It has been 17 months since my last visit to NTC (Nanyang Technopreneurship Center) speaker series. I have been very fortunate to study in NTU and took entrepreneurship minor beside pursuing my Engineering degree.
Actually I received some invitation to attend the talks organized by NTC, but somehow it didn't really catch my attention and I always got something to do. I came to today's talk because I wanted to listen to Merry Riana. However, the other speakers were also great and they gave me new perspective about entrepreneurship and about a subject that I want to go into today, passion.
I have encountered some definitions about passion, for example a definition by Merriam-Webster dictionary : a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.
However, I think none of them is as powerful as two of these definitions:
1. Passion is something that you would LOVE to do... without being paid to do it.
2. Passion is something that you would LOVE to do fourteen hours a day, and spend the rest of the day thinking about that.
Btw, those definitions are not my invention, I just happened to read or listen somewhere. Although I agree that those definitions are a bit extreme, but come on... People want the extremes, and the opposite English word of extreme is boring.
I am not an expert in career management nor psychology. However, I know that If we wake up each day and get very excited about our work, and we can't wait for it... that may be a good indication that we are passionate about your work.
I observe that the top performers, the highest-paid, the top earners of every industry are people who have the passion of what they are doing. If you observe speakers like Anthony Robbins or Singapore's Adam Khoo speaking, you can sense the huge energy flowing from their body. Their smile, their body movement, their eyes, all parts of their bodies show passion. I heard Adam Khoo told us that actually he doesn't have to come to work if he choose not to, he has got enough money to live a more-than-okay life. However, he still give talks, seminars, trainings. Why? Because he love it! Imagine you do something you love, and you don't feel like you work. Does it make sense?
Passion is something that drives Merry Riana to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. For normal people, no need to talk about that kind of extreme. Even if they have to do over-time for 1 or 2 hours, they complain. I used to work in a company for my attachment, and a sentence that really destroy my day is when I heard a sentence "I think you need to work OT today." No need to talk about passion, I didn't even reach a level called "like".
Passion is something that drives Zig Ziglar. That 80-year-old wrote that he has never been so motivated before. What makes that grandpa so motivated? What makes him need to talk, teach the Sunday classes 50 times a year (btw, he is a very passionate Christian), wrote book, instead of retiring and enjoying what he has achieved? It's passion! Passion to help people, passion to glorify God.
Money alone can't buy passion. It can make us motivated, but not passionate. Don't get me wrong, working hard to get a lot of money is not wrong. Different people have their own definition of success, however for me, working only for the sake of money is the true definition of a failure in life.
I am not sure whether I have found my passion. However, after doing some soul searching, I know something about me. I love to talk, that's for sure. I have a recorder in my room. I like to talk and record my own voice and listen to it. And I fall in love with my own voice!! Sorry for being so narcistic, but I can't help =P
I also looovee to write. It's almost 3 in the morning, but I don't feel tired when I am writing my blog. You are fortunate to read a post by a very passionate writer =P
When I was 18 years old, I make a resolution that I am going to write a best-selling book by the age of 25. I am 21 now, and you just need to wait for at most another 4 years to read my book.
However, nothing of those is as strong as this "passion". When I heard that people in Africa can't even eat, when I heard a lot of young people can't have proper education, when I heard that teens did suicide because they were under tremendous stress, when I heard war is everywhere, killing everyone including children, I was crying!! No matter where I was, tears just kept flowing from my eyes!! I strongly believe that everyone DESERVE a good education, Everyone deserve a peaceful, happy life with enough food and enough fun. I believe that NOONE has the right to rob the future of our children. Noone has the right to kill the hope of our people. Noone!!!
And that's most probably my passion! A passion to help people. That comes so naturally for me. Sorry for being arrogant, but please don't hate me because I have a kind heart.
For me, the true measure of success in my life is whether I make a difference in other people's lives, whether I can die and leave this world after making it a little bit friendlier, whether people will cry from their heart when I die. Sorry to sound like a Saint, but honestly, that motivates me more than anything else in this world. For me, life is about making a legacy. Something that people will remember even after you die. Something that people will associate very strongly with you for a long time. And no need to mention, that "something" must be good.
And for sure, I will pursue a career that makes me closer each day to my ultimate vision, to help people, to leave a legacy. Life is too precious to be wasted for something that we are not passionate about.
By the way, I got an autograph from Merry Riana after the talk..
Actually I received some invitation to attend the talks organized by NTC, but somehow it didn't really catch my attention and I always got something to do. I came to today's talk because I wanted to listen to Merry Riana. However, the other speakers were also great and they gave me new perspective about entrepreneurship and about a subject that I want to go into today, passion.
