(Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes)
What drives you?
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Drive to accomplish? Fear of being broke?
What is your passion? Do you know? What are you prepared to sacrifice for it?
Being cool in the sense of “lacking intensity” won’t win at this blogging game. I can tell you that just from being around it for so long. I’ve been in and around the Silicon Valley startup scene too. Same thing: passion and intensity are most definitely in. Suave, sophisticated indifference… not so much. You can leave that in St. Tropez.
And nobody can help you. They can only help you help yourself. Getting started is all about taking stock of what you have to bring to the table, then bringing it to the table and freely giving it to anyone willing to accept what you have to offer.
Or, finding your place in a cubicle farm and rotting your life away.
If you can… those cubicles are getting hard to come by these days.
Or so I hear.
But maybe you don’t want to work in a cubicle?
Then what’s the problem?
A friend emailed yesterday; she had two ideas she told me
well. hmmm… i have two ideas. the “findstuff maven” idea and then another idea. i don’t know that either are great ideas, but…
- 1. Findstuff maven
- 2. ???
“???” WTF kind of idea is that? I swear that’s a direct quote!
My reply:
“Put it out there. It might be stupid. So what.
“Ideas don’t matter. People matter. A great person can mine gold out of stupid ideas. A stupid person couldn’t mine gold from Tiffany’s. I’m tired of being stupid.”
(Are you tired of being stupid too?)
I went on to “encourage” her, in a Julie Roads sort of way, because that’s what I do.
Kelly Diels tells people “Dave Doolin is a lot of work.”
She’s right. I am a lot of work. Passion is. But it works well for me, and it works well for you. Here’s why:
You are the BEST
That’s what I told Srinivas Rao during an interview for BlogcastFM. I told him straight up “My readers are the best. Best.”
Why?
Because we’re doing stuff. Together.
You and I, we’re building something here. And I don’t just mean Website In A Weekend (but there is that). I mean we’re part of movement taking responsibility for ourselves. We’re taking our future back into our own hands. We’re not waiting for stimulus package this, bailout bill that. We don’t have time for that BS.
Instead, we’re spending a huge amount of our waking hours retraining ourselves. Learning to see the world in a new light. Gaining new perspectives on old problems. Becoming aware of new problems.
Solving those problems.
Even our rich, “sleazy” brethren the Big Time Internet Marketers with the Sunglasses and the Benz… they’re nailing it too.
Hey, I didn’t buy that expensive course on local search marketing. But guess what? Thanks to Mr. Sun Glasses and his “Results-in-Advance” expensive professional video, I now know there is legitimate opportunity right here on my street corner. And I have more ideas and techniques than I can shake a stick to get going, if that’s what I want.
In the end, it doesn’t matter. Come at it from the high end with the Benz or the low end with the Honda, what’s important is stepping up to the plate again and again. Just come at it hard, and fast. With passion.
Turn your passion into action. It’s cool.
Talk to me.
I’m gearing up for some time off, and it’s Saturday somewhere in the world… so here it is, another episode of Saturday Morning Surfing.
Very empowering post! I feel the same way– I don’t want to be reliant solely on a cubicle company and a job that I may or may not like all that much and where the only difference I make is shifting data for clients. I love reading about the people who want to pursue their dreams and passions and are taking steps to do so. Here’s to taking hold of our futures.
.-= Jessica Oei´s last blog ..Why Photoshop Can’t Fix Everything =-.
People used to trade crappy jobs and work for jpb security.
Now we have just the crappy jobs, and no job security.
Now I’m reading that corporations have trouble finding loyal employees, because the really good ones promote themselves up and out, but they only want to hire rockstars.
And there’s a hint to a company: if you have to advertise for a rock star employee, well, let’s just say that’s a bit incongruent. Rock star employees don’t need to look at help wanted ads. By definition.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Hacked. I Feel So Violated, Again! =-.
Thanks Dave for this.
I completely agree. It’s in the doing that makes the difference. I think we are all actively participating in life contributing to share knowledge and make this world a little better with our words.
Our readers inspire us and vice versa. I tell my students at school, if the world’s problems were all be solved on the page, we’d have a much more peaceful world.
Julie
.-= julie ~ jbulie’s blog´s last blog ..Facebook ~ the good, the bad and the unexpected. =-.
Julie! I’ll be writing a lot more of these in the future. There are so many people writing on the technical side, that even my technical articles, which are pretty good, get lost in the noise. Writing these kinds of articles let’s me develop my voice more powerfully, and that’s a better skill to have in the long term.
Thanks for dropping by!
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..If You Want to Be a Better Blogger, Write Better =-.
You’re writing more of these? Great – makes for a nice mix with your technical ones. =)
Anyway, that was a suitable kick up the you-know-where! With my blog still refusing to work I was sliding into the land of ‘lets just leave it til I’m less busy’ (which of course is an evil trap). Thanks.
