September 2021
What is your passion? What is it that you seek from life? What is it that you want to attain? I truly feel that this is the meaning of life: finding your passion. When you get right down to it, it is basically the driving force of everything that we do. Don’t believe me? Well, you know I am a fan of lists, so let’s go through some scenarios.
Scenario 1:
You: “I want to change the world of medicine. I became a medical student so I can make a change.”
Your passion: You want to make a difference in this world. You are driven by your passion of making the world a better place and doing what you can to make that happen. Making this difference is what will make you happy.
Scenario 2:
You: “I just want to enjoy life. I don’t have a dream job, any goals, or any prospects. I am content with just working, living, and dying.”
Your passion: You want to live a simple, plain and stress-free life. You are driven by your passion of self-care and understanding that you want to do nothing more than work, live and die, because it is what makes you happy.
Scenario 3:
You: “I want to be the most amazing spouse to my partner. I want to make them happy, provide for them, and be their everything.”
Your passion: You want to support, care for and bring joy to your spouse. You are driven by the passion you have for your spouse. You know that is what will make you happy and that you will do what is needed to make it happen.
I could go on, but I think you get the gist of it. Also, do you see the correlation between these three scenarios? All of them have driven, passion, and happy as a common factor. This strengthens my previous statement, that “finding your passion is the driving force of everything that we do,” and it all just so happens to lead to your happiness. So, is it easy to say that? If you find your passion you will find your happiness? YES!!! It absolutely means that, and is where this blog is going.
As a student, peer and working professional, it is critical you find our passion(s). When you are a person who finds their passion, you will be a person who finds great success and happiness.
Also, let me set the bar straight. Passion is not this grand, mystical and ominous thing that must be as complex and profound as I feel society has speculated it to be. It just must be something that excites you, fires your internal cylinders and gives you a sense of purpose. It is as simple as that. Do not think of money, consequences, challenges, obstacles or anything other than how it makes you feel. Not sure what I mean? Here are a few examples of passionate individuals:
Elon Musk- I am not sure the exact year, but maybe it was 2020 when Musk came under scrutiny for bleeding his investors to make himself wealthier when working on SpaceX and his other programs. He retaliated by renouncing his status and giving up all of his shares to basically send the message that he is not in it for the money. He is driven by his passion to explore the unknown and create a world in the unknown. It is what makes him happy. In the end, he regained his shareholders and stake in the company, and those who were questioning his intentions backed him up.
Tia Torres- For those of you who don’t know, this is the owner of the Villalobos Rescue Center, which is the largest pit bull sanctuary in the U.S. It is the main feature on the “Pit bulls and Parolees” television show. The whole premise of the show, and Torres’s main goal, is to care and rehabilitate neglected and abused pit bulls while giving convicts a second chance. I do not know the logistics involved, but it is safe to imagine that this is a very costly, dangerous and challenging venture to take on. However, does that stop Torres? NO, that’s because she has a passion that drives her to do this, because it makes her happy. I am sure that is what has led to her fame and to the outside support that she gets for continuing the sanctuary.
For the sake of brevity, I will only use those two examples, because I hope it drives the message home. The world is driven by peoples’ passions, and those who successfully execute their passion are ultimately happy with themselves and their lives. So, this is my challenge to you. Ask yourself and think about the following questions:
Passionately,
-Daniel Pall
Daniel Pall is a master’s student in the Department of Agricultural Economics.
Scenario 1:
You: “I want to change the world of medicine. I became a medical student so I can make a change.”
Your passion: You want to make a difference in this world. You are driven by your passion of making the world a better place and doing what you can to make that happen. Making this difference is what will make you happy.
Scenario 2:
You: “I just want to enjoy life. I don’t have a dream job, any goals, or any prospects. I am content with just working, living, and dying.”
Your passion: You want to live a simple, plain and stress-free life. You are driven by your passion of self-care and understanding that you want to do nothing more than work, live and die, because it is what makes you happy.
Scenario 3:
You: “I want to be the most amazing spouse to my partner. I want to make them happy, provide for them, and be their everything.”
Your passion: You want to support, care for and bring joy to your spouse. You are driven by the passion you have for your spouse. You know that is what will make you happy and that you will do what is needed to make it happen.
I could go on, but I think you get the gist of it. Also, do you see the correlation between these three scenarios? All of them have driven, passion, and happy as a common factor. This strengthens my previous statement, that “finding your passion is the driving force of everything that we do,” and it all just so happens to lead to your happiness. So, is it easy to say that? If you find your passion you will find your happiness? YES!!! It absolutely means that, and is where this blog is going.
As a student, peer and working professional, it is critical you find our passion(s). When you are a person who finds their passion, you will be a person who finds great success and happiness.
Also, let me set the bar straight. Passion is not this grand, mystical and ominous thing that must be as complex and profound as I feel society has speculated it to be. It just must be something that excites you, fires your internal cylinders and gives you a sense of purpose. It is as simple as that. Do not think of money, consequences, challenges, obstacles or anything other than how it makes you feel. Not sure what I mean? Here are a few examples of passionate individuals:
Elon Musk- I am not sure the exact year, but maybe it was 2020 when Musk came under scrutiny for bleeding his investors to make himself wealthier when working on SpaceX and his other programs. He retaliated by renouncing his status and giving up all of his shares to basically send the message that he is not in it for the money. He is driven by his passion to explore the unknown and create a world in the unknown. It is what makes him happy. In the end, he regained his shareholders and stake in the company, and those who were questioning his intentions backed him up.
Tia Torres- For those of you who don’t know, this is the owner of the Villalobos Rescue Center, which is the largest pit bull sanctuary in the U.S. It is the main feature on the “Pit bulls and Parolees” television show. The whole premise of the show, and Torres’s main goal, is to care and rehabilitate neglected and abused pit bulls while giving convicts a second chance. I do not know the logistics involved, but it is safe to imagine that this is a very costly, dangerous and challenging venture to take on. However, does that stop Torres? NO, that’s because she has a passion that drives her to do this, because it makes her happy. I am sure that is what has led to her fame and to the outside support that she gets for continuing the sanctuary.
For the sake of brevity, I will only use those two examples, because I hope it drives the message home. The world is driven by peoples’ passions, and those who successfully execute their passion are ultimately happy with themselves and their lives. So, this is my challenge to you. Ask yourself and think about the following questions:
- What are you passionate about?
- What is it that is driving you, and does it align with what you are currently doing?
- What do you need to do RIGHT NOW to get on track to making your passion(s) a reality?
- Are you willing to do what it takes to make these things happen?
- Are these truly passions or just interests?
- Do you even know what your passion(s) is/are?
Passionately,
-Daniel Pall
Daniel Pall is a master’s student in the Department of Agricultural Economics.