I have encountered some definitions about passion, for example a definition by Merriam-Webster dictionary : a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.
However, I think none of them is as powerful as two of these definitions:
1. Passion is something that you would LOVE to do... without being paid to do it.
2. Passion is something that you would LOVE to do fourteen hours a day, and spend the rest of the day thinking about that.
Btw, those definitions are not my invention, I just happened to read or listen somewhere. Although I agree that those definitions are a bit extreme, but come on... People want the extremes, and the opposite English word of extreme is boring.
I am not an expert in career management nor psychology. However, I know that If we wake up each day and get very excited about our work, and we can't wait for it... that may be a good indication that we are passionate about your work.
I observe that the top performers, the highest-paid, the top earners of every industry are people who have the passion of what they are doing. If you observe speakers like Anthony Robbins or Singapore's Adam Khoo speaking, you can sense the huge energy flowing from their body. Their smile, their body movement, their eyes, all parts of their bodies show passion. I heard Adam Khoo told us that actually he doesn't have to come to work if he choose not to, he has got enough money to live a more-than-okay life. However, he still give talks, seminars, trainings. Why? Because he love it! Imagine you do something you love, and you don't feel like you work. Does it make sense?
Passion is something that drives Merry Riana to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. For normal people, no need to talk about that kind of extreme. Even if they have to do over-time for 1 or 2 hours, they complain. I used to work in a company for my attachment, and a sentence that really destroy my day is when I heard a sentence "I think you need to work OT today." No need to talk about passion, I didn't even reach a level called "like".
Passion is something that drives Zig Ziglar. That 80-year-old wrote that he has never been so motivated before. What makes that grandpa so motivated? What makes him need to talk, teach the Sunday classes 50 times a year (btw, he is a very passionate Christian), wrote book, instead of retiring and enjoying what he has achieved? It's passion! Passion to help people, passion to glorify God.
Money alone can't buy passion. It can make us motivated, but not passionate. Don't get me wrong, working hard to get a lot of money is not wrong. Different people have their own definition of success, however for me, working only for the sake of money is the true definition of a failure in life.
I am not sure whether I have found my passion. However, after doing some soul searching, I know something about me. I love to talk, that's for sure. I have a recorder in my room. I like to talk and record my own voice and listen to it. And I fall in love with my own voice!! Sorry for being so narcistic, but I can't help =P
I also looovee to write. It's almost 3 in the morning, but I don't feel tired when I am writing my blog. You are fortunate to read a post by a very passionate writer =P
When I was 18 years old, I make a resolution that I am going to write a best-selling book by the age of 25. I am 21 now, and you just need to wait for at most another 4 years to read my book.
However, nothing of those is as strong as this "passion". When I heard that people in Africa can't even eat, when I heard a lot of young people can't have proper education, when I heard that teens did suicide because they were under tremendous stress, when I heard war is everywhere, killing everyone including children, I was crying!! No matter where I was, tears just kept flowing from my eyes!! I strongly believe that everyone DESERVE a good education, Everyone deserve a peaceful, happy life with enough food and enough fun. I believe that NOONE has the right to rob the future of our children. Noone has the right to kill the hope of our people. Noone!!!
And that's most probably my passion! A passion to help people. That comes so naturally for me. Sorry for being arrogant, but please don't hate me because I have a kind heart.
For me, the true measure of success in my life is whether I make a difference in other people's lives, whether I can die and leave this world after making it a little bit friendlier, whether people will cry from their heart when I die. Sorry to sound like a Saint, but honestly, that motivates me more than anything else in this world. For me, life is about making a legacy. Something that people will remember even after you die. Something that people will associate very strongly with you for a long time. And no need to mention, that "something" must be good.
And for sure, I will pursue a career that makes me closer each day to my ultimate vision, to help people, to leave a legacy. Life is too precious to be wasted for something that we are not passionate about.
By the way, I got an autograph from Merry Riana after the talk..
If you can't read that autograph clearly, actually it's written there "Dear Benny, all the best to your future, Merry Riana."
I will post that autograph in my desk to remind me that if you have enough passion and enough dream, you can achieve anything. Thanks Merry for that autograph, and I am so excited about my future than ever before.
When you know that you've found your passion in life? When you come to work every single day and when people ask you, "how is your work?", you will answer, "It's fantastic. I can't have more fun than that!" (by Ben, yes really! This quotation is really my invention! :P)
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