Today's motivational quote comes from British writer and essayist, William Hazlitt.
“A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.”
I've read, or at least featured, several books about passion here: Passion, Plan, Profit: 12 Simple Steps to Turn Your Passion into a Solid Business by Christy Strauch, Young Guns by Robert Tuchman, You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power by Judi Moreo, and Birthing the Elephant: The woman's go-for-it! guide to overcoming the big challenges of launching a business by Karin Abarbanel and Bruce Freeman, to name some of them.
Also on The Book Connection, there have been books written because an author was passionate about a certain topic or social issue: The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live by Robert Tuchman, How Can I Run a Tight Ship When I'm Surrounded by Loose Cannons by Kathi Macias, Saffron Dreams by Shalia Abdullah, No Teachers Left Behind by HBF Teacher, Real Men by Greg Middleton, and The Culture of Excess by Jay Slosar would all make that list.
Passion is what drives us. It is what moves us foward and motivates us to keep reaching for our dreams. At one point, my passion to be a published author just wasn't strong enough. If it happened, great. If not, I always had readers who enjoyed my dabblings in the world of fan fiction, and my article writing.
I'm not quite sure when that passion changed. I wish I did because then I could pinpoint what was going on in my life at the time the change occurred. All I am sure of is that once it happened, I never wanted to look back. I was no longer satisfied with maybe working on a manuscript.
Of the books I've read from the list above, the author's passion is evident from the very first page. Tuchman took his passion for sports and created TSE Sports and Entertainment out of his one-bedroom apartment. TSE went on to appear on Inc. 500's list of America's Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies. Tuchman had a vision, and he made it happen.
Tuchman later went on to write two books about that passion: The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live and Young Guns: The Fearless Entrepreneur's Guide to Chasing Your Dreams and Breaking Out on Your Own.
Frustrated by the deterioration in our public school system, HBF Teacher wrote a book about a fictional middle school to showcase the challenges facing teachers today. Shalia Abdullah's Saffron Dreams provides a glimpse into how things changed for Muslims living in America after 9-11.
As someone who has lived in New England her entire life, I also think of the story of Mike Kittredge, the founder of Yankee Candle. Kittredge was 17 when he melted down crayons to make his mother a candle for Christmas. A neighbor liked it so much that she bought it from Kittredge, who took that money to buy wax to make two more candles--one for his mother and one to sell.
And from those humble beginnings, Kittridge turned his "passion for fragrance" into a company that is the most recognized name in the candle business.
This is the type of passion that we need to apply to our writing if we wish to be successful. It is going to be hard. There are going to be setbacks. But as long as our passion remains strong, we can keep moving forward, continuing to reach toward our dream.
You have the power to make your dreams come true. Use it!
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