Ripple Rewind - Power of Passion

I revisit a post that was done in 2005 when I was just discovering what passion meant to me. I had just come out with my book - no one knew me and I was scared to death. Now three years later...I realize it was the passion I had for an idea that fueled me back then...as it still does today.

What a ride! I haven't made it in front of 50,000 people but I keep swinging for the fences and know someday it will happen.

Enjoy this Ripple Rewind!

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(originally published August 2005)

Have you ever seen Bruce Springsteen in concert? I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform three times live and I can still feel the chills on the back of my neck. The thing I love the most about watching Bruce and the E Street Band play is their passion for what they do. Bruce and his band play with such incredible energy that by the end of the concert you know you were just fortunate to be to witness it.

The excitement and energy that comes out of their show is simply amazing. Bruce is over fifty now and yet he performs as if he is still in his twenties. I recently read an interview with him where he was asked about how he has managed to keep up the pace for as long as he has. When most artists are turning into mellow old mockeries of their former selves, he seems to be just getting warmed up. He said one word which resonates with me today....PASSSION. He has passion for bringing the very best experience to everything he does, whether it's writing a new song or delivering a live performance. He knows that with just a few short hours and some well placed words in a song, he can take you away from your troubles, pull you out of the dullness of everyday life and excite you. Without passion for his job, he wouldn't be able to do that.

It makes me think about how many people are showing up to their jobs with little to no passion for what they do? Bruce drinks up the audience like a fine wine and savors it. He feeds off the anticipation of what the audience wants and expects and explodes at just the right moment to give it to them. He transforms people and brings them off their feet and into a state that is simply hard to explain unless you have experienced it first hand.

My point here is his passion is infectious. It turns a moderately conservation chap like me into a raving lunatic when the piano starts to pound with THUNDER ROAD or BORN TO RUN. I reach a level that I feel as if I am almost on stage with him, entertaining, changing 50,000 lives right there with him. Wow...what an amazing feeling!

Though likely none of us are ever going to be performing in front of 50,000 people we do perform every day, in front of the people that cross our path. Our co-workers, our friends and family and yes, the perfect stranger. What if we could find a way to tap into that passion and be on full throttle delivering ourself at a level 10, rather than the level 2 (or below) most of us put out there every day?

If you aren't in a job that is inspiring and filling you with passion, take a hard long look at your life. Time is something you can never get back but the experiences are what our stories will be made up of down the line. Do you want your personal or professional story to be one that is average or one that was brimming with PASSION and inspirational?

If you don't have it, go find it! Quit making excuses and holding yourself back. Don't wait until tomorrow for tomorrow may be too late!

The mood is set, the crowd is chanting your name, the spotlight is illuminated and it's time for you to walk on stage!

Come on......

FEED US YOUR PASSSION!!!

Ripple On!!!