Time to start Living my Passion June 7, 2011
Posted by integrityintegrated in Uncategorized.trackback
In teaching we learn…and in learning we teach. With his permission to share, following is a portion of a reflective paper written by a student in my UIowa MBA Leadership and Personal Development class.
I’m really intrigued by the concept of working towards becoming an Ideal Self. The idea interested me in our initial class discussions, but it became even more interesting during our class when we performed the “where-will-we-be-in-ten-years” visioning exercise. I closed my eyes, sat back in my chair, and I started to see my ideal future take shape before me. The family life was happy, content—similar to today only evolved ten years. What about the work portion of my vision? It was great too, but it was very different from what I do now.
I have a passion for both creativity and empowering people to think of unique solutions to problems. I have a passion for helping others learn how to help themselves. One of the problems with Corporate America as a whole is that we’ve become so process driven, we’ve taken some of the creativity and individuality out of jobs. As soon as leaders start treating people as ends to means instead of actual human beings, people become dehumanized and demoralized. Ironically, if we take away a person’s ability to think and be creative, our processes will never improve. The processes and the people will eventually stagnate and then deteriorate. Bill George made a comment in the podcast we listened to about most people won’t buy into a mission that says, “increase the share price.” I certainly attest to that. (reference www.http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1697)
I realized I like to do good and help others do good in the world. I don’t know when it happened, but I stopped being motivated by money some time ago. I now want to be in environments where I can help others succeed and grow. Don’t get me wrong, if earning money becomes a natural by-product of where my passion takes me, I won’t complain, but I keep thinking about the story Ginny told the first night of class about the charitable woman she met in South Africa. To me, this woman seemed fully satisfied. When that woman looks back on her life, she’ll know she made a difference. She won’t think, “If only we could have increased production capacity by 6%.” No one looks back on their life and wishes they had earned a few more paychecks. People look back on the relationships they’ve formed and the impact they’ve made.
I really liked what Dave Green, (CEO of the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center) said at the end of his presentation. He encouraged us all to get involved in our communities. This made me think about why I don’t volunteer more. At this point, I’ve stuck to helping people I know. Why don’t I give more time to the community? Then I learned something about myself: I want to help. I want to get involved, but on the nights I have free time, I’ll distract myself with something “easy” like a movie or a book instead of helping others. I’m always disappointed in myself when a night goes by where I didn’t accomplish anything. What I’ve noticed in the last few weeks is that if I don’t act on my passions, I start to get pouty and irritable. I’ll start to justify any lazy or procrastinating activities by saying, “it’s good to watch six hours of TV in a night. I needed to unwind.” Does that sound familiar? I’ll commit an act of self-betrayal—I’ll tell myself that I’m going to find volunteer opportunities, but then out of some fear of not being able to help strangers, I don’t.
Here’s what I need to work on the most: Executing my Passions. That sentence can be read in one of two ways, but I assure you I don’t plan to kill my passions once and for all. Instead, I need to start living them, being more active with them, and lead with them.
In my feedback interviews I was told I have, “a unique mind,” yet at work, any unique idea I have needs to go through two or three bureaucratic channels before being tested, let alone reviewed and implemented. That kills my creativity. I like to have passion for what I do. I like to know my energies are being put towards something I love. I want to know my work is appreciated. I want to start small—volunteering outside of work—to see what is out there. Who knows, maybe I’ll build the right network, learn the right skills, and start my own charitable group someday?
If that happens, my life will be much closer to my ten-year vision. What I saw when I closed my eyes was a man who woke up early, went for a jog before work (which means I must not be going to work at 6:00am anymore), had cereal with the kids, kissed the wife goodbye, and then went into the world to make it a better place. This man used his sense of humor and his ability to connect with people not for his own personal, financial gain. Rather he used it to help unlock other people’s creativity and spread joy throughout the world. Similar to the “multiplier effect” we attributed to good leaders in class, the man in my vision helped multiply his own joy for the world through others. It was a satisfying vision and hopefully if I learn how I spend my time, build a network of volunteer-oriented individuals, and keep my mind, soul, and body sharp, I can become that man.
