Passion: The Currency of Happiness

Sitting here ruminating on my Blogging 101 journey thus far, I’m elated as my blog takes on a fresh and exciting new tone.  I couldn’t be happier.  I decided to go exploring, per our 101 assignment, to find a blog that really spoke to me in such a way as to inspire a blog post.  Seeing that there is no shortage of awesome talent on WordPress, I knew this task would not pose a challenge.

I came across a poem called “The Everyday Under His Collar,” on Nicole Riget’s Blog.  The poem was about the everyday struggles that salesmen encounter when faced with quotas and rejection; while simultaneously attempting to maintain hopes that somehow seem to elusively retreat into the cave of tomorrows.  Having spent six years in sales, I immediately identified with the misery of fleeting hopes.  Although sales was a lucrative career for me, in many cases, the anticipation and preparation for the sales call exceeded customer buy-in.  I found myself always chasing the big one (the big account, the big bonus, the customer commitment, etc.)  It was exhausting.  One section of Nicole’s poem caused me to poignantly ponder the emptiness I experienced, when all of my preparation for a big sales call ended with the heartbreak that accompanied the “NO.”

“The failed,

the miserable,

the promises;

always of tomorrow.

The tomorrows’ building

into becoming nothing,

not-a-thing,

no thing at all.”

                                                           ~Nicole Rigets

As I read these lines, I thought about the feelings of dread that would grip me some days, just thinking about work.  Even though I was experiencing a measure of success, I was dead inside.  When I compare that career, to the one I’m working now, it’s like night and day.  What’s even funnier is, my current career doesn’t even pay as much as the previous one did; but for some reason, I feel much wealthier and fulfilled now.

Life has a tendency to abuse us in many ways by taking from us more than it gives.  We live in a state of deprivation; sleep deprivation, food deprivation, and social deprivation.  In essence, it’s all in the name of struggling to survive and thrive.  We’re chasing after tomorrows that never come.  We’ve all either been there, we’re there now, or we will be there soon. It’s time for a serious self-evaluation.

What is our life’s ROI?  What are we demanding in return for the time, energy, and money that we’re spending trying to thrive?  There is one thing, and one thing only, that life requires from us before it will give anything back; and that one thing is passion.  I’m not a multi-millionaire (yet), but I possess something now that I didn’t have back then…PASSION!

After reading Nicole’s post, I realized that there is another form of currency that exists beyond money.  It’s far more precious than gold; in fact, if used properly, it attracts money.  We may not be able to put passion in our wallets, but it does hide perfectly in our hearts.  Passion buys more than material possessions, it also buys spiritual treasures.  Passion fills every tick-tock of the clock with meaning, and not just minutes.  Passion is the only thing known to man, that allows us to walk boldly into the storehouse of life, and buy happiness.

Thank you, Nicole for indulging me.  You’re a great inspiration.

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Keep Learning ♦ Keep Loving ♦ Keep Living

BE