"As we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others."

                                                                                                            Marianne Williamson

Merriam-Webster defines passion as a "strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something." According to Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton's book Now Discover Your Strengths, only 54% of employees are working in areas of their strength. I believe that knowing your strengths leads to finding your passion. So, how do you find what your strengths are at work or at home? While there are plenty of assessments that will help you discover your signature strengths, I believe there are four simple questions you can ask yourself to help you determine your gifts:

• What do you do that others often compliment you on?

• What do you do that causes you to lose track of time?

• What is your default task that you do easily and readily when you don't want to do other draining work?

• If you were told you would never be able to work again, what parts of your work would you miss the most?

There has never been a better time than now to align your work to your strengths. If the average person spends 2080 hours per year at work for 45 years, this represents 93,600 hours of opportunity to do what gives you energy versus what drains you. I believe strongly in looking for passion with the work you currently do. Most of us intuitively found an industry that we are passionate about but ended up doing work within that industry that no longer excites us. For instance, you may have begun work as a writer for a newspaper only to find yourself now in an administrative position that has you managing people versus writing.

I realize that many of us have families to feed with mortgages and car loans to pay off. So, start in your current position and ask yourself the four questions above to see what aspects of your current role best matches your response to these questions and design a plan to get these tasks back. If 80% of your current tasks do not align to these questions, think of a different role at your current employer that may better fit your needs. And, finally, if you really need to make a career move, make it with these questions in mind! Find work that uses your strengths and that the marketplace needs.

For those that are new to the workplace, it may be difficult to align, say your passion for reading, to an actual job. In this case, begin building a skill set that interests you and will benefit others. Often times, the development of this skill will lead to your passion in performing the skill because it helps others and you are being recognized for being good at it.

Question for You:

Has work become so routine and uninteresting that you find yourself anxiously watching the clock for the end of the day? Do you long for the days when time speeds by and you are doing work that best shows your talent and others recognize you for this talent?

Answer for You:

There has never been a better time to ask yourself the four questions above and begin designing a plan to work within your areas of strength. What would you do if you were not afraid?

"Chase your passion, not your pension."

Denis Waitley

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