Let me take you back 20 years, to when I first stepped into the United States. There was one word that struck me like no other—passion. It seemed like everyone was talking about it. Follow your passion, they said. Follow your dreams, the personal development experts would preach. Passion, it seemed, was the secret ingredient to success.
I heard how passion fuelled Nelson Mandela to endure years in prison without giving up. It inspired Gandhi to fight for his country. It drove Bethany Hamilton to continue surfing after a shark took her arm. Passion, we’re told, is what propelled legends like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Walt Disney to the heights of their success.
But here’s the truth: while passion is powerful, the number of people who achieve true success from it alone is actually quite small. In fact, from what I’ve observed through coaching some of the world’s top leaders, passion by itself can often lead to more failures in business and career than success.
Why? The answer is simple. Passion without purpose can lose direction. The leaders who make a lasting impact don’t just follow their passion blindly—they back it up with a clear, purposeful vision. They know exactly why they’re doing what they’re doing. Their passion is driven by a mission larger than themselves.
If you truly want to create history in your career, it’s not enough to simply be passionate. Your passion must be anchored by a strong sense of purpose. You need to see opportunities before others do. You need to understand the bigger picture, to solve problems that others haven’t even recognized yet.
When you lead with purpose, passion will naturally follow. So today, I challenge you to focus on refining your purpose—and watch how it transforms your passion into something far more powerful.
Your Good Friend and Mentor
Payal Nanjiani
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