Passion
Noun: passion pashun1. A strong feeling or emotion
2. The trait of being intensely emotional
3. Something that is desired intensely
4. An irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action
5. A feeling of strong sexual desire
6. Any object of warm affection or devotion
“he has a passion for parachuting”
Yesterday I had a great conversation with a business colleague about passion in the context of successful people.
I asserted “people who are passionate about what they do will always excel compared to someone without passion.”
This may seem like a no brainer statement, but stop and think about it. If this is indeed the case, why isn’t passion the number one criteria when hiring? Why isn’t it the number one criteria for team selection? Why isn’t it the number one criteria for marriage … well hopefully it is the number one reason for marriage!
Ceteris paribus (all things being equal) in terms of skill sets, job competencies, and educational requirements you have to find a way to rank prospective candidates. One way is to uncover their passion for the role they are applying. Ask for concrete examples to support their claim for passion. When they are telling you, do they demonstrate excitement in their voice, does their tone increase in pitch, do they speak a bit faster, do their eyes ‘sparkle’ as they give you the example? If so then they are probably validating their passion.
While we’re on the topic, what are you passionate about? Are you passionate about your present role, your current relationship, your place in life? It is never too late to rekindle your passion, sometimes you need to start having fun again. Maybe it is time for you to create a new passion, painting, mentoring, or exercising …
Clayton Shold
Salesopedia
