new ways to accomplish the things that drive you.

Stay tuned for more about passion. To catch up on this series, see the links below.

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One of the memorable things in MacDonald’s book is his description of the hurried, disorganized life. We all need to step back at times and give ourselves a ruthless self-appraisal about our habits, lifestyle, and use of time.

Here are some traits of a disorganized life. Some things may seem trivial but they are usually part of a bigger picture that portrays a hurried, disorganized life. (I’ve taken MacDonald’s material and put most of it in my own words.)

1. Your desk is a mess. So is your bedroom dresser. And the kitchen counter. And almost every other horizontal surface in your daily travels is littered with papers, memos, sticky notes, and mail. All unfinished tasks.

2. Your car is a mess too. It’s dirty inside and out. Your dashboard is your filing cabinet. That important letter from the IRS is stuffed in the console. You should have had the oil changed 3000 miles ago.

3. You forget appointments, telephone messages, and deadlines. Day after day is filled with broken commitments and lame excuses.

4. You invest your energy in small, unproductive tasks. You find yourself doing small things to avoid doing the most important things. You procrastinate. You swerve around important decisions. You daydream. You hold up the progress of others by not doing your part.

5. You’re paranoid and frustrated. Deep inside of you there is slight paranoia and a fear that your employers are going to discover they are not getting their money’s worth out of your labor. They may find out that you’re not half the man or woman they thought you were. You’re frustrated because you know what work you do is not your best.

6. Your relationships suffer. You go days without a significant conversation with your spouse and children. What conversations you have are shallow, unaffirming, and void of self-revelation. You may become irritable, even angry – especially when someone tries to call your attention to the things you’ve left undone or the people you’ve disappointed.

7. Your relationship with God suffers. You don’t set aside time for prayer, meditation, reading, worship, and developing your spiritual life. You may attend religious services. You may volunteer in a ministry. But your spiritual life is starving because you’re not feeding it. Or worse, you excuse yourself from spiritual commitments all together saying there is no time.

8. You don’t like your life. When our lives are out of control, when we have no handle on our time, relationships, commitments, and responsibilities, we just don’t like ourselves, our jobs, or anything else in our world.

Did you evaluate yourself as you read over these traits? Are any of these true for you? Do you know someone who needs to read this?

What can you do to slow down your hurried, disorganized life? When can you stop to examine these issues? How can you reset your life and get everything back in order?

We’ll examine this topic more soon. Stay tuned!

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In case you missed the first 3 posts about passion, here’s a synopsis:

1. Passion gives you the ability to focus. It gives you purpose and clarity. Passion allows you to narrow your sights on a particular target.

2. Passion also inspires. It is so strong that you are willing to suffer to see your passion become a reality. Passion comes from the Latin word “passio” which means “to suffer.” It is what you hunger for so intensely that you will sacrifice anything to have it.

3. Passion is influential. Passionate people attract attention. When you attract the attention of others, you become an inspiration to them and, therefore, an influence.

A fourth reason why passion is important is because it CREATES PERSISTENCE.

Ask any successful person about their journey and you are sure to hear about a time or a number of times when they were at their wit’s end, when they felt no one believed in them, or they were on the verge of quitting.

But that spark deep inside them called passion wouldn’t allow them to give up. Passion fueled persistence. Passion and persistence creates a hard-headed “I’m going to accomplish this if it kills me” mentality.

Persistence allows you to push through obstacles, roadblocks, setbacks, and doubts. Persistence causes you to stick with your passion. Persistence eventually sees your passionate dreams come true.

Passion is the goal. Persistence is the vehicle that gets you there.

Remember it was persistence that caused the tortoise to beat the hare. One of the most important keys to success is the ability to stick with it.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. – Calvin Coolidge

Passion feeds persistence. Persistence is a vital part of passion.

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Mission 227 lands in Jamaica this week. It’s not because I have ministry contacts there. It’s not because I read about some missionaries there either. My mind is on Jamaica this week because my son Cliff is there with his bride Amanda on their HONEYMOON!

Yep, we had a wedding last Friday night. It was a beautiful service and a lively reception. It was everything the lovely couple had planned and more. We are so proud and so blessed. This past weekend was definitely one of the best ever.

