Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Jeff,
You`re bringing up another (perhaps most important) part of this whole idea of exercises to find a passion. The topic is hopefully designed to help with practical ideas and examples of how people go about developing a life plan, finding a passion, and choosing a long-term entrepreneurial business idea.

Consider that you had this Most Excellent experience with making film. It sounds as if it is or could be one of your deep passions. You enjoyed it tremendously, discovered aspects of yourself and talents you hadn`t realized, and you were engrossed in the whole thing.

But you`ve also said---and it sounds as if it`s almost wistful---that you couldn`t pursue the field, didn`t believe you could make money, and implied that it isn`t a realistic goal. And believe me, I can understand your thinking. To compare the need to survive and earn a living with the totally unpredictable business of film isn`t even a valid comparison.

So what does a person do? Here they have what seems like a passion, but they can`t see any way to go after that passioin and still support themselves. Maybe if they`d started at 21, they wouldn`t mind sleeping in their car, but at 40 it`s not possible any more.

At 40 or later they realize they`re backed into a corner, can`t feel anything about working for The Man, and want to start a business. They look for a passion, can`t seem to find one, but just bypass that old passion they had long ago. It was unrealistic, after all, back then, so it probably is unrealistic today.

The thing is that at 40-something we have a whole lot more experience, wisdom, and even assets (hopefully) than we had at 20-something. We know more about life, and how to keep afloat in a money-based economy. We don`t see things as "all or nothing," and we can work through modifications of an idea.

For example, instead of chucking it all, moving to the west coast and jumping headlong into the movie industry, aren`t there any other possible ways to ease into that business? Couldn`t you start a video/film business with a specialization in some sort of niche? What about opening a sound stage where younger, budding film enthusiasts could develop their projects, or film students could work indoors with lighting?

The point is that a "field" of passionate interest ALWAYS is going to have primary, secondary, and other attributes and aspects. To say you have an interest in film doesn`t mean that the ONLY way to pursue that passion is to produce and direct the next blockbuster movie. Right?

What`s critical is to even know in what area you have this passion. When you have that global, overall area, then you can use logic and analysis to think up ways to come at it from different directions. You can start very small and work up, or you can start in the middle and move around.

I think what prevents people from seeing their passion is they think a passioin can only be valid if it will produce total financial success with 3 (or fewer) years. But a passion is a lifetime process. It`s something you have your entire life to move around in.

In many ways it goes back to the old success stories of long ago, where someone started by selling newspapers for a nickel, worked their way into the printing business, and eventually bought the entire newspaper. It`s the foundation of the American Dream, where you start with a pushcart and end up owning Wal-Mart.

Finding one`s passion is NOT the same thing as developing a busienss plan, starting a business, or coming up with a business idea! The passion only shows you the overall direction you`d like to go. It doesn`t plan the trip for you. See?

Kenny, what you`re bringing up again is that passion is part of our mind and personality. As such, it`s definitely impacted by psychology, and what happens to us over the course of our lives.

Surprising as it may be to me, I`ve come to find that a whole lot of people don`t actually "believe" in psychology, even in this new millenium. Many people don`t seem to think there`s actually an "un"conscious part of their mind, driving them with motivations that remain hidden to ordinary thinking.

So much study and information has shown that such a subconscious or unconscious mind exists, it isn`t worth arguing about. However, what does matter is to note that this passion of ours (or several passions) can be as easily shut down by the subconscious as anything else.

Why do you (Kenny) suppose that you`ve "deep down" had this inkling or wonderment about performing? And from where does this obstacle of remembering the military days come from, if not the subconscious?

Even more interesting, to me, is that as we discuss the topic, several people have started a post saying they have no idea at all what could be their passion. Then, as they write out their thoughts, they reference something they really loved to do, once upon a time. It`s another reason to keep a journal, join text-writing forums, or even to just talk out loud with people.

So often we actually do know (somewhere in our mind) what it is we want, what we`re passionate about, what our life should be, and so forth. It`s that we don`t bring out the words, therefore we don`t `real-ize` the thoughts into something we can act upon.

Kathy and I are passionate about food. Stand anywhere in existence, and you have a choice of 360 different directions you can go, not to mention another sphere of directions if you count up and down. How do you decide which of all those directions would you like to go?

We know we want to go to a food store on the other end of town. We`re jonesing for chocolate chip cookies, so our passion leads us out the door, headed West. But about three miles down the road, we find that bridge construction has closed the road and we have to detour.

