President's message
 Got passion?
Passion: "A strong liking or desire for or devotion
to some activity, object, or concept; an
object of desire or deep interest.1"
Heart: "One's innermost character, feelings, or
inclinations.1"
At a recent AASV committee meeting, the group was
struggling with how to approach a difficult but important task. A past president
of our association
said,
"Just assign it to someone with a passion for
the issue and let them indulge that passion." All the others in the room
nodded in
agreement.
I have heard it said, "If you want
something done, assign it to a busy person."
Better yet, assign it to someone with a passion
for the job. It will get done and get done right. How do you find what you are
passionate about? Listen to your heart!
Rick Warren2, in the book "The
Purpose Driven Life," says that another word
for heart is passion. He says that passion and the drive to be intensely interested in
certain subjects are innate and are truly a gift from God. Warren says, "People rarely
excel at tasks they don't enjoy doing or feel passionate about." We all inherently
understand this, but at times, we do not listen to our hearts.
What are you passionate about? Sometimes we get lost in the daily grind and fail
to listen to our hearts. How do you know if you are listening to your heart and
indulging your passion? Warren says the first sign
is enthusiasm: "When you are doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate
you or challenge you or check up on you. You do it for the sheer enjoyment of it. You
do not need rewards or applause or payment, because you love serving in this way.
The opposite is also true: when you don't have a heart for what you're doing, you are
easily discouraged."
Warren goes on to say that the second sign of someone indulging their passions is
effectiveness: "Whenever you do what God wired you to love to do, you get good at
it. Passion drives perfection. If you don't care about a task, it is unlikely that you
will excel at it. In contrast, the highest
achievers in any field are those who do it because
of passion, not duty or profit."
During the 1998 Howard Dunne Memorial
Lecture,3 Mike Daniel encouraged us to allow our hearts to lead: "Passion
comes from the heart. Passion is necessary for success. Passion is necessary for finding
true joy in our work." I can still remember
an example Mike gave us of a young entrepreneur who was advised by his father to
"play with a lot of things until you find
something you really enjoy ... make this your life's work and let the money take care
of itself." Mike went on to say:
"Communicating a vision that captures the energy
of others is the single most important responsibility of a leader. Doing this is
impossible without a deeply held, genuine passion.
We must have "heart" before we start."
Passions are the things that make our hearts sing, that we feel most alive
doing, that we eagerly anticipate and dive into with determination and joy. These
passions help make life sweeter, more exciting. Sometimes it's difficult to excavate
these passions, to take a good look at your inner self and ask what it is that fills your
heart with song. Your heart will talk to you ... just listen.
When your passions align with your heart and you do what you love and what
you are really good at, happiness, productivity, and contentment will follow. This is
when traditional boundaries between work and play begin to blur and disappear.
When you really love what you do, your vocation becomes your vacation, and you will
never really work a day in your life.
If you need an example to follow, next time you are at an AASV meeting, just
look around ... good role models will be everywhere!
References
1. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Available
at www.m-w.com. Accessed May 2, 2004.
2. Warren R. The Purpose Driven Life. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan; 2002:234-240.
3. Daniel M. Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture: Leading in the midst of change.
Proc AASP. Des Moines, Iowa. 1998:1-21.
John Waddell
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