Why passion for your work makes all the difference

I gave away a successful legal career over 25 years ago to become Australasia’s Passion Provocateur.

I stopped giving legal advice on tax and business issues and started a new life as a professional speaker and executive coach, speaking to, and provoking audiences and helping individual executives to choose the path of passion.

I have been giving advice on passion and leadership rather than giving advice on law!

Why did I do such a crazy thing, when I was passionate about my work as a lawyer and on top of that had four young children to look after, nurture and educate?

I made the leap of faith and changed career because I knew that passion for your work makes all the difference.

Why does passion for your work make all the difference?

Here’s five big, compelling answers to that question!

Firstly, passion comes from your soul or spirit, not your mind: it is a source of unlimited energy, and this energy determines the quality of your productivity. You cannot be highly productive when you are low on energy. And the more productive that you are, the more you will be rewarded in our economic system.

Secondly, the source of your courage is your passion. When you are passionate about your work, you will be able to access the courage to speak up in your workplace, to be willing to be different, to express your views and beliefs, and to help craft a business culture that is one you are proud to be part of.

Thirdly, when you have plenty of energy sourced from your passion, you embrace the problems that work throws up at you on a daily basis; you do not walk around moaning and complaining that you have too much on your plate!

Fourthly, your passion for your work supports your hunger to learn and develop, to become better, and to find innovative and creative ways to help your business progress. Learning and growing are natural desires. I believe that if you are not learning and growing, you are dying. Yet, most people are not hungry to learn and grow: they seem to just live lives of survival. This type of living is one of the prime consequence of not being passionate about your work.

Fifthly, when you are passionate about your work, the people around you feel it. They are often inspired by such passion. Sometimes, they are threatened by such passion, and they choose to leave that workplace because they realise they themselves are not passionate about that work. Inspiring your colleagues to also be passionate is a crucial factor in the success of your work teams and your business.

My view is this: if you are not passionate about your work, then you have two choices.

Either, decide where you could be passionate about your work and start taking steps to move to that new workplace.

Or, help your existing workplace to change in ways so that you can again become passionate about your work. Most people I have helped over the past 25 years were initially passionate about their work, but that passion was killed, suppressed, squashed, or dissipated.

Your passion is an amazing resource.

Everyone has passion.

Sadly, evidence shows that far too few people are using this amazing resource in their workplaces.

Your passion for your work does make all the difference: so, go and make a difference.

And remember the key principle that is also the title for my first book: Passionate People Produce!