In 61 days, we get to do it again when my daughter Bailey gets married on June 30.

Our kids are such a blessing to us. If your children are still young, don’t fret them growing older. It’s been fun watching them grow up. It’s incredible watching your prayers get answered right before your eyes. I remember praying for Amanda when Cliff was only a few weeks old. I would rock him to sleep in his nursery in Fort Worth, Texas praying for a little girl somewhere in the world who would one day be his wife. In fact, in the mid-1980′s a singer named Wayne Watson sang a song called Somewhere in the World about that very thing. It was a prayer for his little boy and an unknown girl somewhere out there. Watch this video. It’s 3:30 minutes long. It always makes me cry.

If you’re a parent, I would strongly encourage you to make this kind of prayer a normal part of your life – even if your baby is still in diapers. You’ll be amazed one day when you see your prayers come true.

I’ve made a contribution to Habitat for Humanity Jamaica today as I continue to follow the breadcrumbs on Mission 227.

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Chris Guillebeau and friends

(This is the third installment of a twelve part series on passion.)

Chris Guillebeau has nearly reached his goal of traveling to every country in the world before his 35th birthday. He will accomplish his mission this year. Along the way, he has written two books, several e-books and e-courses, hosted a successful conference, gained thousands of subscribers to his website and picked up over 74,000 followers on Twitter. His journey as an online entrepreneur has flourished while he’s been accumulating and using lots of frequent flier miles.

Chris is passionate about seeing the world and sharing his adventures with others. His passion makes him interesting. How many people do you know who make a living online while traveling the world, staying sane, and happily married?

Because Chris has attracted thousands of readers with his interesting lifestyle, he has also become extremely influential as a writer and a traveler. Need inspiration to get up early and write every day? Chris does it after sleeping on airport terminal floors. Need to know how to fly cheap or free? Chris has learned how to be a travel hack and he can teach you how too. Want to know how to start your own business and be your own boss? Chris has been doing it for years. His new book, The $100 Startup, will tell you.

Passion makes you INTERESTING and, therefore, INFLUENTIAL. Passion is ATTRACTIVE and MAGNETIC. Passion rubs off on people. It inspires not only you (see previous post) but it inspires others to dream, reach, and aspire toward lofty goals.

The interesting thing about Chris is he’s not an obnoxious, extroverted online salesman. He’s a quiet, reserved, humble, introverted gentleman who would rather give others the spotlight. (Read my review of his WDS conference and you’ll see what I mean.)

Chris is a great example of how influential passion can be. By following his own passions and dreams, he has influenced thousands to do the same. When you are passionate, you are magnetic. People are drawn to you. They begin to watch you and follow your every move. At that point, you have the ability to influence people with your passion.

Hopefully, you will use your influence for good.

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T.R. and Rhonda Sweeney have given their life to the people of Honduras for many years. Rhonda works as a nurse and T.R. has a communications ministry. The Sweeney’s also have a scholarship program for elementary school children that provides uniforms, shoes, a jacket, PE suit, books, notebooks, and supplies for the whole year.

A new ministry on the horizon for T.R. and Rhonda this year is a group of scavengers called the “doomed” or, in Spanish, “damnificados.” These people live on the outskirts of town living by what they can pick out of the city dump. Obviously, it is a daily struggle to survive.

I don’t have a personal connection with everyone that I connect with re: Mission 227 but I did meet T.R. and Rhonda several years ago. T.R. is a big man with a big heart for God and his people. Rhonda is his smarter, wiser sidekick. (TR will laugh and agree with that.) Together, they make a great team!

This is a couple that, unlike most missionary couples, did not fly to their final destination. They drove their SUV from Georgia to Honduras! That ride by itself is full of great stories, I’m sure.

So, today I’m making a contribution to the Sweeney’s ministry in Honduras. Connect with them on their  Facebook page to learn more about their work.

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Passion Hurts

Last Monday, I wrote that passion gives you the ability to focus. When you are focused, you have purpose. Passion brings clarity to your life. It creates a target to aim for and a bullseye to hit.

Here’s a second reason why passion is important:

Passion INSPIRES. Passion is MOTIVATING. It ENERGIZES you.

