Our last post was about Cool People Care, a company out of Nashville, TN. CPC seeks out ways to be more intentional and thoughtful when it comes to being a good steward and serving others. As I mentioned in the profile, Sam Davidson, the founder, recently released a book about the things you don’t need. We wanted to give you a little more insight into what the book offers so below is an excerpt. I meant to put this in the last post, but it was getting lengthy, so I made the excerpt its VERY OWN POST. Check it!

One Way to Think About Your Passion

I believe the world needs more passionate people. This is one of the main reasons I wrote 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need, a guide to finding and living your passion. In the book, I showcase how getting rid of what doesn’t matter can help you focus in on what does. Consequently, the same is true in reverse: once we’ve found what matters above all else, we can let everything else fall by the wayside.

But, finding your passion can be tricky. How do you know when something is truly a passion – a lifelong pursuit – and not just an interest or a fleeting fad? And, once you find your passion, how do you truly live it to the fullest?

In 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need, I offer six questions to think about when searching for your passion. Here’s one of them:

When do I feel fulfilled?

The reason I shy away from terms like happiness or excitement when talking about passion is that those terms can be very temporary. Even if your passions change over the course of your lifetime, they take root in something much more permanent.

And that’s why this question asks about fulfillment, instead of just asking about happy and exciting times. Fulfillment is a condition that can last much longer than happiness. It’s a feeling that brings with it a sense of accomplishment and completeness. It’s something that can make you proud and leave you feeling like you did something that was worth doing. Fulfillment carries a sense of purpose, not just a feeling of elation or entertainment. Your passion, therefore, isn’t based on a simple mood; it transcends your mood on any given day and shapes your outlook and mindset, keeping you fulfilled and with a sense of purpose no matter how you may be feeling.

This is also a helpful reminder that a passion is very different from an interest. Things we are interested come and go, often changing with age or life circumstance. Some interests will blossom into full-blown passions, but not all of them. Likewise, you shouldn’t spend too much time on a mere interest – it can take away from the time you could be sending living out your passion. Indulge an interest that makes you happy, but be willing to sacrifice it in an instant for a passion that brings you deep fulfillment.

Which behaviors or actions bring a sense of fulfillment for you? What do you do that, when you do it, makes you feel proud for having completed the task? What will you tell others later that you did today? Knowing what brings fulfillment will help you prioritize how you spend your time. This is important because determining your passion and how exactly you would like to devote your life to it will require all the time you can give it.
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Sam was gracious enough to meet up with us for coffee while we were in Nashville. Won’t you be gracious enough to buy his book!