I have grown up with a split nature, I believe. I am both extremely ambitious and totally not ambitious all at the same time. I have great ideas and can see the end result but lose interest sometimes long before I am near that end.
I was watching some Ted Talks the other day and happened upon a guy I have come to admire. His passion for what he does not only comes out in hit after hit, but it is infectious. It was he, who was giving the lecture on Mystery ,that made me realize I didn’t have anything I was really, truly passionate about.
He exposed the truth in me with his pure passion. I realized that, although I was a minister, teacher, youth pastor, and a lot more, I wasn’t truly passionate about any of them. I was sleepily going through my life making sure I did my best, but I preferred not to think about it during the downtime.
I preferred to play a computer game or read a book and relax rather than think about what I was giving my life to. When talking with friends, I didn’t spend much time talking about my so-called passions. Why? Because I wasn’t passionate.
Maybe you feel the same way. Maybe you have given your life to something you believe in with all of your heart but you haven’t yet developed a passion for it. Read on, it’s coming.
David Foster and Andrea Bocelli
There are only a few people that inspire admiration because of their seemingly Midas Touch. One would be David Foster, the star creating producer and former member of the band Chicago. Foster was featured on the cover of Success magazine last year with the headline “Hitman” in reference to his ability to shell out hit after hit and star after star.
Where would Josh Groban, Celine Dion, and Michael Buble be if not for David Foster? If you watch some of these stars first big concert DVDs you will probably see Foster on the piano. He could make a music star out of a fencepost if he decided to.
Well, there is another hitman, although this one is in the film industry. His name is JJ Abrams. He is one of the masterminds behind hits like Lost, Fringe, Cloverfield, Star Trek, and many others. It seems like any idea Abrams has is golden in the entertainment industry.
Watch his Ted Talk video. It is about 20 minutes long so if you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, which I recommend doing, fast forward to about the 10 minute mark and watch until right after the Jaws clip.
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His passion for story telling, mystery, and film almost make me want to be a director. It’s his passion that infects people. His passion for creating mystery boxes has led him to be, probably, the best mystery writer in the business.
When he gets excited about a short scene from Jaws, it dawned on me. I didn’t have any “come on, isn’t that the best thing ever” moments. I didn’t have a passion for anything I had given my life to where I would want to gush about it like Abrams does about film.
Have you ever felt that way? You’re going through the motions and pouring your life into church and serving God but, when you go on vacation or dinner with friends the last thing you want to talk about is your ministry?
Where is the passion?
JJ Abrams inspired me to find the things in life I think are important, and to become passionate about them. That is one reason I started this blog and the Thirtynines network of church blogs. I’m passionate about writing and about church and ministry. Mash them together and you have church39.com.
What are your passions? What can you develop passion about? Whatever it is, I recommend you catch the fever for passion. It pushes you to work harder, while enjoying every minute of it. It pushes you to work longer while not getting frustrated. It pushes you to succeed rather than give up when things don’t go exactly right.
Get your passion stirred up!
Photos: Flickr.com – Sharon’s Graphics. , JKWoo
