Passion that is kept a secret is meaningless. It needs to be shared and be seen for it to be meaningful. So if you really want your passion to be alive and mean something to you and others, then perhaps it’s time to take responsibility for your passion and start sharing it!
Why?
1 reason really.
Your passion needs platforms to be alive. Platforms are like oxygen to your passion. It ignites your passion. Without it, it stays hidden and dies. And your platforms are the people who can be benefit most from your passion.
So if you want your passion to come alive and stay alive, then start sharing! Because then people will be able to hear what drives you and how you can help them.
As I looked back at my own life, the times when I felt the most useless and lifeless is when I don’t know who and where I can serve. I can have the most precious diamond in my life but with no platforms to showcase it, it is simply just a shiny stone I alone possess and know.
I can have everything and yet, I have nothing.
But I am most alive and feel the most useful when I know who and where I can serve and when I am in the right room with the right people.
And to do this frequently, I was constantly sharing what I passionately love to do and helping people know, understand, see and feel what drives me deeply everyday.
So I didn’t just sit around and hope that people sees my passion. They likely won’t. I shared and shared and shared.
Everyone has something precious and amazing to offer to the world around us. But without a platform or a relevant audience, there is very little value to what we have.
And the problem is not in what we have. It is in what people do not know about what we have.
So if you want your passion to be alive, meaningful and useful, start sharing it and let people hear and know it.
And here’s some DO’s and DON’T’s on sharing your passion …
DON’T Be Shy.
There is no room to be “humble” here. Culturally, I know we are not that comfortable with tooting our own horn. But hey, this is not tooting. This is sharing. And you are the most credible voice for your own passion.
DON’T Be Presumptuous.
Don’t presume people understands your passion. Or don’t get upset or disappointed when people do not understand or appreciate your passion. Often, what you are most passionate about can be the most clueless or worst, the most dispassionate things for others.
DON’T Be Hypocritical.
Don’t say “I am not the type of person that is into marketing or talking about myself” and yet constantly complains that nobody cares about your passion. That is deceptive humility. The reason why nobody cares is because nobody knows.
DON’T Be Lazy.
And say you don’t know anything about your passion and therefore stop sharing. Well, that’s the reason you share! So that you have opportunities to learn how to be better in your passion. Use every opportunity to learn how to do it better, how you can communicate better and help others know, see and feel your passion.
DON’T Be Afraid Of Fear.
Real passion is the intense anticipation of your life’s amazing possibilities. And what’s there not to fear in this? It’s actually quite frightening to do things you have never dared or could before. But this is good fear. So don’t be afraid. Be excited!
DO Be Bold And Visible.
I admit it takes courage to make your passion visible and visibly trying it out. But that’s what it takes to make your passion visible to others around you. Being bold and visible will draw people who wants to be served by you to you.
DO Be Real.
Being passionate is being the real you. It’s about standing up for what you stand for. So if you have a passion, and it’s real, then stand up! And not everyone is going to understand that or even easily empathize with that. But hey, who cares! It’s about your passion! Not theirs!
DO Share With Everyone.
Don’t choose your audience. Let your audience choose you. Talk, share and articulate your passion to everyone and everywhere. Consciously and appropriately share your passion to those who would give you time and leave it to them to decide if they resonate with your passion.
DO Be Emotional.
It’s not what you tell people but how you make people feel your passion. Be courageous, vulnerable and share personal stories. Stories are emotional pictures that draw people to you. They see what you feel. And when they feel your story, they will engage.
And finally …
DO Be Urgent.
Success is action. Start sharing. Don’t delay. Don’t wait for “everything” to fall in place before you share anything. Don’t give any more excuses. Anymore!
Urgency precede action. And action precede success. Give your passion the greatest urgency they deserve today!
Kim Pong is the CEO and Founder of StrengthsAsia, Creator of the REFRAME MasterClass and the first 20 Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches in the world. He is based in Singapore and works with organizations in Asia in creating an engaged workplace culture for leaders, managers and executives to thrive.