Re-discovering yourself

When we come across people who have tremendous passion and energy, we look at them with envy and wonder where it comes from. We wish we were like them. Passion and energy come automatically when you are in love with what you do. It is passion that gives us energy to add quality to what we do, succeed and enjoy. As it comes from within, it has tremendous power to motivate. Steve Jobs had that passion and that is why he could tirelessly work to bring us the Ipads, Ipods, so many of enjoy. His commitment came straight from her heart.

People who are passionate resound with enthusiasm. It is contagious. You imbibe it unconsciously. That is why passionate people are popular and always are surrounded by eager friends.

Not all passionate people make lots of money, they do not care as their focus is on enjoying what they do and not counting the materialistic spin offs they have. Their value systems are different. That is why they are always happy with what they do and what they have. On the other hand, we see others with heavy bank balances who have no springs in their feet.

American poet and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

I realized this when I began working as a paralegal 20 years ago. I used to enjoy every project and it was because I had so much fun doing what I always wanted. I learnt a lot in the job from my attorneys, helped other paralegals discover themselves, boosted their self-esteem so that they would achieve, experimented with new ways of making concepts more interesting and simpler and kept alive my passion. It was not the easiest thing to do but I stuck to what Arland Gilbert had said, "When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen."

It did. It opened a new world for me. We all have to discover ourselves and we can do that only if we take the risk.