Yeah, just suck it up and get it done. And post back here when you’re fully back on line.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Blog Better with a Virtual Assistant: Tip #1 =-.
Well its up again at least, not implemented my evil plans yet but I can get to those when I’ve less project work to do.
Feel Sooooo much better now though!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..The 3D Student is back on-line! =-.
Everybody has evil plans. I feel so goody two shoes.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..50’s Nostalgia – Slow Dancing =-.
More accurate to say ‘pre-evil’ in my case; I failed the entrance exam.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..The 3D Student is back on-line! =-.
Your cover is blown, Ralph. Since I’ve actually met you… I can see your evil genius leaking out.
I have an evil plan to save the world….mwuhahaha
Dave, hella good article.
Lately my day job has been sucking up all my energy, but it hasn’t been wholly unpleasant. My job isn’t an evil, good-for-nothing use of my time. In the 2 months that spring has been driving customers into my arms I have been forced to face some really bad habits and qualities concerning organization and processes.
Ironically, doing the Pre-Writing Challenge helped me revamp my work flow at my day job, and now my day job is building on that even further.
In the meantime, my blog and other internet projects have slowed to a frustrating degree, yet I can’t say it’s for naught. I’m rounding a bend in my growth as a person and it’s leading me back into my internet work.
I guess that’s all to say that while it really blows when your passion wanes, and life gets in the way, it can certainly be for a good cause. We have to look for the good in it and watch for the passion so we can ride that wave when it comes back around as far ashore as we can make it. Then we might be able to afford to catch a cab the rest of the way.
Whoa, I have no idea how I got into a surfing analogy – in Kansas I’m as landlocked as it’s possible to be.
.-= Carlos Velez´s last blog ..My Video Interview on Give A Brick =-.
@Carlos – day job can be great leverage. Kelly Diels has a lot to say about that.
I manage the highs of the passion by writing out huge todo lists when I peak out and the wheels start to burn rubber. Once I’ve lost traction, I just plow my way through the todo lists without thinking. Stuff gets done. I don’t have to be motivated, inspired or any of that other stuff.
Then the passion comes back.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..The Queen of GPO Speaks – violetminded Spills It =-.
Love the way your voice comes through in this, Dave. And what you say is so true. The opportunities are there, and it’s up to us to grab our passion and use it to create something amazing and to fuel our actions.
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..How to Kick Your Blog into Summer Gear =-.
Yep. And get the rent and taxes paid along the way.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Social Media: Incremental Not Exponential =-.
I love this post, too, and need to heed its advice. Does fear of being broke qualify as passion? :) I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing with my blog. I just want to use it to connect with new clients, but other bloggers aren’t my clients, so I have no idea who to reach out to.
.-= Kathleen O’Connor´s last blog ..Friday Link Lounge – May 28, 2010 =-.
“Does fear of being broke qualify as passion?”
It does in my book.
I don’t suffer from any lack of meaning in my life. I have no existential angst. What I do have is the rent due on the first of every month. That’s meaning enough. I find this a wonderful motivator, and provides me with a startling clarity of thinking.
I’ll let others debate the… the… the whatever-it-is people debate about mundane economics.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..If You Want to Be a Better Blogger, Write Better =-.
Yeah, you’re right! I don’t suffer from lack of meaning, but I do freak out about my future on occasion. Thanks for the motivating post and comment.
.-= Kathleen O’Connor´s last blog ..Friday Link Lounge – May 28, 2010 =-.
Kathleen,
Welcome to the club.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..50’s Nostalgia – Slow Dancing =-.
I am tired of being stupid. I am also tired of being ‘smart’; doing what is supposed to work. I don’t know what will work and I also don’t know what won’t. Sometimes somebody can give me a clue; other times not. All I know is that I am not in same place I was 6 months ago. Don’t ask me if it is a better place. I don’t have a clue.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..Why blogging is like entering a parallel universe =-.
I usually outsmart myself. “Too smart for your own good is what I hear.”
I’m outta here for a while. Y’all hold down the fort!
Hi Dave,
This is great! I arrived here today because Jean recommended this site.
It seems to me that many people have said things like “the opportunities are there, you just need to keep your eyes open.”
Oddly, I think that misses the point. Sure, it is true that not everyone sees the opportunities. But, the opportunities existed before someone saw them. It is not the seeing that matters, but the way one sees the opportunity & its solution.
What is my point?
It is time to stop looking for a reason that things are not working, and to start looking for ways to make things work.
It is time to learn to see the opportunities.
Have a great weekend!
.-= mark´s last blog ..Is Work/Life Balance just a scam? =-.
Mark, I really like this: “It is time to stop looking for a reason that things are not working, and to start looking for ways to make things work.”
The notion of an after action report to analyze failures is critical… but it assumes there is a well-defined action in the first place. I suspect we spend too much time analyzing “failures” without understanding exactly what it we were attempting to accomplish.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Blog Better with a Virtual Assistant: Tip #1 =-.
