Last week, we explored the first question of “Who am I”, this week we take a look at the second question on the Personal Mission Statement list…

Question #2 – What am I passionate about?

OK. Now that the question of who I thought I was had been answered in the acceptable single word format and I had reached my self-given goal of twenty note cards, it was time to move on to my passions and picking out the perfect color Sharpie to accompany the new blank cards I had in front of me. Pouring over my collection I zeroed in on the only pen I could deem acceptable for talking about passion. A vivid hot pink dual tip marker. The color seemed an obvious choice, but the dual tip made me think of how some passions can be small, like a fine point, and some could be easier to see, like the broad side of my appointed pen. Yes. It was the perfect choice.

At this point, I have to admit, the technique of coming up with one word answers in blast-like rapid fire is starting to grow on me. I sort of wonder what it would be like if we answered all questions this way. Picture it, two people meet up on the street, the sun is shining, one is walking his dog, the other just came from lunch. After the general greetings of hello, one will ask “What are you doing this weekend?” and the other can then reply “Housework. Sleeping. Errands. Dinner Party. Movie Watching.” The thought tends to amuse me.

Anyway, when I think about passion I think about one thing. A movie quote.

“If you wake up in the morning, and you can’t think anything but singing first, then you should be a singer…“ – Whoopi Goldberg as Sister Mary Clarence – Sister Act 2

It’s great isn’t it? It’s all about passion and what gets you motivated to get out of bed in the morning. What is the first thing you think about? What is it that comes natural to you? Take note of yourself for a week and see what it is that you do every day and if there is a pattern. If you see one, there is a good chance that the pattern is actually your passion.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I head for, even before food or coffee, is my computer. I check my messages and look for the digital voices that fill my day. I thrive on hearing from people. It nourishes me more than any other supplement on Earth. It’s also the last thing I will look at before I go to bed at night. Without the Internet and the people that make up it’s pulse, I’m not sure what I would do with myself. Working With People, both on the Internet and off, is my number 1 passion. No doubt about it.

But what about the other 19 cards? As much as I wanted to put down the Audi TTS that I drooled over at the car show I went to over the weekend, I was pretty sure it didn’t really qualify as a passion.

I wrote for about twenty minutes before tossing over half of my note card stack and starting over. Eventually, here’s what I came up with:

2. Photoshop 3. Education 4. Technology 5. Marketing (I think) 6. Brand Identity Development 7. My Website 8. My Friends and Family 9. Helping People 10. Community Development 11. Design 12. Creative Idea Development 13. Self Improvement 14. Writing 15. Animated Movies 16. The NAPP Community 17. Laughter 18. Internet Surfing 19. Management and 20. Leadership

After reading through it, I was starting to see the connections that my coach had talked about. It seemed to me that my Personal Mission Statement was already starting to tell me what I needed to know. But, could it be? Was it really that simple? What I was beginning to see was making me a bit suspicious.

It was time to move on to the hardest question of the bunch, Question #3 – What do I want to do?

<to be continued…>