Every purpose will be a passion, but every passion won’t be a purpose

Be careful when people tell you to follow your passion.  Follow every real purpose.  Evaluate every real passion.

When I was a preteen I had a passion for Michael Jackson.  My life’s goal was to one day meet and marry him.  I waisted many hours dreaming over his pictures and pining for the day we’d finally meet.  When I was in my 20’s I had a passion for wearing all of the latest fashions.  I worked in a mall and waisted most of my paycheck on clothes I didn’t need and couldn’t afford.

Passions like these can lead you astray, but purpose always leads you to your appointed destiny.

If you are passionate about something, ask yourself two questions:

1. Does pursuing this passion elevate me?
2. Does pursuing this passion elevate the people around me?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, you may have found your purpose.  If you answered no to either, you may have found your distraction (or worse, your addiction).

Let me be clear about something.  Some people interchange the words passion a pleasure.  I might say I have a passion for good food.  But, what I really mean is, I take pleasure in good food.  As long as you can distinguish between what you were meant to do (purpose) and what you enjoy doing in your leisure (pleasure), you are in a safe place.

Don’t confuse talent with purpose

You may have the talent to sing, but that doesn’t mean you should strive to be the next Celine Dion.  Only do so if it’s your purpose.

My niece has a wonderful ear for music.  When she was a young child, she could listen to a song, then duplicate the melody on a piano.  When she attended high school, her music teacher would repeatedly tell me what a pleasure it was to work with such a talented student.  But, after high school, no matter how much I begged and pleaded, she refused to continue her lessons.  She wasn’t the least bit interested in pursuing a career in music.  It wasn’t my niece’s passion or her purpose.  I was wrong to try to force her to pursue something she had no interest in doing.  I learned a very important lesson from this experience.  Talent doesn’t always equal purpose.  But, purpose always equals passion.