Everyone’s idea of what it means to be successful is very different. Some people think having a
family, car and a house is success. Some people think being extremely wealthy is success, while some
may think finding one’s true love is the meaning of success. As many different opinions and ideas
there are, we can at least measure success by simply looking at two things: expectations and results.
If expectations are met or exceeded, it is generally considered a success. A student will consider their
studying a success if they were expecting a B on their exam, but got a B+. Throughout the process of
achieving the end result, many components are at work, such as dedication, passion and effort. Passion
is arguably the most important one of them all.
Passion can be described as a very powerful or compelling emotion. Feelings like love, hate,
desire, and anger all fall under the umbrella of emotions that make up passion. Passion can be seen in
everyday occurrences like the uncle who goes to church twice a week and enjoys spreading the word
of God or the friend who’s always promoting new hip-hop shows in the underground scene. Passion is
more than just liking something; it’s putting your love (or even hate) into that something.
With these strong emotions in place, motivation is formed. When someone’s passion(s)
are involved, the quality of the work put forward is almost always better than the work put aside
by someone who is indifferent about it. It’s human nature to want to show that you’re the best at
something you like. An artist would feel a lot more at home, for example, doing assignments that
require use of their creativity as opposed to a student with no artistic talent.
If you care about the project or task you’re working on, then you’re going to enjoy it. You’re
going to enjoy promoting it, talking about it, refining it or learning more about it. The scenarios are
entirely limitless. Regardless, it’s safe to say that regardless of what’s going on, it’s going to be a
pleasurable experience for you. As a human being, you seek comfortable feelings like happiness and
pleasure. These pleasant feelings are going to have a positive effect on both the process and the results
of your work.
If you enjoy the task, it’s very likely that you’ll repeat it again for that same positive experience.
A musician will continue to practice their instrument if they truly enjoy it. An artist who has the burning
desire to become much greater will practice frequently. If it makes you happy and has no negative
impact on the others around you, why stop?
Even the more negative emotions that fuel a person’s passion could still end up in success.
Perhaps a high school dropout who is sick of watching trashy day time talk television will want to use
this hatred for their stagnating lifestyle to obtain their G.E.D, go to college and end up getting a well-
paying job. Passion works as a great motivator.
However, passion is not always received well. Since early times, people have labeled those with
passion as “obsessed”, “fanatical”, “overzealous”, “crazy” and a big list of other unkind adjectives. It’s
become cool and hip in the past forty years or so to be nonchalant and aloof. Youngsters often idolize
the “cool kids” who feel the need to constantly express how much they don’t care. It snuffs out the
aspiring generation and instead creates a new wave of apathetic nobodies.
It’s no surprise that passionate people get a bad stigma. We hear all the time about fanatics who
commit misanthropic atrocities all the time on the news. Religious fanatics turned terrorist cells like
the Taliban or Westboro Baptist Church affirm people’s assumptions that people who are passionate
about religion are no more than hateful, mindless zealots. But as is with most circumstances, the loud
minorities speak for the majority.
While passion is important in the makings of success, without a discipline or a clear vision, views
are skewed and instead of promoting the things you love or working to a more positive goal. Though
it could be argued that they are successful in their own way by promoting their hate speech; they are
contributing to the negative image the apathetic masses perceive passionate people to be.
In light of all this though, the world has been truly changed for the better by passionate
people. Martin Luther King JR’s passion for civil rights was a key factor in ending the segregation era.
John Lennon’s passion for music and peace inspired not only our nation, but people worldwide. Maya
Angelou’s passion showed through her poetry and influenced not only civil rights, but feminism as well.
All the aforementioned would not be perceived as successful or so renowned for their contributions to
society if they simply didn’t care, or harness these powerful emotions into something so moving.
Passion is a powerful tool in achieving one’s goals. It has the power to move others, like great
musicians, writers, artists or public figures have. It can also instill fear or hatred like hate groups and
terrorist cells can. It is a powerful catalyst that can change even the smallest of things, or maybe
even lead to a domino effect on a grander scale. From passion, the other steps in the journey from
expectation to result falls into place. Passion becomes motivation, discipline, effort and performance.
Without the passion, it just becomes tasteless, colorless work with no soul or flair. Success without
passion wouldn’t have the sweet taste it’s often associated with. It would become as dull as completing
a mundane task. The pleasure would be lost, and there’d be no desire or motivation to continue doing
anything else.