Hey Doolin fans, check out David Doolin’s interview on BlogCastFM.com (awesome site to explore if you haven’t already).
.-= Carlos Velez´s last blog ..Did The Law of Attraction Manifest a Computer Breakdown? Chaos vs. Design =-.
Thanks Carlos!
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Red Shoe Blogger Follows Yellow Brick Road And Finds: No Wizard. No Oz. No Magic. No Message. =-.
Yes, Yes, Yes! If you are not PASSIONATE about something, then you will not live long.
I’m passionate about my mixed media art! (Although I’m sure all of my readers already know that!) And I’m passionate about taking control over my life.
LOVE the new website layout! The green rocks!
Thanks Michelle. All design credit goes to Amanda.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..The Queen of GPO Speaks – violetminded Spills It =-.
Agree completely, “do what you love and the money will follow” as they say – as long as it’s something realistic and not just a dream!
.-= Jorgen @ Personal Branding´s last blog ..10 Rules to Writing Compelling Cover Letters =-.
I have a lot to say about “do what you love and the money will follow.”
Most of it unpleasant.
What people forget is you must have a market. There is no market for what I really want to do. So I do what I can instead. Fortunately, I like working in general well-enough that everything works out anyway.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Social Media: Incremental Not Exponential =-.
Kind of new here, Dave. I really enjoyed your post, but especially this part: ” 1. 1. Findstuff maven
2. 2. ???”
I had to chuckle a bit. Seems like she didn’t want to ‘look stupid’, but c’mon. You make your point well.
.-= Moon Hussain´s last blog ..Can YouTube SEO Help With Search Engine Rankings? =-.
Yeah, her idea #1 is really good. Good enough that I won’t describe it even by name, because the name is sticky.
She could run with either. Actually, both, because building idea number 2 (which is very good, by the way) could be her first test application for idea 1.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Blogging from a Tropical Island Paradise… with Wireless! (Bert Padilla drops in from Cebu) =-.
Trying to be cool. Cool. Cool and me – well, we’re not the same.
Cool is unaffected, poker face, no visible effort, opting out, being self-involved, and dressing in black (I dress in black but that is because it is suppposed to be slimming hahahahahhaha). Cool is not letting the effort show and/or not being effected when the effort fails.
Give me a mofo break.
And while we’re taking that mofo break, let’s make a list of people we admire, who are wildly successful, and who plant trees and save drowning kittens in their spare time. Now go read their biographies, and send me the page number where they say “I would have been more successful if only I hadn’t tried too hard” or “My biggest regret is that I tried too hard.”
Do we tell our children “Stop trying so hard?”
Let’s just try. And then try harder. And then quote Yoda:
Do or do not. There is no try.
ps. true confession: I cut and paste this comment from one of my earliest posts.
pps. I thought you were on the anti-passion train? (eg: ‘you don’t need passion, you need Deliberate Practice?’)
ppps. truth is, they’re the same thing.
The “anti-passion” train… no, I’m fully on-board. I just understand what fuels that train.
Deliberate practice is not the same as passion. Which is the topic of Yet Another Blog Post, thank-you-very-much.
Siddhartha wrote an extraordinary comment on my blog about passion and commitment. (no surprise that it is extraordinary – it is Siddhartha, after all)
http://www.kellydiels.com/2010/05/30/how-i-manage-fear-my-blog-fear-management/#comment-31561
I discovered long ago that the secret to making friends – powerful friends (mwuhahahaha – you like yo legs, mistah? I can have them packeted up and sentya momma next day delivery…) – is to first play the naif and then go for the jugular with a big fat pillow of passion.
Noone can resist the power of passion. That’s why passion gets such a good and bad name. Good, by the people who understand its potency and what it can do to change the world of us all; bad, for those who fear it and loathe the notion that passion manifests itself as a red devil in the worlds of our insecurity.
Man, I’m the biggest, most stupid dunderass I know yet mysteriously by exploding with excitement and ‘yeah I’ll TRY it!’ at any opportunity, I’ve shown myself to be ahead of the pack.
Passion, pride, personality and integrity. The unsecret code to unlocking all of life’s safes. Go try it. You’ll have everything you want.
Dave, you’re the Crown Prince of Alliteration.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Red Shoe Blogger Follows Yellow Brick Road And Finds: No Wizard. No Oz. No Magic. No Message. =-.
You know me, Dave. If it doesn’t have passion in it, I’m not interested.
My next masterwork is all about ‘team’. I’d love to write a feature for you on this theme because we all need it. And you’re on your way to assembling your own crack squad on which I think you, too, would have a few insightful words to say.
I think you should start up some two-person blog posts. Share experience, and get an even more incredible blog post out the window. Like your interviews, but, um, different.
Kapish? ;-)
.-= Dave Thackeray´s last blog ..Seven secrets to stellar solopreneurship =-.