In Pursuit of Passion

As Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers said in his very inspiring speech to a group of Stanford graduands recently, “You’ve got to find what you love to do…. The only way to do great is to love what you do. Keep looking and don’t settle.”

Last week I celebrated my 48th birthday – wow, I can’t believe I have actually spent 48 great years on this planet; I still feel not a day older than 28! In fact, whenever someone asks me my age, I actually have to do some calculation to work it out…

Anyway, I thank God for all these wonderful years – I have experienced so many different things in my life… acted in a movie; run a magazine for 9 years; retired at 36; went back to work at World Wildlife Fund – experienced so much and had a great time traveling the world with WWF; enjoyed myself speaking at business conventions in Australia, NZ, Malaysia and Singapore; and now, a trainer and coach! I’ve also done adventurous stuff like climb mountains, snow-skied at different resorts around the world, walk on fire, sky diving, gone up in a free-flying hot air balloon and landed on a tree... Whew!!! (I think the next thing I want to do is to learn to fly a plane.)

And I’m certainly nowhere near stopping… there’s so much more I want to pursue with passion. What I see for myself in the years to come? Continue to help more people find their passion so they can do what they really love to do instead of work 9 to 5 at a job they hate or find no fulfillment in. I also want to give back more to society and do more mission work in third world countries.

Yes, it’s all about finding your passion if you want a truly fulfilling and happy life. I found my passion early and see it continue to evolve as I myself continue to learn and grow. I remember what I wrote in my magazine column some 10+ years ago: When I pass on, I want my epitaph to read, “Someone who lived life with passion and never stop learning.” That still holds so, so true for me.

CELEBRATE CHOICE, UNDERSTAND CONSEQUENCES

Life is simply a sum total of the choices we have made. As Zig Ziglar said, “You are free to choose, but the choices you make today will determine what you will have, be and do in the tomorrow of your life.”

Yes, we humans are all blessed with the freedom to choose, and in places where this freedom is restricted, we fight for our right to choose. However, we must look further than that. We must also understand that whatever choice we decide upon, there are consequences we will inevitably face.

I attended the much talked about and much publicised Aware EGM on 2nd May where the majority of the members managed to “throw out” the existing Exco at that time. Much of what the supporters of the “old guard” said is, in my opinion, valid. But there were also a substantial number – 700+ – who supported the then Exco. These people also had valid arguments, which unfortunately were unheard simply because they were non-activists (if there’s such a term) and thus not as vocal or “passionate” about their views.

Upon personal reflection, the lesson I take away is this: We need to be absolutely aware (no pun intended) of what those of us who are in more authoritative and influential roles are communicating to people under our direct influence. A case in point is freedom of choice in terms of sexual preferences. Yes, in a free country like ours, we respect an individual’s choice with regards to this, but be aware that we are also effectively communicating the consequences of such choices.

Veering away from the controversial issue of sexual preference, let us look at the more common example of smoking to illustrate what I mean. Let’s say we choose to smoke. That’s a simple decision or choice. You may then look at the consequences – like future health problems, but then, this is often ignored. Why? Simply because, the consequence is “iffy” and may only happen in the faraway future. You DO NOT drop dead the moment you light up a cigarette. It’s not an immediate consequence.

But lighting up that first cigarette is only the first in a series of what my mentor Jerry Clark calls, “simple errors in judgement.” One error will lead to the next (hey, I smoked one cigarette and I’m still alive!) and the next and eventually lead to a dreadful or even deadly consequence that you will surely NOT celebrate.

I am not anti-gay. When I was the editor of a woman’s magazine, I had three gay staff whom I was very close to. I used to hang out with them and their friends, listening to their stories and empathizing with their daily struggle for acceptance and recognition. One of them committed suicide a couple of years back; he was only in his 20s. I felt totally devastated by what happened. Did he make the right choices? Was he aware of the consequences when he made those choices?

I look forward to an even more effective Aware; as a member now (long delayed as I had wanted to join since it started but somehow had other priorities), I hope to be able to contribute both as a professional trainer and coach.