How many of us execute our passions (in the worst sense) for any of a myriad of reasons: fear, insecurity, self-doubt, lack of self-worth, self-imposed obligations, numerous excuses, (no time, no energy, not enough resources…)? All acts of self-betrayal. Ginny – I’m ‘filled up’ to see it’s clear you are doing your best work and that I get to say “I knew you when” you were just starting to put your energies toward something you love. And Student of Ginny – you are already closer to your vision and a well-spoken visionary.
Thank you. Both.
Linda–you knew me “when” and “now” and have continually inspired my passion! Thanks for the comments, especially about what executes our passion–in a bad way!
Hugs to you
Ginny
“I have a passion for helping others learn how to help themselves. One of the problems with Corporate America as a whole is that we’ve become so process driven, we’ve taken some of the creativity and individuality out of jobs. As soon as leaders start treating people as ends to means instead of actual human beings, people become dehumanized and demoralized. Ironically, if we take away a person’s ability to think and be creative, our processes will never improve. ”
Thank you for saying that. I am certain others who read this will think like I did when I read this – ‘are you hearing me speak?’.
Creativity, in my mind, is the heartbeat of life. When process is mixed with creativity, it becomes the norm rather than the NEW. If we could all take a bit of what our friend here says and look into our own future 10 years from now, wouldn’t our lives and our communities benefit?
LuAnn
Great insights! Reminds of a book I’m reading where the author talks about our current existence and technology with this scenario; if the average American watches 28 hours of TV a week, then by the time she is in her midseventies, she’s spent more than 10 years staring at an electronic box. Ten years! Ten YEARS????? I have to ask myself, is this really how I want to spend my time? Staring at the TV, moving from one box to another to log on to Facebook or some game? Rather than being “normal” and plugging in to any box, I choose to remain grounded and live in the present. I think it’s called “living deliberately.”
Thanks LuAnn and Rena. Always great to hear your thoughts!
I think there are many people stuck in jobs and situations that slowly evolved over time, as careers grew and as “success” happened to them, people get trapped by a lifestyle and a sense of security that locks them in place. Why do I seem to know so much about this? Because that described me for the past 10 years of my corporate life. I climbed the corporate ladder and became a General Manager and then a VP of Sales for another company. Why then did the job seem to suck the life out of me and seemed thankless at best? I read the books and tried to figure out how to survive leaving a steady paycheck while simultaneously supporting the family. Why such a strong urge to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I felt trapped with no good options. In a stroke of luck I happened upon the Max Muscle franchise where I could be my own boss and help people directly on a daily basis. No corporate purchasing manager taking your work and putting it out to the lowest bidder (because it’s their job), no upper management person to pass judgment on work they never saw you do, no corporate politics. To make this change all that is required is your passion, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to put everything you own at risk. Sounds scary until you see how many middle aged managers are swept out the doors in “downsizing” operations (or shall we say cost cutting operations) in the height of their careers. But if you can find that “fit”, and make the dash across the field and over the barbed wire, it is the most wonderful feeling. The only person or persons you need to worry about pleasing at that point is yourself and your family. Good luck to everyone.
Scott Herkes
Max Muscle Sports Nutrition
Scott, Your story is such a GREAT example of the power of passion. I can say that I remember you “when” and am so excited for you now. Thanks for sharing!
Ginny
What a great article and commentary by everyone! Ditto to all. I really enjoy reading these and get “filled up” when the tank is on empty.
Great to hear from you Heather. Glad you’re enjoying the readings!
Ginny
[...] Time to start living my passion – If you need any inspiration to begin doing work that means something to you, this great post from Ginny Wilson-Peters’ Integrity Integrated blog is a good place to start. [...]
Thank your for sharing these thoughts. It opens up many thoughts and ideas. It truly is time to start living m passion and searching for what that passion truly is.
Thank your for sharing these thoughts. It opens up many thoughts and ideas. It truly is time to start living my passion and searching for what that passion truly is.