Passion
Christopher Laney 
I’m a thesaurus kind of guy. Show me a definition of a word I don’t know and I might or might not remember it. But show me synonyms, and I’ve got it locked in.
Here's a word and its synonyms for you:
passion
noun
fervor, ardor, enthusiasm, eagerness, zeal, zealousness, vigor, fire, fieriness, energy, fervency, animation, spirit, spiritedness.
Passion has been the topic of discussion in many of my conversations lately. Since I wrote "Connected for Life" where I recommended discovering other people’s passion to help you connect with them, many readers have conveyed privately how much they are enjoying this piece of advice.
Why?
Because hearing about an individual’s passion fans the flames of your own. It’s nearly impossible to watch someone get excited when describing his or her passion and not feel a deep stir within.
Take a look at the synonyms for passion again. If nothing else, aren’t those the adjectives you’d want used to describe your life?
Another activity I recommended in "Connected for Life" is to help others in the pursuit of their passions. I want to do just that by highlighting a few friends and the things that make them tick.
Cat & Jack
My wife and I met Catherine and her husband at a resort in Florida earlier this year and we hit it off by having a long conversation about our passions. Cat is passionate about dogs, and she educates children on behavior that will prevent dog bites. Her program was recently accepted into Pepsi’s Refresh Project where voting will determine which ideas get over $1,300,000 in funding. Voting is easy and you can do it once a day by clicking here: Pepsi Refresh Project - Cat and Jack
Unconditional Love
I can’t count high enough to list the number of friends who are passionate about rescuing animals. Rhonda, Michelle, Carla, and Dena are a few who come to mind. Michelle recently made me aware of a Kroger & Purina contest where animal shelters will receive over $150,000 in funding based upon the ones that receive the most votes. If you live in North Carolina, please consider voting for the SPCA of Wake County. We’re in fourth place currently. Click here to vote: SPCA of Wake County
Not Just Square
If you have ever considered creating a website, contact Melody. She has created over three websites for me, including this one. She uses Squarespace as a platform, and I could not be happier with its ease of use. I’ve recommended her to multiple friends, and she has produced wonderful results for each of them. Click here to see some examples: Melody Watson
Extraordinary
I met Rich Schlentz ten years ago when he hired my wife as the wellness coordinator for a new fitness club in town. Not long afterward, Rich changed careers and began to help other's improve their leadership skills while pursuing extraordinary lives. His enthusiasm is contagious and he always seeks to help others. Click here to learn more: Rich Schlentz
Good Reads
Naturally, I have a lot of writer friends. In fact, if you are a serious writer, you owe it to yourself to surround yourself with great writers who have good hearts. They will support and encourage you, while helping you become the best writer you can be. Here are some of those friends and their books and websites:
- Dena Harris - Who Moved My Mouse? Hilarious parody book using well-known self-help titles with the added twist that it’s aimed at cats. Dena scored big with the book getting picked up by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House. Book comes out in October: Who Moved My Mouse?
- Laine Cunningham - Message Stick. Laine spent six months camping alone in the Australian outback to write this book and it shows in her beautiful description of the rugged terrain. But beware, this book is pure suspense that explores the dark side of human nature. Laine is also the recipient of several literary awards. Find her book here: Message Stick
- Steve Cushman - I met Steve after I reviewed his book Fracture City for Our State Magazine. Steve won the prestigious Novello Literary Award for his first novel Portisville. His new book comes out soon: Heart With Joy
- Edmund Schubert - Ed is editor for Orson Scott Card’s online magazine Intergalactic Medicine Show. Ed’s novel, Dreaming Creek, follows the trials and tribulations of a couple who accidentally switch bodies when they drink from a mystical spring: Dreaming Creek
- Tom Barker - Tom wrote a funny, offbeat young adult book titled Otis Saves the Universe. Tom is a gifted artist and penned all the illustrations: Otis Saves the Universe
- Carol Kenny - Carol and I met in a great writing class many years ago taught by Quinn Dalton. Her touching novel is beautifully written: Whispers from St. Mary’s Well
- Emily Howard - Emily is working with a publisher on her first book of poignant, yet side-splitting essays. You will see Emily’s name again. In the meantime, visit her website: A Chick’s View.
- David Horne - I hired David into the company I ran many years ago in a previous life. In that time, David has become a social media expert and writes for popular sites like workshifting.com. Find David's site here: David Horne
I wish I could list the passions of all my friends, but you’d be reading for a long time. Please feel free to tell the world what you are passionate about in the comments.
Reader Comments (9)
Chris,
As you already know, I am passionate about helping our furry friends. They were here before us (humans),
& I think that it's our responsibility to do what we can to assist them, since we have the knowledge & the means. We are
all here for such a very brief period of time...look how fast life is going by! It seems like yesterday, that we were in
college, and now we're in our 40s! (now sure how that happened sooo quickly). I want to make a difference in this
crazy world that we live in...none of us can do everything, but we ALL can do something that will make a "positive" difference, if we're motivated, and don't adopt the apathetic attitude that too many people seem to have.
It seems that a lot of people think, "Why should I bother or how can I really help?"..."What's in it for me?" These people are missing it- completely! It's not about what's in it for them. You can't put a price of the feeling that you get, when you help others. There's really no way to explain this to people...they have go and find this out for themselves. I enjoyed my years with the Raleigh Jaycees...we were able to be involved with so many charities, and raised a lot of money for various organizations. I wish everyone could experience the satisfaction one gets in doing something that actually makes a difference in our world.
Thanks for the nod...& keep up the great work! I enjoy what you're publishing. Your writtings are very
profound at times. But, I wouldn't expect anything less from a fellow PIRATE! Arrrrrrrg ;)
Cheers!
~ Michelle
Thanks for the shout out Chris. Great writing. I am passionate about my daughters, my friends, my writing, my farm, great wine, laughing until I snort, cooking new things ... treating life as the great gift that I know it to be. Keep writing my friend! Em
Thanks for another wonderful post and for your support of your writing buddies. I am getting great feedback for my novel, Whispers from St. Mary's Well, and I'm thrilled that you had a great read. I rode in a small plane a few days ago, and I thought about your passion for writing and for floating above the swirling horizon of clouds, leading up to heaven, where our passions for living the life we were created to live originated.
Thank you, Chris, for the kind acknowledgement. Yes, I'm passionate about helping animals in need. I always want to do more, and I feel guilty when I can't.
Chris--thank you! An honor to be mentioned on your site and in the company of others who pursue their passions as you do. Peace brother.
Quite late to the party, I'm so pleased to be included here, as well. Thank you.
Considering your piece in context of several conversations I've had lately, I feel passionate about encouraging others to even allow themselves to feel it's okay to explore and pursue their own passions! It's quite liberating to just realize how important it can be to ask ourselves the kinds of questions you ask so readily. To so many people these are foreign ideas, and it feels amazing to be able to offer encouragement in this direction. Which breeds more passion, doesn't it?
You are welcome, everybody. It's great to be associated with you all.
Chris, thank you for the shout out. It certainly means a lot coming from you.
Your articles are amazing, it really touched me.
I need serious advice, and your article really made me realise, I'm a very passionate person but getting the dream job and what my passion is all about is becoming almost impossible every day, and almost every day I have this heavy feeling, I just started work yesterday with a different company, it's a huge company, very respectful, it's almost impossible getting into this company, no doubt it's not exactly what I want to do, but it’s close to it, but then why the heaviness at my chest won’t go?
Nisha.