Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Taking a Bashin' for my Passion

At first you don’t succeed, try try again. A saying that is much more easier said than done. Most people on this blue sphere we call earth, are too scared to go through failure twice. They put up barriers for themselves that are very hard to tear down once they are built. It is very human to learn from mistakes. The problem lies in defining the word mistake.

Yesterday I went to try to get some tricks on film for a video that’s coming out at the end of summer. While we were warming up, I was skating ledge, and I slipped out and rolled my ankle pretty bad. I felt it kind of pop, and I knew it was not good. My filmer and all my friends were saying things like “That sucks I would be pissed” or “Maybe you shouldn’t try that anymore”.

Later on last night, as I was limping to the store to get some chips, I started thinking about some things. I started thinking about how mad I wasn’t, and I tripped even myself out. I mean skating is my life, and I can’t do it for at least a week, probably more, but I had a heightened sense of understanding on this faithful limp. I understood the fact that accidents DO happen, and that it WILL get better, just not very quick. All easy things to say or think when you are not in the position, but once you put yourself in those shoes (one of them being really tight because of swelling) it becomes very difficult. With chips hand, and rocking a gangster limp, I had a new sense of fulfillment that I have never had after an injury.

You can apply this logic to any aspect of life. Take business for instance. Some of the most successful businessmen did not get it right the first time. They went through their fair share of metaphoric rolled ankles as well, and not only do they get up and try again, they also have a great understanding of what’s a mistake and what is worth giving a second try. They are not afraid to try something again, even if they have failed doing it before and they had to limp through life a few quarters. They come right back and give it their all again knowing very well that that the possibility of falling down again is less of a possibility and more of a inevitability.

I guess when you think about it, it really all boils down to passion. When people do what it is they love, the “rolled ankles” they get from it seem irrelevant to the big picture. I know if I got a grease burn cooking fries at McDonalds, that would be my last day at McDonalds.

That’s the problem with our economy, and even our country right now. There is no passion anymore. It seems everyone is working just to pay bills, and if they do have a passion, it’s pushed aside so they can accomplish that task. The key to happiness is to incorporate your passion in your work. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, or how “successful” you are. All that matters is that you do whatever it is that makes you happy, and figure out a way to pay your bills doing that. If you like quilting, open a online quilting shop. If you like fishing, open up a tackle and bait store. Be ready to roll your ankle too. It IS going to happen, but that’s part of following your passion.

So I want to end this by asking all of you out there what’s your passion? What can you do to incorporate that passion in your every day life? How can you pay all your costs of living by utilizing your passion? If you ask yourself these questions, you will be amazed how easy the answers really are. If you can’t find answers to these questions, please feel free to leave them as comments or emails, and I will do my best to help you out.

I hope all of you have a very passionate day. This is Jon limping out

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