Passion

Passion (Eng.)/ Passion (Fr.): noun

• A strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything.
• Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling.

The single most important step to connecting with your passion is to find the things that turn you on and begin doing them. Don't judge what they are, just do what you enjoy. For me, that means fashion magazines, documentaries, Paris and wine, and not necessarily in that order. This is the key to living a passionate life.

There are three elements that you must have in place as you tap into your passionate life:

• Friends
• Facts
• Faith

Friends: Surround yourself with people who love and support you and have your happiness and best interest in mind. This does not mean that you should look to naysayers or pessimists to supply you with love and support, but rather, seek those who are ready and willing to lift you up.

Facts: Want to create your own comic book? Open a wellness center? Publish a blog about possibilities? Gather the facts. Do the research and find out everything you think you need to know to make the next step. This is important because you will undoubtedly face fear along the path, and when you do it is a good idea to revisit the facts in order to keep the fear in check. Similar to the comfort that we get when we pet our dogs or cats, I call the revisiting of data "petting the data".

Faith: Take a leap of faith and act. Step off the cliff and learn to fly. There is only so much due diligence that one can accomplish before needing to jump. As Cheryl Richardson said, "You must act. You must try new things. You must pursue the things that interest you. You must make mistakes. You must act. Because action opens us up to passion."

Reconnecting with your passion gives you energy that counteracts the fear that no doubt will pop up time and time again.

Action

Fake it till you make it. This strategy is uncannily effective. (I guess it is one of the things that I admire so much about Diana Vreeland, but I digress... this isn't about Diana, for once.)

Feelings follow actions. Actions create momentum towards obtaining what we want. The idea is to go through the routines of life as if we already had what it is that we want, despite the fact that initially it feels forced. And continue doing this until the desired results become real.

So if you are feeling blue but spend the day with a huge smile on your face, you will inevitably feel brighter. If you are feeling aggressive and hostile yet talk in a hushed, kind, and slow tone, you will feel calmer and softer. If you are feeling angry at someone, and then do something thoughtful for them, you will find yourself feeling warm towards them. If you think that you can't do something and then take the steps necessary to do it, it will be possible.

By breaking down the state you aspire to into small manageable pieces, a larger shift occurs towards the sense of well being you desire.