We take the detour, going the opposite direction from what we *thought* was going to be our passion. We meander, slow down, pass this, see that, and end up in some place we never saw before. Then, lo and behold, there`s some OTHER food store.

Our passion is *not* the specific store we set out to find. It`s bigger than that, being the entire field of food. So when we encounter a different food store, we take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itself, modify our original intent, and continue toward our "overall" direction.

That`s what passion is: It`s a direction, not so much a destination. "Performing" and "Entertainment" are huge fields of life! If your passion is to be in those fields, in some capacity, then surely there are ways to begin getting into the fields, right?

Wow Kenny, like you, I feel a little better knowing I`m not the only one struggling with this as long as you have.  And Craig, I have tried a couple of different things as I said, but just haven`t found the right way to get into film even in a nonpaid volunteer position.  And no, I don`t enjoy the theatrical part, though we supposedly have an excellent theater group here.  I even tried stand up comedy, which went fairly well.  But that was just a class where I graduated in front of 300 people at a Comedy club doing a bit.  It was a rush, but I haven`t kept up with it because I didn`t think I was all that good (though friends loved it).  But it was also a fun way to help me with public speaking.  I love comedy, but I`m not naturally funny (ok, maybe if I`m drinking). 

Craig, I am a huge believer in psychology.  Actually, that may have been another career I should have considered.  I know, never too late, just feels that way.  My wife makes fun of all the self help books I have.  It truly is a library.  But its always been me looking for answers outside myself because I can`t find them within.  I know they`re supposed to be there, but not for me it would seem.  I`m still searching but running out of motivation.

Jeff

Jeff,
One reason I brought up this thread is because I see a massive number of people in today`s historic period who are on a quest. Modern civilization is in one of the periodic "slumps," for want of a better word, where more and more people are finding less and less personal satisfaction. And this, despite the Baby Boomer generation being all kinds of into personal satisfaction!

There are reasons for it all, and they`re very deep-level cultural premises. We`re not talking about only the past 50 or so years, but instead, about the past 300 years. For many people, that seems like forever, but historically three hundred years isn`t all that long.

Personally, and in concert with quite a number of philosophers, I think we`re entering a transition stage where humanity is both growing up a bit, to the adolescent stage, and a redefinition of the concepts of "spirituality," to use another vague term.

I`ve concluded that the single best reason why we`re here, as a species, is to learn how to create. Having gone through all the logic of many different philosophies, the one concept that carries through everything, yet also explains pretty much everything is this interaction between creating and learning how to create.

I hold that there is a wider, larger context than our physical lives, and that we do indeed have a super-consciousness of some type. Setting aside the metaphysics, the bottom line is that you have only two choices in your basic outlook on all of reality. One, you can believe that everything is random chance. The other is to believe that some sort of organization is taking place. You can`t believe both at the same time.

Whether or not anyone can prove that we all have a super-consciousness, doesn`t really matter. The better question is which is more *fun* to believe! If you choose to believe life is random, without organization and meaning, then that`s fine. But is it fun? On the other hand, if you hold that life is organized, does have meaning, and that something unknown-but-present is acting toward that organization, is that fun?

Look at your life, then look at your dreams. Do any of them fall into a category where you`re learning how to create something from raw materials? If so, then likely that`s an area to focus on, when looking for a passion.

Jeff, you`ve said that you enjoy comedy, and that you enjoy film-making. You`ve said you`ve tried a few things but haven`t yet "found the right way" to bring it all together into something workable. Do you then stop, or give up? No. But do you conclude that *because* you`ve yet to find a workable way, then "therefore" there`s no passion within you? That`s unlikely.

Instead of finding the right way to implement your interests in film and comedy, this thread is about finding "a" right way---workable way---by which to discover what someone is passionate about; what "turns you on," to use a 60s expression.

When it comes to emotions, values, imagination, and creative passion, the answer is pretty much never outside one`s personality. It`s almost always inside. If you`re looking at many self-help books, you`re looking for some sort of answers. If you`re not finding them in the books it`s because someone else`s solution isn`t usually YOUR solution.

So ditch the self-help books, and start contemplating your life as it is. If you can`t find what you`re excited about, then begin by listing *on paper* what it is you really, really, really don`t like! :-D At least you`ll know what you`re NOT passionate about, right?

