Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

This is my guest post for the GTDtimes, which is a blog associated with David Allen, who is the best selling author of Getting Things Done.

People need drive in order to accomplish goals. Salespeople need incentives in order to act. We all need a reason for being to feel compelled to get things done. Passion is an amazing vocabulary word. It means to have a strong feeling or emotion tied to something. Passion is the energy or rocket fuel we need in order to give us a reason for being or the ability to get from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds like a Ferrari. The one thing in common with most successful people is passion. Take Oprah, Trump or Tiger Woods for example. They all love what they do, which means that no matter what obstacles surface, they will push through because they believe in themselves and their cause.

As a brand, you need to discover what you are passionate about. In the blogosphere, 60-80% of blogs are abandoned due to lack of passion. Without that mental drive, you lose focus and become lethargic; therefore you stop your current activity and jump to the next. When you make that leap, you are confused and unsure of yourself, which is detrimental to your personal and professional life. People switch jobs all the times and sometimes they shift careers altogether. When this happen, the skills that don’t carry over become lost and not exercised.

Where does passion come from? The secret is that passion comes from within. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s like a drug for the soul that reactivates it every time it’s asleep. I always tell people that when you discover your passion, everything else comes together. It’s like you’re having an awakening and are going through enlightenment. Many people neglect their passion for financial reasons or because they feel they have to work a regular 9-5 job to survive. They may have multiple responsibilities that they have to juggle on a reoccurring basis or a family they need to provide for. The key with passion is to take time out of your day to reflect and to have a clear goal in life.

What you do for work might not even define who you are. Sometimes it’s your work or hobbies outside of your current profession that become what you do full-time.

Tips on how to find your passion:

• Take time out of your day and think about your situation, your skill set and goals.
• Ask others for feedback, as to what they think you would excel at.
• Take self-assessments from institutions such as Myers-Briggs.
• Read a book or two to get some new ideas and refresh your mind.

Before you start a blog, a business or proceed in your career, please take time to find out more about yourself. You will waste a considerable amount of time second guessing yourself later if you don’t invest now. The more you pay attention to who you are in the inside, the more you can become that person on the outside. Passionate people are confident, energetic and above all, happy. Do you want all of that? If yes, then start working at it.