How to Become More Passionate About the Work You Do
What’s crazy is how this all began — with a simple YouTube comment.
I’d
spent the weekend satiating my adolescent thirst for obnoxiously upbeat
and positive music with The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
One particular video stopped me in my tracks.
Beneath that video, one particular comment jumped out.
In that comment, one particular word burned my brain.
“Passion.”
Someone was talking about Hugh Jackman’s passion.
After
pandering to the Marvel comic lovers as a ripped, self-healing mutant,
it seems Wolverine is now making the movies he wants to make.
It
took passion to spend nearly 20 years playing a character the public
wanted him to play. It took passion to make action flicks when he would
rather sing. It took passion to see his current blockbuster to
fulfillment, even though it took over 7 years to make.
But why should you care about Hugh’s sacrifice?
Because
today, we believe passion can be developed in a few days (maybe
hours!). It is often treated like a light switch — is it ON or OFF?
Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.
I can’t tell you the science behind it. I can’t give you a formula.
All I can tell you is this:
The strength of your passion is almost directly related to the number of sacrifices you make.
It
is nearly impossible to develop a burning passion without first setting
aside other creature comforts. These desire-building choices are not
between what “should” or “shouldn’t” be done, but between what “could”
and what “must” be done.
In
college, I quit sleeping in on Sunday in exchange for spending time in
the computer lab to write. Later that year, I got my first viral hit.
In
2015, I quit fiction writing (something I loved dearly) to focus on
non-fiction. Almost 15 days later, my following online grew from 3,000
to 15K in 48 hours.
In
2016, I stopped playing video games. Then wrote a post which grew to #1
in the world on CNBC (a news channel my parents actually knew!)
And now, in 2018, instead of taking what should have been $40,000 in cash for a project, I took equity in a company.
At first, giving up things for my art was hard.
Now, it’s less so.
Why?
Because I know what is on the other end of sacrifice.
And it’s worth it.
Much love,
— Todd B
Passion + Ideas = The Future
In today’s world, creative people hold the keys to the future.
More often than not, those keys take the form of ideas.
If
you’re a creative person looking for a way to excel, I think you’ll
like my free book — The Ultimate Guide to Infinite Ideas. You can get it
for the price of an email address.
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