by David Bohl

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” – Albert Schweitzer

“A passion-driven exultant man sings out sentences that he has never thought…” – William Butler Yeats

You want to know what your career passion is, because it’s draining to work a job or be in a career that just doesn’t do anything for you. How do you know if your career isn’t doing anything for you?

Well, it’s a dead giveaway if you wake up tired, find yourself arriving chronically late at work, drag through the morning, clock-watch all afternoon…and the high point of your day is lunch.

So where do you start in determining your passion regarding your career? Where does that passion lie? You know you must have it somewhere.

The key is to focus on what matters to you.

What excites you?

What are you passionate about?

What could you stay up until 3am talking excitedly about?

What do you daydream about…career-wise, that is.

Here’s a quick Question and Answer session with David B. Bohl to give you some ideas:

Q: I’ve been in a rut for so long I haven’t thought about it — How will I recognize passion?

A: Passion very often provides energy and confidence and generates anticipation and excitement.

Q: How do I find what I’m passionate about?

A: Imagine your life at one, three and five years from now or at a time when your life is in balance. Create an overall vision of what that life will look like. Don’t worry about the details at this point. Remember, this is a process – experiment, and don’t discount anything. It’s not a race. Don’t force it or pressure yourself.

To brainstorm about where your passion lies, think about the things that you enjoy thinking about, talking about and doing.

Do you love fixing up and restoring cars? Maybe your passion lies in opening up your own custom auto shop. Have a passion for fine wines? Perhaps sommelier school is your best bet. Or perhaps you love bargain hunting at garage sales…and you can turn your passion into a business as an EBay Power Seller.

Here are some examples that could become fertile fields for finding your passion:

• A sport that you love to play could result in a career selling or repairing or customizing equipment. You might also enjoy coaching kids
• A hobby that you enjoy might turn into a lucrative business.
• Something that you love to collect–baseball cards, fine wines, beer cans–could turn into a retail store or online collectible business.

Still stumped as to your passion? Then take out a pen and paper and try these exercises…

Exercise 1–Take 3 minutes to freely and uninhibitedly write your answers to the following questions:

• What do you love?
• What excites you?
• What are you passionate about?
• What do you look forward to?

Exercise 2–Take 2 minutes to write the answer to this question:

What do you do well, or get compliments on?

Exercise 3–Take 3 – 5 minutes to answer these questions:

If time and money weren’t an issue, and if nobody judged you, what would you do with your life?

What would you attempt in your life if you were assured that there was no possible way to fail?

Maybe you really struggled with these exercises. It’s often times a whole new way of thinking, isn’t it? We’re unaccustomed to giving ourselves permission to think this way.

That just means you need to think this way more often!