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WHAT TO PURSUE: PASSION, TALENT OR PURPOSE?

 We live in a world that constantly pressures the young to find their life's calling or vocation. In a world saturated with motivational gurus on the internet, we are always bombarded with finding our purposes, finding our talents (gifts) and finding our passions. Which is which? What should we find? Purpose, passion or talent? Can these things be found? 

TALENT:

Not long after I became a photographer, a friend said to me, "you're lucky you have found your talent." First of all, I do not think I'm a talented photographer, I think I'm a learning photographer. But I responded, "we all have some talent. And you are the best salesperson I know." With this response, how do I define talent? I define talent as a skill we do with less effort as people use much effort to learn or do what you do. Some are born dancers does not mean they know every move. They learn every move they want but with more ease as compared to the individual who is not talented as them in dancing.

So, look at yourself. What can you do the absolute best with less effort? What can you easily learn? Focus on that and build a life and career around that. Now, this could also mean working a 9 to 5 job which you can easily do. yes, you can be a talented typist and be a secretary. Find your life's work by finding what you can do the absolute best with less effort.


PASSION:

Now, many misdefine passion. Passion today is associated with some strong desire, but no, it is not. It is not some desire to do a thing. This can only be associated with lust - a desire so fleeting. Follow your passion could mean bad advice (I will talk about this in the near future). If passion is a strong desire towards something, what then is love, also a strong intense desire? Is that not the same thing as defining lust? Will we say passion, lust and love all mean the same thing? The individual with a brain will spot the difference.

Passion is not just some desire. I say this because this is what passion has been defined today. How do I define passion? It is being willed to die for the very thing you love. Now, you see, lust does not play a role here for lust refuses to die for anything at all. It is greedy and selfish. If motivational gurus say follow your passion they rarely define what it is and conclude it with lust. 

The renaissance man I believe does not follow a passion but follows interest. Now, people should be saying, "I'm going to pursue my interest" because what we see in today's world is not passion as the root word for passion is suffering for what you love. Passion does not change, interests do. The soldier on the battleground fighting for one country cannot all of a sudden change his citizenship and fight against his countrymen. When he enlisted, he vowed to fight and die for his blood, come what may. That is passion. Passion is after reciting the vows in a wedding wanting to lay down your life for one woman forsaking all other females.

Know this, I am not saying people pursuing their passions do not exist. 

I am saying the definition of passion has been distorted to mean something lesser. And just so you know, following your passion is not normative, it is the exception.

PURPOSE:

Do these three mean the same thing? Well, society today will tell you, yes, but I beg to differ. Passion, purpose and talent mean different things. Purpose takes the master seat. Why? From the purpose of an individual everything flows. EVERYTHING. Why do you do anything? That is the question purpose asks. When the purpose is known, real passion can be seen. What is the purpose of a hunter who goes out to kill a deer as he leaves his starving wife and children at home? Just to get the game to feed his family. he does not care about anything but that. And when he goes several hours without a kill and meets a hunter with a game after giving up, he goes down on his knees, letting his pride take the back seat and beg for meat to feed his family. Why? He is passionate to see them live.

Same thing with the married. Do not harm a man's wife or family. He will come after you and if he can, he will do you great harm. For he has purposed in his heart to be his family's sole protector. 

Before anything else, I'm a Christian first. And what is the purpose of every Christian lad? To live for the glory of his God, trusting and believing in Him for the rest of his life, standing for the truth even to the point of death.

I can't define a purpose for you. Only you can, depending on where you are coming from. I hope this blog brought you value and if it did, do well to subscribe and listen to my podcast where I answer most questions on art.


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