I took the last few weeks to take a step back and look at passion from the eyes of someone who really feels lost in their search. After writing about passion for over a year, I sometimes take for granted where people are in their journey. And for a lot of people, their search begins with the phrase, "Follow Your Passion."

When it comes to your passion, there are a number of things you can do to use it, but with the vague advice of “Follow Your Passion” floating around, it's easy to feel disappointed and lacking in ability.

"If it's that easy to live a wonderful life, how come I can't do it?"

Ryan BonaparteJune 25, 2014Passion, Work, Life, Goals

Why do you do what you do?

I'll start by saying that if I don't have all the answers. I don't pretend to and I don't think anyone does.

Instead I think the focus should be on asking the right questions to get people thinking of their own answers.

"Why do you do what do?"

This question popped into my head the other day. Why do any of us do what we do? We could go down the existential route of looking at why we exist, but I think that's a bigger question for another time. I'm more focused on why do we pick the activities we like and why do we pursue the opportunities we do.

Ryan BonaparteFebruary 14, 2014Quitting, Why, Work, Priorities, Life, Hobbies

Selectivity Breeds Success

Despite numerous attempts, I've learned that it is in fact impossible to be the best at everything and know everything.

Actually, it's almost impossible to be the best at anything.

However, it's not necessary to the best in order to be successful, whatever your definition of success is. You just need to be good enough. Good enough to do what you want and actually enjoy it.

PopularRyan BonaparteNovember 8, 2013Success, Choice, Life, Limits

Are you really open to change?

Are you really open to change? I'm not referring to a different cereal for breakfast, though for some people that really is a huge change. Don't get in between me and my Honey Bunches of Oats.

I'm thinking bigger. Bolder. What if tomorrow your job just suddenly vanished? Would you be able to cope, to regroup to come up with a strategy to redefine your career?

Be open to change. When it comes time to following your passion, change is inevitable. Whether that's changing your job, where you live, or even just changing your mindset, change is a part of it. Embrace it.

Ryan BonaparteSeptember 18, 2013Change, Career, Life, Limits, Quitting

Don't Miss the Sunset

Every day there is a sunset. Depending on where you live and the weather, on most days you could probably see at least a part of it. And yet most of us don't take the time to make it a priority.

We've got things to do, people to see, a world to change. And that's great. No one ever changed the world by sitting on a bench and watching the sunset everyday.

But that doesn't mean that we should never watch the sunset.

Ryan BonaparteAugust 3, 2013Priorities, Time, Sunset, Life

Find Your Limits and Push Past Them

I've found that often we aren't really forced out of our comfort zones. We have a few trials and tribulations here and there, but in our day to day lives, we often find ourselves pretty much doing what is expected of us and then succeeding at it.

That's really not a bad thing.

Imagine a life in which everyday we fought to make ourselves heard, or we had to work incredibly hard just to get by. Fortunately for most of us, this isn't the case. This is pretty much why we work hard to begin with, why we go to school, and why we plan for the future.

But...that doesn't mean we shouldn't push ourselves every now and then.

Ryan BonaparteJuly 29, 2013Limits, Life, Exercise, Hobbies

Practice Your Passions

If your goal is to transform your passions into a business, or share them with the world, or even just improve them for the sake of improvement, I think that's extremely admirable. However, it's not enough to only have passions; practicing them is more important. Just because you love doing something, doesn't mean that it will come easily, or that your natural gift will carry you further than those who apply effective effort.

Ryan BonaparteJuly 3, 2013Practice, Success, Life

Why Passion Matters

When I first began my search for activities that I'm passionate about, I didn't really think much about "why?" I just knew that if I wanted to be doing something I enjoyed for the rest of my life, I had to be passionate about it.

But really, the "why" is an important part of this search, and any search really. Think about it, if you don't know why you are trying to find something or why you are trying to accomplish a goal, then what's the point? And what are your chances of actually succeeding?

Ryan BonaparteJune 19, 2013Life, Why