Passion causes you to get up early in the morning when you’re not a morning person. Passion drives you to work hard and study more. Passion turns 14 hour days into 4 hour days. When you are in your sweet spot, time flies. There isn’t enough time to do everything you want to do.

The most common definition of passion would be defined this way: “a powerful or compelling emotion or feeling; something that creates strong desire and pleasure.”

While that is not inaccurate, the true meaning of passion is much deeper. Passion is from the Latin word “passio” which means “to suffer.” It is what you hunger for so intensely that you will sacrifice anything to have it.

Read that paragraph again.

To be passionate for something is to be willing to suffer for it.

Why do you think they call it “The Passion of the Christ?” The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion.

If you are willing to suffer for something, that is inspiring. Your passion for a person, cause, movement, or product motivates you and energizes you.

Don’t confuse passion with interest. A person may say they are passionate about Pinterest. No, they’re probably interested in Pinterest. They love looking at Pinterest and making things seen on Pinterest but I don’t believe they are willing to suffer for Pinterest. If a man says he’s passionate about his favorite college football team is he saying he’s willing to suffer for it?

Passion can be seen in the worn, cracked, bleeding fingers of a 15-year-old boy learning to play the guitar. He is motivated to suffer through the pain because he desperately wants to become a skilled musician. Passion can be seen in the calloused and blistered feet of a ballet dancer who for the love of her art continues to spin, jump, and twirl for hours on end. Passion can be seen in the bloodshot eyes of an artist who drinks lots of coffee, keeps late hours, and deprives herself of sleep for the love of her art.

Passion is so deep, so convicting, and so strong that it motivates and inspires you to tackle the issue and work on it until it’s done. It could last for a season or it could last for a lifetime. It will be difficult at times. It will make you sweat. It may cause you to think about quitting. It can lead to times of depression. It will lead to times of great joy. It will bring incredible satisfaction. Whatever it is and however long it lasts, you will be energized by your passion and, with God’s help, that energy will see you through.

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Passion gives you focus

Both of my children are getting married soon. My son will be married in less than two weeks and my daughter in just over two months. As they grew up in our home, I would tell them on occasion to “find something you love to do and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

In other words, seek and find your passion in life. Passion is important for many reasons. Over the next few weeks, I want to present to you 12 reasons why passion is important.

I’ve been in leadership positions for my entire adult life. As a teacher, coach, and pastor, I’ve read a lot of books on leadership. I’ve heard a lot of talks about leading others at conferences and workshops and I’ve had many opportunities to teach leadership principles myself. A common theme among leaders is passion. Many leaders begin with passion. Without passion, there is no leadership.

I have to be honest. Over the years, I’ve heard so much about passion that I think the topic has been watered down. Sometimes I wonder if passion is over taught and overstated in such a way that it loses its effect on people.

I know I’ve reached points where I was sick of hearing about passion.

But it is passion that makes things happen, whether you’re talking about Mother Teresa, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, or Billy Graham. Passion is a major foundational core that can be found deep inside almost every leader.

So why is passion so important? Here is the first of 12 reasons (in no particular order):

1. Passion gives you the ability to FOCUS. Passion gives PURPOSE and CLARITY.

At the end of my freshman year of college, I was floundering. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t know what major to declare. I wasn’t interested in the classes I was taking.

In a moment of desperation as I was studying for final exams in the college library late one night, I bowed my head and asked God to reveal to me what I should do with my life.

It was one of the few times in my life when God clearly spoke to me.

It all came together in a matter of seconds. I was an athlete. I loved sports. I loved teaching and influencing teenagers. “Turn the things you’re passionate about into a career,” God said in an almost audible voice. It was an epiphany.

The next morning I immediately went to my advisor and changed my major to Physical Education/Coaching. From that point on, I made good grades. In fact, I made the Dean’s List most of my remaining semesters in spite of having to take courses like anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. I studied harder and with great interest because my passion gave me FOCUS, CLARITY, and PURPOSE.

I had a reason to know every bone and muscle in the body. There was purpose behind my psychology classes. In a flash – in just a moment of inspiration in a college library – my passion came to me and gave me the ability to FOCUS over the next several years.

Until another calling came later…I’ll share that story another day.

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