You have probably heard a business sentiment something akin to this:

“If you want to be truly successful, discover what you are passionate about and do that.”

I read an article the other day contradicting this sentiment with some fairly compelling thought.  The writer asserted that in decades of working with successful entrepreneurs he has rarely, if ever, met one who set out determined to do what they were passionate about.

Let’s think about this for a moment:  entrepreneurs by their very definition are self-starters and opportunists.  They see an opportunity and then start a venture to take advantage of that opportunity.  Or, they see a need and set out to meet that need in a fashion that is economically beneficial.  Oftentimes we can’t discover what we are passionate about until we have been engaged in various endeavors and life experiences.

Do we start with a passion for something and then jump into the venture to accomplish that passion, or do we jump into ventures and in doing so discover our passions?

I think it is more the latter than the former.

Do we do what we are passionate about, or do we choose to be passionate about what we do?

Again, I think it is more the latter than the former.

There is no question that passion for our work is a critical ingredient for success.  However, we can choose to be passionate about what we do no matter what we are doing.  There are tasks we all have to engage in that are unpleasant and not our favourite things to do.  But we can still choose to passionately engage in those tasks out of a desire for excellence, or a desire to ensure we are doing everything we can to ensure success.  You may not be passionate about certain tasks and responsibilities, but you can always delegate or contract those out to people who are very passionate about those tasks.

Sure, it is very difficult day after day to work at something that feels like it is sucking the life out of you.  There are always circumstances simply needing to be changed.  That being said though, we can choose to bring passion to whatever we do.

Case in point:  years ago I launched a sport marketing agency to serve the game day promotional needs of pro sports teams.  Was I passionate about pro sports?  No.  Was I passionate about game day entertainment?  No.   I was, however, passionate about creating my own opportunities.  I was passionate about creating something that had never been done before.  I was passionate about winning people over.  I was passionate about contributing to the betterment of people’s lives through a number of different means.

So, did I sit down and try to figure out what I as passionate about, or did I “stumble upon” an opportunity and then bring my passion to the table?  Clearly the latter is true.  With the plethora of successful leaders I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with over the years I have witnessed the same thing time and time again: great leaders bring passion to whatever they are doing.

Great leaders don’t live life sitting at a red light waiting for passion to somehow drop into their lap.  They live life driving forward through the green light bringing their passion to whatever they do.

Wholehearted leaders choose to bring passion to what they are doing.  Great leaders recognize that passion is something we bring to the game, we don’t wait for it to be brought to us.

By and large, great leaders don’t necessarily do what they are passionate about, they choose to be passionate about what they do.

Is deep down, heartfelt passion a critical ingredient for success?  Absolutely!  Perhaps though, how we look at passion requires a 3 degree shift:  let’s choose to bring passion to what we do, and don’t waste time waiting and hoping for passion to come to us.  Seeing the broader purpose in what we do, seeing the significance of our work and the positive impact it has on the lives of others is a major factor in being able to bring passion to our work.

What you do matters – it is worthy of your deep down heartfelt passion.  Bring it.