“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion.  For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” – Bishop T.D. Jakes

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela

“Life is short.  If there ever was a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you – that moment is now.” – Author Unknown

Life has its way of acting like an elusive, devious thief.  Unwittingly, we can be tending to things that routinely surface, seem appropriate to engage in, or feel obligated to follow along with, but before we know it, precious time has been wasted – time that life has cunningly stolen from us that will never be returned.   When we come to realize the enormous price we paid, the significant loss we suffered by our ignorance or unawareness of how important time truly is – it can bring us to such despair that we lose all hope in continuing onward.

This happened to me – a very long time ago – in the prime of my life.  I went to work at a new restaurant that opened in my hometown.  I was sixteen years old and wanted to save money for a car so badly that washing dishes didn’t seem like such a horrible profession to undertake.

Before I knew it, I moved up to cooking, supervising, and became a part of the management team.  I met a girl I fell in love with, we married, and moved to Saint Joseph, Missouri to run our first restaurant together.  Soon afterward, our first daughter was on the way, and running a restaurant became a way to provide for my new family that I loved dearly.

But here is the thing – I never loved the restaurant business.  In fact, the stress, pressure, and fast-paced environment didn’t fit who I was.  Those factors eventually ended up changing my personality, who I really was deep inside and affected the people I loved in ways I now regret.  Like the crafty, shrewd thief I mentioned earlier, life just unfolded so quickly that it felt like the restaurant business was what I was supposed to do – a way to buy the house, save for the college educations, and eventually the early retirement.

After spending almost 25 years engrossed and entrenched in a career that wasn’t a passion but more of a “means to an end”, my wife left me.  The house, the early retirement, the savings and investments that were acquired through 25 years of passionless work were now gone.  The “means” was now nothing but a very long, wasted period and the “ends” were now an unattainable dream.

I became despaired of life itself.  Too much time had been wasted, and too much time had passed to begin all over again.  There is nothing my friend, nothing like the feeling of looking back on wasted decades and wishing you could do them all over again.   This is why I am pleading with you to choose your passion today – to pursue a life filled with the things that move you, that drive you, and that radiate inside of you!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” – James 1:17 NIV

I believe that our passions, those things inside of us that bring out the best in us are a gift from the Father of the heavenly lights – intricately tied to our created purpose, the reason we are here.

Awaken to see them in the light of your destiny.  Realize that a loving Father, who created each of us with a purpose to fulfill, has placed these passions within us to help point us toward a life filled with meaning and satisfaction.

And remember, life is not only an underhanded, sneaky thief, it moves as fast as the wind and disappears as quickly – sometimes more unsuspectingly than we think.

Time is of the essence!  Open that business that is centered in your passions.  Go back to school and learn more about the things you love.  Surround yourself with people who support you in living out your passion instead of draining it out from underneath you.  Spend more time on what is valuable to you and not what is simply a “means to an end”.

What can you commit to doing RIGHT NOW that is more about choosing your passions than simply existing or living with something less?   

Connect passions with purpose – with destiny – and you will live a life that makes a difference for you and those you love 😊

God bless!