The 'Whens' of Passion and the Exceptional Person

           An exceptional person doesn’t despise adversity, they overcome it!  When life gives them lemons, they don’t just make lemonade, they make a whole line of lemon products.  Then they plant the seeds and compost the rinds!

             By now you know the routine, review, and then move on.  Last week we covered the ‘whats’ of following your passion.  To ensure we’re all on the same page, we’ll take a look at the ‘whys and whats’ before we move on to the ‘whens’.

        First, the ‘whys’

            Why do we spend our precious few years here on earth toiling at a dead-end job in an arena that is not entirely of our choosing?

            Why do we not follow our passions more?

            Why do we have a thousand excuses for continuing to be a slave to mediocrity when our brilliance is waiting on the periphery for us to recognize our true calling?

            And the ‘whats’     

            What is keeping you where you are and preventing you from moving forward?

            What is preventing you from following your passion on a part time basis?

            What excuse are you using to stay right where you are?

So, getting on to the ‘whens’.   

                When should you start?  Let me answer that by saying this.  I don’t know a lot of exceptional people, however, I don’t think it’s because there are few of them.  I think it’s because few choose to be.  Or, in the context of what we’re talking about, few realize that the when is not as important as the fact that they do start and they forge ahead!

            An exceptional person doesn’t despise adversity, they overcome it!  When life gives them lemons, they don’t just make lemonade, they make a whole line of lemon products.  Then they plant the seeds and compost the rinds!

            Exceptional people don’t stop where others do.  They also don’t get about their business unaided.  That is to say, they are passionate about something and they will undoubtedly make other passionate about it as well.  Those who don’t become passionate will take notice of their drive and single-mindedness. 

            Now, if you’re still at sea about this, I will illustrate my point with some examples of exceptional people who you may not thought of as being particularly exceptional.  Mother Theresa, Barack Obama, Jack Layton.  What is so exceptional?   

Mother Theresa had to overcome the objections of the Vatican to persist in what she believed was her life’s work among the poorest of the poor.  She not only overcame the objections, but, also started an entirely new order of nuns who worked in the slums of Calcutta.  She didn’t wait for the Vatican to catch up to her vision.  She knew the need was now and the time to start was immediately! Barack Obama, a black man, not only aimed at the office of the President of the United States, but attained it!  This was no easy task as some of the people in southern states (although not just the southern states) still harbour deep resentment of the northern states and people of colour in positions of authority.  The late Jack Layton, federal leader of the official opposition in the Canadian Parliament, would often say, ‘don’t let people tell you it can’t be done’. He proved that and did what many thought couldn’t be done by the New Democratic Party, formed the official opposition.  He too knew there wasn’t a perfect time to fight this fight and chose to fight it following one bout with cancer and being diagnosed with another type following the election.  He didn’t sit back and leave the job to someone else – exceptional! 

            So, what are you prepared to lose for your convictions?  Until next time!