Get yourself a "wish box." This is an Abraham-Hicks exercise: Get a box, and then start cutting out pictures of what you`d like in your life. Forget if you can afford it, if it`s "too late," if it`s dumb, childish, silly, pointless, or whatever. Just cut pictures out of magazines, download and print them, or some other way to get pictures. Put them in the box.

During the process, it`ll help you begin to open your mind to possibilities. From time to time, as you look through the box, it`ll also help you see connections you might not see if you didn`t have physical representations of your hopes and dreams.

If you`re interested in psychology, you should be careful that you`re not trying to solve your own problems by developing a career helping someone else solve their problems, see? It`s the old projection/transference issue. Put that one temporarily as secondary until you can sort out its legitimacy in terms of your own real passions.

Another exercise is to begin with the world`s great passions. We see these in plays, novels, music, stories, life...everywhere. They`re the basic motives for murder, and also for innovation:

• Love
• Power
  
• Sex
• Greed
• Money
• Revenge (forgot this one)
  
• Adoration

Are you passionate about any of those things, in some personally unique way?

What can you make, build, or explain that would result in something particular? Have you ever done something like this in your life? If you love comedy, but don`t think you`re "naturally" funny, how did you get into a comedy class or school, and how did you graduate? :-) Everyone is funny, to some extent...so what does that mean, not "naturally" funny?

What did you used to do for play-time when you were a kid? What were your favorite toys at Christmas? Can you recall any time, ever, when your parents called for you to come in and you tried to persuade them to let you continue what you were doing for "just a little while longer?"

Great ideas and points.  Craig, I am also going to try that box exercise.  As for the self help books, I have actually found a couple that are useful such as "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway", "Life`s Missing Instruction Manual", The Power of Self-Coaching", and finally, "Learned Optimism".  I think these would have been all I needed based on my issues.  But I`ve read many more.  Almost forgot. "The Secret" is another great one and there is an exercise in the film similar to what you mentioned, Craig.

I used to always look forward to a new year thinking it was like starting fresh and was always disappointed.  This year, I have some of that excitement back and hope I`m turning a corner. 

Craig, another thing I think you alluded to is spirituality. I think the whole "everything happens for a reason" belief stems from faith and spirituality, which have sadly been missing for me.  Not that I`m atheist, I just have no faith in things working out or that a higher power is actually looking out for me.  Thats a huge thing I want to work on this year.

Kenny, that is amazing what your friend did.  I think its important to get away from things for a while and be in solitude, something almost nobody seems to do.  I am also going to try to incorporate some of that.  Just a drive to the mountains by myself for a day or something, away from cell phones, internet, etc.  Excellent idea.

The idea or belief that everything happens for a reason is indeed based on nothing at all other than that belief. It`s one of the basic concepts of a religion or philosophy, that the initial propositions can`t really be proven.

One qualifier is that the basic belief or premise should be as basic as possible. For example, a religion begins with the foundational premise that everything is created by God. You can`t really go below that, nor can you prove one way or another (empirically) that this God exists.

So too, the proposition that the universe is organized or random is a fundamental one. If we say that the universe is organized, then it stands to reason that it also can be chaos, moving toward organization. But if we say the universe is entirely random, then neither chaos nor organization exists in any particular fashion.

But again, the main point is that when we go through life we can choose to have either some sort of belief system, philosophy, theology, or outlook of some kind, or we can choose to believe in nothing or react to momentary conditions. It`s a choice.

Partly, the job of philosophy and religion is to offer a persuasive argument as to why it`s better to have some sort of consistent method of thought. Nobody has to have a philosophy or theology. It`s not required. Obviously, animals do just fine without some complicated religion or philosophy. At issue is whether or not having such a system is better or worse than not having a system.

People like to argue about the proof in any philosophy`s axioms or basic tenets. They do the same with basic propositions in religion. But there`s no point to those arguments, really, other than as an intellectual exercise. You look around, examine various systems in history, choose one or none, and *decide* to believe the basic tenets.

There`s no proof that human consciousness extends past the physical body. So? Let`s say it doesn`t---where does that get you? Then let`s say that it does, and ask again, where does it get you?

We can go through life actively or passively, in some combination of percentages. But unless we have some kind of system we`re going to stick with for the long term, we`ll likely just flounder around believing that reaction is action, and that we`re accomplishing something.