Passion...

Martin Luther had a desire. Hitler had a desire. Mao Tse-tung had a desire. Walt Disney had a desire. Erik Weihenmeyer had a desire. The list is endless, but the results are the same. Each of their achievements speaks for itself. Each started with a desire- good or bad.

It was passion however, that drove each to pursue their desires to the extent that they did. Passion became the fuel of their desire. Desire points the way, but passion carries a person beyond mediocrity, beyond adversity to achieve the extraordinary.

I remember meeting a gentleman several years ago who raised pigeons. He raised this unique breed for the sole purpose of competing. They were raised and trained to be taken, eventually, several hundred miles from their home and then released! These incredible birds knew exactly where they were headed and amazingly, knew the way to get there. You talk about having GPS! Of course, the purpose was to see who's pigeons arrived "home" first.

We too, need clear direction- a desire. But it will take more than just a desire. It took those pigeons a couple days to get to their destination. I suppose they could have settled down at any spot along their journey, but they'd been bred and trained to finish their race. Getting home was now "in them"- it had become instinctive. They weren't about to be detoured. We too, will need something extra to get us to our destination; and the more grand the desire the greater the need. That something will need to be passion! But how does one get passion?

Passion is a "heart-thing". It's a drive that originates from inside. In essence, you build your desire within before you ever attempt to start. Passion can however, be cultivated. By reading and studying what it is you want to accomplish you build an inner image. Spend time observing others who have thought or who think similarly. Train and practise whatever it is you want to accomplish. Eventually, passion will begin to push you beyond just imagining and drive you to the point of acting. That's when passion becomes the fuel of your desire.

So let the fire begin. But a word of caution: Once the fires of passion begin to burn, they can become difficult to put out!

Is there something you feel passionate about?