Passion Killers........Please close the door as you leave!!

I went along to the Chartered Management Institutes book prize event last night, a nice event and some really noted authors and industry figures were present, etc....

What was most interesting about the event was a conversation I had post the event with a very senior leader in the publishing world (who will remain nameless). Here is someone who in his younger years followed his heart, his passions and his purpose and then some 30yrs on I stumble upon him over a glass of red wine. His message to me, enthusiasm is enough, most people in work aren't passionate, there just there to make a living and then go and do something more interesting.

I felt truly inspired by this conversation!! as I am sure we all would be, curb your enthusiasm came to mind as the conversation went along. Here was someone who has reached the top of his tree and is now stuck, bored, uninspired and a little downbeat on the world of work...hmmmm interesting.

Yet the very same person 10yrs ago would have been running on oxygen that was without doubt fuelled by his passion, purpose and love for the industry at that time....my thoughts.....time to change and do something more refreshing kind Sir and lets keep it upbeat in the world of Media.

Yes the stats for under 25 are shocking at present time, Yes it’s frightening how easily this government is choosing to make university an increasingly class and privilege based social engineering process and YET…every generation has its challenges, lets seek to objectively see the positives and opportunities here.

SO…………………………….

Can I buy into the story that people with ordinary lives, careers and a solid life shouldn't look to have passion in their working life.....I simply can't!!!

We have to find a way to love what we do, find the passion, purpose and our true meaning of what it means to be in service of something bigger than ourselves. Life without a sense of service doesn’t feel like a life that I want to lead, its not aligned to my version of a lifelessordinary.

THEN Today…………………
Life’s messages come in funny packages. Today with this conversation still running through my mind I exited from London's Liverpool Street station to be presented with these 2 ladies dressed in giant yellow condoms oops, I mean sleeping bags…..no boiler covers – advertising the services of the AA.

What made me smile? that here in the centre of London were 2 ladies running around in the middle of the drizzling, dreary London weather with a pretty horrendous job of attempting to gain a seconds acknowledgement from Londons commuters, no mean feat – these 2 girls put a smile on my face and demonstrated that no matter what we do, we have choice, passion is a feeling and yet more than that it’s a bloody mind-set and one that I think in the UK and the world over we will need to draw on for a very long time to come.

With passion comes fun, ideas, creativity, novelty, collaboration, insights, ideas, energy, laughter and ultimately innovation and we all know that we need more of all of this in life today!