Find your passion!

I’m going to let you in on one of the secrets to my life. Something I have noticed in the years most recent. It’s so simple you may be surprised?

Surround yourself with passionate people, passionate about life.  Passionate about the things they do, the people they love. When you talk with people who are passionate about what they’re doing, passionate about life and the people they love, it is transformative. I am talking about the excited, fired-up, feeling-strongly-about, thinking-about-it-all-the-time, can’t-wait-to-do-it-when-you-wake-up passion. When you talk with people who are like this, you can’t help but get fired up yourself. It’s the kind of energy that feeds itself. It makes you want to go out and do something exciting. 

The more you surround yourself with these types of individuals the more you will become one of these individuals. Cool Eh! Passionate people not only inspire you, they give you ideas.  Ideas that will come out in the way you live your life and this in turn will draw more passionate people to you. You can probably already identify with people that are in your circle that have this effect on you. Well I can guarantee you that you most likely have the same effect on them, nurture this, allow yourself to be inspired by other people who are passionate and full of ideas, encourage them to share those positive, inspirational ideas with you. The people in your life should act as fuel for a very intense fire. It’s incredible to talk with people like this, and to spend time with them, and you can’t walk away from them without getting a bit revved up.

While I am working on leading a life of a minimalism, I’ve learned that minimalism can be done anywhere you go and it doesn’t require that you move to a farm or give up your contact with people. Just the opposite: minimalism is not about giving up things  as much as it is about giving up consumption in favor of doing things you’re passionate about and having real relationships with a few people you really value. I’d much rather have a conversation with someone doing something amazing than go shopping. I rarely shop and I thank the universe, daily, that I have found someone who shares this passion. Grow into someone who is about creating and not so much about consuming. 

I have also found that you don’t have to live in a big city like Toronto or Vancouver to surround yourself with passionate people. They’re in small towns too, it might take a bit of searching to find them but don’t stop looking. We are everywhere. My sister who lives in the smallish town of White Rock BC is the perfect example of this.

Find small businesses that are doing amazing things, and talk with the people there. Look for startups, for artists and writers, for people who are obsessed with doing something really well. My daughter with her artwork and my son with his music inspire the passion in me, everyday.

I believe that this is one of the reasons that social networking is in such demand and a flourishing part of our lives nowadays. Because if we can’t find passionate souls where we live we sure can find them online. They’re everywhere if you look. Read books, watch films by people full of powerful ideas who are doing innovative things. Go to local art galleries, check out local music venues, visit the library, support local farmers, go to poetry readings, and check out neighbourhood independent restaurants. Read blogs, talk via email, follow on Twitter, and comment on their wall posts. Start collaborating with people that share your passion.

Be one of them, and not only get inspired but do your best to inspire others.