But What Are My Passions?

I've been spending a great deal of my research and work delving into taking your resources (your time, your money, your talent, etc) and applying them to the things you are most passionate about most in life, that you value most in life. Recently though, a friend who was asking how things were going with the book remarked "Wow, sounds great - I hope you can tell me what I'm passionate about while you're at it!"

Well, sort of. I have given it some thought, and knew it was something I needed to address, but the more I think about it the more important it is to have this as a firm foundation before moving forward. What use is learning tricks and tips on how to spend more time doing what you love if you aren't even (consciously) aware of what those things are that you value most in life, that you'd be so much more "alive" doing?

So, I'm directing my research and thinking efforts in that direction now. I came across this post about how to find work you love earlier today, which should give me a good jumping off point into the deeper waters of helping people make sure they have clearly defined what they are passionate about... at least at the point in their lives they read my book.

Inspiration Dig

Working on this book, I've begun thinking of myself as something of a "passionologist", going out on expeditions through websites, bookstores, interviews, etc. in an attempt to excavate passion-related artifacts. One such artifact I've come across recently is the post aptly titled Finding Your Passion over at Brad Bollenbach's 30 Sleeps blog.

I'm becoming a big fan of the way Brad squeezes his thoughts into words.

Passion Formulas

Innovation + Passion = Motivation

Motivation + Passion = Determination

Determination + Passion = Creation

Harness Your What?

"The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it." - Benjamin Disraeli

As I began thinking about how to approach a book about the subject of identifying what you are passionate about and harnessing that knowledge to improve your life, career, education, etc., it became quickly apparent that there are a vast number of topics I wanted to touch on and angles to look at those topics through. Without some plan to organize all of that, my book would be a wreck, but to take on organizing that is a huge chore. So the big first question: am I ready to commit to all that work?

The answer I have come to firmly in my heart is yes, and one of the reasons for that decision has little to do with the book and is, frankly, a bit selfish. I want to do this because the more I study getting passionate about your life (and pursuing the things you feel so strongly about), the more I'll learn about my own life and how to make the most of my strengths and "labor loves".

Everything ultimately, I think, comes down to one question that I hope to answer in this book - How do I spend more of my time each day doing what I love to do? I have some things I think are good answers, some that I believe will be easier to implement than others.