At the very core, successful people aren’t exactly made up of some mystery sauce. It’s usually a combo of working hard, staying determined, and being truly passionate about what they do. Somewhere in there, “luck” factors in, but over an extended period of time, there’s a regression to the mean and luck’s role dissipates. But over the course of those inputs of hard work, determination, and passion, I force rank passion as the game-changer. It's what gets great ideas off the ground and keeps them going. It’s this insatiable desire to keep going when nothing makes sense or when most signs point to being wrong.
You know you're passionate when it's 3:30 AM, you know you need to be up at 8, but you just can't stop working on that one last thing. Passion is what makes you ramble to your friends about something until you catch yourself and apologize, only to have them tell you they love seeing you this alive. It's not just drive or motivation—it's the thing that makes the hard parts feel like they matter.
After talking to tons of people, both the ones crushing it and the ones still finding their way, I've realized something: real, genuine passion is actually pretty rare. I'm not sure if it's luck, some people simply stumble onto something they're passionate about, but I've found it to be consistently one of the most powerful determinants of early and sustained, long-term success.
If you're running a team or business, protecting passion is a critical function to put out amazing things. Find those people who light up about their work, and make sure they have everything they need to keep that fire burning.
For me, it's about checking in and being real with people. How are they feeling about everything on their plate? What elements of their day-to-day are a damper on their strengths and passions? When you see that spark in someone, protect it. Let them know that while we cannot forego all the shitty stuff, the goal is continually to spend our time in the things we’re the best at. What can you do to help them channel that passion into something amazing?
Passion doesn't just numb the pain of adversity1, it transforms your process and journey through the creation of sustainable, limitless energy. The most difficult and rewarding outcomes need endurance. It's the fuel of passion that guides you towards your most meaningful work.
There’s most certainly a further and complicated discussion around passion and exploitation. It’s argued that creatives often are ripe for exploitation, and we give our time at below-market rates and more. A counterpoint I want to consider is that we (generally) can say “no” within the realms of creative work. Beyond the financial realities of an arrangement, we as creatives have the additional benefit of deriving non-financial value from the work we engage in. The latter can’t be said for many others.
I feel like passion is a by product of choosing to follow your actual proclivities.