Purpose and passion are things people struggle with.
Maybe it boils down to the trouble humans have with the word, Why.
Why should I do this?
Why am I even here?
Why can’t I figure my life out?
Maybe the answer is purpose. Some studies are finding that purpose could be a key to happiness. But in the search for purpose, we often think that we should follow our passion. But that doesn’t appear to be true either.
Here are a few great quotes on purpose and passion to help you figure things out…
1. Find out who you are and do it on purpose. – Dolly Parton
Dolly is one of the best people ever. She’s uplifting. She’s happy. She’s also driven to succeed. Dolly identified a path she felt she could be good at and she pursued it with all her drive…and purpose. She wasn’t going to wait around for others to do things for her. She took control. When she wanted to do something she figured out how to do it.
That’s doing something on purpose.
2. Don’t follow your passion, but bring it with you. – Mike Rowe
In his commencement speech, Steve Jobs famous talked about finding what you love. It sounds nice. It probably is true. But there is a big trap within those words.
Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs fame, found this when doing over 300 episodes of the show. The people he met were successful. Entrepreneurs. Self-employed. Even multi-millionaires. And mostly happy.
Steve Jobs was passionate about art, calligraphy, literature and a few other things. Personal computers probably wasn’t his first choice for a profession, but he saw the opportunity and followed it.
Mike Rowe, through his vast experience, found that it’s important to take opportunities. To become good at something. That makes you feel good. You can bring your passion to whatever you do.
3. This is what I’m supposed to be doing. Therefore, this is me on purpose. – Clint Black
Clint Black came out with an album a few years ago titled, On Purpose. It’s from a line in a song on the album. He said it meant a lot to him. This quote is from an interview he gave about the album. He said that after his run of big hits with a big record label that he thought about what he really as in life. What he was good at. What he wanted to do. what would be fulfilling to him.
That’s how it all came about and he seems happy with the results.
4. Passion is energy. – Oprah Winfrey
I think this is similar to Mike Rowe’s view on passion. When you do something, like a job, you can bring your passion or your energy with you. You get that sense with just about everything Oprah does as well. She has been successful at many things. But you can be sure that some of her ventures and ideas have not met her expectations. But she brings energy to them.
And it’s not just about extroverted energy. It’s about focus and purpose and making sure you give something your best shot. You believe in it until proven otherwise.
5. I have a passion for music; I love music. But I also have a passion for money and paying my bills. – Cardi B
We keep coming back to Mike Rowe…
Cardi B is now doing something she seems to love. Although I’m sure she doesn’t love all the aspects of the music and entertainment industry.
What I love about this quote is that it’s something everybody can relate to. We all have bills. We all like to buy the things that we care about and love the most. The tradeoff is that we often have to do things that we don’t like. Or that aren’t high on our priority list. Or that we just don’t feel like doing all the time.
Work is often about discipline. It’s about commitment. It’s about purpose.
If you only do something when you feel passionate, you’re never going to accomplish much.
6. If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever. – Sam Walton
Sam Walton was about leading by example. He brought his passion for retail to his work when he started the first Walmart back in the 1950s. He knew that his associates wouldn’t be as passionate about his stores as he was. That wasn’t possible. But he knew that if they saw his commitment, his love, his care for detail, that some of it or maybe even most of it, would carry over to their efforts.
7. All are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened. – Maya Angelou
Ideals seems to relate well to purpose and passion. We often do our best work when we feel that we need to. When we are threatened we often take action. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to threaten us these days. Our lives are pretty safe. Sometimes it takes a little seeking of a threat to feel the motivation to do something worthwhile.
8. When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. – Confucius
I’m guilty of this. Changing the goals when I can’t do something. But that’s obviously not the way to go about life. If you take the time to consider what you really want to do, it’s crucial that you do whatever it takes to accomplish them in the long-term. If something isn’t working you have to try other things until something begins to work.
9. The most effective way to do it, is to do it. – Amelia Earhart
I’ve seen variations on this sentiment. But I might like this one the most. We like to talk about doing things. We like to talk about other people doing things. We like to criticize. But really, the only way to do something is do actually do it.
10. Always do whatever’s next. – George Carlin
Whether it’s with passion or with purpose, always focus on what you need to do next. You can’t go back and do something that’s already done. You can’t jump too far ahead in the process. If you’re committed to doing something, do it in order. Have patience. Have discipline. It’s the only way to do something the right way.