Eyal Danon’s Blog

What are Your Passions?

As a dreamer, your responsibility is to find out what motivates you, what is your real passion.  What do you want to do?  Who do you want to become?  Your passion will become your source of energy.  Remember this.  It will keep you awake at night, tingling with excitement.  

The following questionnaire can be used by anyone who is not sure what his or her true passion in life really is.  Some of my customers have used this intense process of self-discovery when they were already in their mentoring years in order to reconnect with what was real and meaningful for them. 

The Passion Questionnaire

Here are the most important questions you must ask yourself: 

1. If no one were going to pay me for whatever I did, what would I enjoy doing anyway? This is the ultimate question. Do not think about money, ego, prestige, or what “others” will say. Deep in your heart, what really excites you?

2. What needs to happen in order for me to become outstanding at doing what I enjoy most? What skills, attitude, and behavior do I need to develop?

3. Who are my role models?

4. How did they get to where they are right now?

5. What can I learn from their stories?

6. What kind of support and help will I need to reach my goal?

7. Who can help me right now to get on the right path toward fulfilling my dream?

8. How do I engage these people and win their support?

9. How can I win over their hearts and souls to help me achieve my dream?  

You must become proficient in the art of persuasion.  You need to become energetic, passionate, and full of life and big dreams. A word of caution here.  There are people who will try to kill your ideas, usually because they fear that you will fail, but sometimes also because they do not want to see you succeed.  Don’t share your dreams until you feel confident enough to talk about them, and even then, confide only in those who encourage and support you.  It’s interesting to note that the Wright Brothers, for example, were subject to public ridicule for many years.  Most people considered them crazy.  As a result, they learned very early on to trust themselves and a very small group of friends.  That’s it.  Do not reveal your intentions until you are sure people will support you in your quest.

A key activity you need to engage in as a dreamer is to discover your natural talents.  Are you good with mechanical objects?  Do you enjoy analyzing data?  Are you quite good at striking up a conversation with almost anyone?  These natural talents, whatever they turn out to be, will become your road map for success. 

I believe in finding and nurturing your natural talents rather than trying to improve on your weak spots.  Work with what you have, not with what you wish you had.  It’s much easier to work with your natural gifts, making them stronger and stronger each and every day.  What you need to do is make your natural talents shine. 

I have been practicing Tae Kwon Do for years, and one competition in which I participated illustrated this principle beautifully.  The person who won the tournament was not the strongest, fastest or most flexible.  Actually, it was a young person who had lost a hand in a car accident.  To compensate for the loss, he developed an amazingly effective and powerful side kick.  All he used in the tournament was his powerful side kick, over and over again.  At the end of the competition, he was able to beat all his rivals and win the trophy.  He didn’t try to improve his punching technique, nor did he try fancy kicks.  He found one kick that particularly suited him and used it to maximum advantage.  That’s what you should do with your natural talents.  We all have natural gifts.  Find out what yours are and just keep on working them.

Your Natural Talents Finder

Answering the following three questions will help you to find your natural talents, regardless of which stage of your life you’re in right now.

1. How would you describe yourself?  Please supply specific examples for each talent that you have.  If for instance you describe yourself as “courageous,” supply at least five examples of a situation in which you displayed courage. Feel free to list as many attributes and examples as you wish.
2. How would others describe you?  Write down any praise or positive feedback you have ever received.  Take your time doing this exercise, as quite often it’s difficult for most of us to remember these positive moments.
3. Which of the natural talents you’ve identified do you use the most?  I believe that you need to work only on your key strengths and maximize the natural talents you already have instead of worrying about your weaknesses!

I have been reading Haruki Murakami “Wind Up Chronicles”, and it prompted me to buy his new memoir, “What I think about when I think about running”.  Interstingly enough, I have found out that Murakami is riding a bike with the inscription of “18 Till I Die” – a song by Bryan Adams.  Bryan refers to the time when he will be 55 by saying Someday I’ll be 18 goin’ on 55!  Well, he is 49 now, I wonder if he still feels the same way…