Finding your Passion

The great debate is whether an entrepreneur is born or made. Do you believe that people are born with the entrepreneur spirit? My answer would be yes. Do you believe that situations arise out of life that creates an entrepreneur? To that I would also answer yes. I’ve known for the majority of my life that this was the path I was going to choose. I just didn’t know what the “content” of the journey would become. I spent a great deal of time searching for myself and what was my true passion. In the end, that passion found me. As a student in art school, the intensity of having to come up with new concepts week after week shows you quickly where you strengths lie. My belief is that you need to find passion in what you are doing regardless of the industry. This road has bumps and roadblocks and what will get you through those times is the belief in what you are doing. You will quickly find that it doesn’t feel so much like work when you discover your true passion.

How do you discover that passion if you are still searching? Get involved in activities that you never had done before. Take courses at the local community colleges, cooking schools, dance, etc. Sit down and write lists of all the things you'd like to do or experience in your lifetime. Now make a commitment to check off at least 3 of these things a year. If possible, check off more but if you keep your goal realistic, you will be able to easily reach and surpass it. Eventually you will begin to see a pattern in what feels right to you.

I discovered my passion over 12 years ago but it sat in a box in the basement until I was inspired to take the chance. My inspiration was easy – my children. I want them to live their life to the fullest but really how can I teach them that if I’m not living it myself? I never wanted to hear them ask me “Why didn’t you do it mommy?” I decided it was better to fail and show them that at least I tried than to never have tried at all. After all, what is the worst thing that can happen if you fail? Embarrassment, loss of money, disappointment…you can recover from them all. At the end of the day you can either keep dreaming or you can start living.

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Nelson Mandela