Life Lessons 13 : Your Questions Answered

Your Questions Answered

How Do I Decide the Passion to Pursue?

I have followed your Life Lessons interviews since inception and one thing I discovered is that most of them stayed in a particular area consistently over a period of time and they made it. I am a very creative person. I won’t say I have passion but passions. I can come up with 10 ideas in a week and this continues anytime I am alone. I also have multiple skills. I can sing. I can dance. I can draw. I can make people laugh. Surprisingly, I am a graduate of Microbiology. My concern is: which one is my passion and how can I identify it?

You are not alone. A normal human being, research has shown, can have between 500 and 700 ideas he or she can tinker with per time! If you are pushed to the wall, for instance, there are things you would discover you can do. Any time I travel abroad, I am usually amazed at how quickly my friends cross over to other skills. I have friends who studied Mass Communication in Nigeria but had to study Nursing to be able to work abroad. Some studied Medicine in Nigeria but had to switch to Information Technology (IT). Every human being is so wired to multitask.

Here is a line you should ponder on. Nobody is an accident on this earth. There is a special assignment you are created to accomplish before you return to your maker. You must discover this assignment and commit every cell inside of you into accomplishing it. Nothing else would give you fulfillment. Money won’t. Material possessions won’t. Your spouse won’t. The discovery of this purpose comes at different times. Some can know what they are here to do from birth. Some discover this at 30. Some do at old age. Your passion is something you can do even if you are not being paid for it. Real living starts once you discover this. And it gets interesting when you are paid for it.

The discovery of your assignment can come from different sources. You can discover your assignment through difficult problems you face. For instance, someone who goes into personal bankruptcy many times because of wrong investment moves can turn the situation around and become a guru on how to help people get out of financial difficulty. In that case, he does not need to consult any book; – he is the book on bankruptcy! The challenges you face are usually not meant for you. The ultimate intention of the Higher Power is that when you fix the problems, it would be easier for you to teach other people how to fix same problems.

You can also discover your passion by observing what constantly engages your mind and attention. There are certain desires that come to your mind regularly. Pay attention to such and take time to know more about such. If you concentrate very well, one would become dominant. That may be a clue as to what you should be doing.

Your personality is also key. God specially created everybody with certain personality traits. Some have analytical capability. Some can be creative and so on. While it is possible to combine multiple personality traits, it is likely that one would dominate. Focus on the dominant one and nurture it carefully.

You can also ask people around you to let you know what they think you are good at doing. You should not be surprised that people can read you accurately. Your spouse should know what you are good.

Irrespective of how you came about your passion, including developing a skill, my advice is that once it is discovered, devote everything you have to nurturing it until you become a brand in that area. Bill Gates dropped out of school when he discovered that his passion for IT would be frustrated by the academic environment. Tiger Woods started to play golf at a very tender age. I suggest you take inventory of every interest you have and zero in on one. This may have nothing to do with what you currently do. Let me us advise you not to compare yourself with the next person. It is the easiest way to derail. If you text your request to the number above, I would recommend one great book that would open your mind on how to discover your passion. All is well.

Question

I have followed the past 10 editions of the life lessons and I must confessed I am inspired by them. Have you been able to figure out what are the things that are common to all of them; things they do that other people don’t do?

I have analysed all the life lessons interviews I have conducted and although they have collectively shared several lessons; I have been able to isolate three key principles that are common to all of them.

One every one of the person I have interviewed define wealth differently from most people. Most of them do associate wealth with money alone. Rather they believe that you are wealthy when you are able to live a balanced life taking care of all key critical areas of life such as spiritual, health, finance, fun time. Relationship, fun time and community development without neglecting any.

Secondly, I observe that most of them have stayed consistently with a particular passion for over a period of years. Mr. Jimi Agbaje has been a community pharmacist for more than two decades. Chief Samuel Adedoyin has been in the industry for several years.

Thirdly, as they stay consistently on a particular passion they ultimately become brands and that is where real money making begins.

Fourth, I also observe that most of them take the issue of spirituality very seriously. In fact, a few of them I interviewed expressed regrets that they did not realize this early.

Do you have questions for any of the guests we have featured in the Life Lesson interviews? Send your questions to ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com