The Difference Between Good and Great
by Suzanne Falter-Barns
What makes some people perform brilliantly and attract excellent results — and others just get along? The key is passion. This article helps you find what you can do to ignite your own passion and success.
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Ever notice how some people have all the luck? They seem to attract clients and business effortlessly, and win awards without even trying. Even the media seems to seek them out.
So what makes them the anointed ones ... and not you?
The difference is passion.
Passion is what makes us get up in the morning, excited about what we're going to do. It's what pushes us through tasks we'd rather not do — and propels us through those that are ordinarily intimidating.
Passion is something bigger, too. It's a healing essence that makes whatever we do seem guided, and so very attractive to others. Things that are passionately created are truly magnetic—we all want a piece, so we, too, can be healed.
I first became aware of this on a speaking tour I did in Florida a few years back. At the time, I spoke at a New Age bookstore/tea salon in Key West, FL called Kindred Spirit.
This wasn't a must-do stop on the circuit of major bookstores. When the owners invited me to speak, they didn't even have a location yet for their store. Still, there was something about Kelly and Karen, the owners, which resonated with me when I met them at a conference.
They had a certain intensity, the air of women on a mission. It was clear they would have exactly the space they wanted, and it would be great. Not only that, I would do an event with them, and that would be great. The Powers That Be were clearly whispering in their ear.
When I got to Key West, my hunch was confirmed. Every inch of this store held things that were beautiful and unique, each artfully arranged. Karen had hand-painted fresh, original calligraphy on the walls, and they had composed their space so you could wander at will, finding treasures at every turn. There was even a tiny antechamber, beautifully decorated, where you could have a reading with a remarkable psychic. Lace-covered tea tables here and there waited for you to sit down, relax, and have superb cup of tea. The effect of being in Kindred Spirit was that my travel-jagged soul was immediately soothed. This store had the ability to heal people.
That healing comes from what some call the essence. It's an immutable standard for your work that comes from within, a refusal to deliver less than exactly what your soul told you to create. And this takes considerable work.
When I met Karen and Kelly, they were coming off of weeks of 12-hour days putting the finishing touches on their store and holding their first event. They had that slightly insane, but critically important vision you get that pushes you forward, and forward, and forward, until you do create exactly what you want. They had passion, pure and simple.
And please note that such work is not just a non-stop string of blissed out moments of creativity. There are many times when you just want to go home and climb into bed. There are just as many when you lie awake worrying. Still, there is something sacred and holy that pushes you forward, whether it be the essence or your own hands-on interpretation of God or Spirit.
Not surprisingly, all of Key West turned out for my talk at Kindred Spirit; the event was electric! All, I say, because people wanted that healing at the heart of Karen and Kelly's hard work.
So how do you summon up the essence? For Karen and Kelly, it was just a matter of finding the courage to leave their jobs and follow their hearts. And that's true for all of us. If you can listen to your inner voices, you'll find that back there behind the voice of doubt is your own private cheering squad.
They want you to go for the gusto and begin your dreams; they want you to live your dreams—and they'll make it more possible than you may believe. I say anyone can summon up their passion. First they have to find the courage to begin. Then they simply have to dig in and find that gift they're blessed with, and move on to share it with others.
May you be as moved as I've been by the healing work of all creators, great, small, famous and unknown, who are driven by nothing more than their desire to deliver what they feel. And may you discover the same within yourself.
©2005 Suzanne Falter-Barns LLC.
For information on how to find the time, energy, and money to live your purpose in life, check out Suzanne's free E-zine, The Joy Letter. Sign up at http://www.howmuchjoy.com/joyletter.html and receive our valuable report, 35 Guaranteed Time-Savers. And find even more tips and tools at the Blast of Joy blog http://selfhelpsalon.typepad.com/blast_o_joy.
