When Have You Done Enough With Your Passions?

It's no secret: when you're working your passion, you're going to get consumed. There's always going to be one more thing to do, one more word to write, one more calculation to make, one more person to connect with. In all honesty, it's never going to end.

So how do you do decide when to call it quits for the day? When have you done enough to feel that you've accomplished what you are meant to do?

I have this same problem, so here are the ways that I know that I can take a break and do others things (eat, sleep, etc.)

Ryan BonaparteJanuary 29, 2015Passion, Work, Action, Priorities, People

Learn From Others

This post is the second in a three-part series about achieving success in professional careers. While incorporating your passions into your career is a great way to build fulfillment, this series is applicable to anyone looking to succeed. The first post focused on defining goals, read that one here. This post will focus on connecting with people who will help you to reach those goals.

Do you spend time learning about your passion from others? I’ve mentioned before how important this is, but I realized that even for myself I wasn’t doing this nearly as much as I should have. This became clear to me when I took a look at how many people I had contacted directly about starting businesses. Given that this is what I plan to do for the better part of my life, this should be a high-priority task. And yet the list was pitifully small compared to where I thought I should be. It was also a sign that I hadn’t progressed in building my passions as much as I planned.

Learning from others is a great way to learn more about your passions. The simplest method is to read books and articles from experienced people in your field, but there’s so much more you can do than just read. Books are one-way avenues, and don’t give you the opportunity to pose questions, discuss specific situations, or even just see the way a writer’s eyes light up when they speak. So let’s look at three easy ways to make more connections, build meaningful relationships with others in your field, and learn a ton along the way.

Ryan BonaparteNovember 25, 2014Learn, People, Career, Communication

It's Time To Come Up For Air

We can get so wrapped up in our work, our passions consume us, that we forget to stop and take a look around. We forget that there is more to life than what we love doing.

Come up for air. Breathe a little. Take a break from driving at your passions, building success, and looking towards making your dreams a reality.

As counter intuitive as this might sound, it's actually a great way to get ahead, to make progress.

Ryan BonaparteMay 17, 2014Passion, Environment, People, Change, Creativity

Without A Support Network, We're Doomed

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to address some of the best students at my old high school as the keynote speaker at the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony. It was a great honor and I spent a lot of time planning and thinking about what I was going to say. I came up with different ideas about what passion really means, or how to incorporate it into a life, or what great potential these students had. As the event drew near though, I felt compelled to speak on something a little different.

In the end, I decided to focus on 3 points: Challenges, Mistakes and Support.

PopularRyan BonaparteMay 3, 2014Support, People, Challenge, Success, Connect

Conversations on Passion: Matt Stillman of stillmansays.com

Conversations on Passion is an interview series with those who have found and are living their passions in some form. If you'd like to be profiled, send me a note at ryan@crazyenoughtotry.com.

In April of 2009, I started an experiment in Union Square in New York City. I sit out there with two chairs, a table and a sign that says: “Creative Approaches To What You Have Been Thinking About”.

This is what I first read about Matt Stillman. I randomly came across his website, stillmansays.com, two years ago and then proceeded to read every one of his recounts of the conversations he had with the people who showed up at his table.

From coping with relationship issues to handling destructive pets to making important career choices, Matt's given creative approaches to the problems people bring to him. Drawing on the knowledge he's acquired of an absurd amount of facts and by looking at life through a slightly different lens than most of us, he's helped thousands of people think a little differently about the personal battles we face.

I recently had a chance to have a Skype call with Matt to discuss his own passions, how his life has led him to this point, and to get some creative approaches on how to find passions and incorporate them into our lives.

Ryan BonaparteMarch 6, 2014Conversations on Passion, Passion, Interview, Learn, People, Search, Sharing, Creativity

Are you letting your debt stop you?

I'm often thinking of new ideas/inventions to work on, new businesses to start or advise, and countless other "new things" to do. This habit of mine is one my favorites and I'm convinced it's a big part of what I'm passionate about.

It's a great activity, but the other half of my passion lies with actually bringing these ideas from thoughts into action. Thoughts are great, but action is better.

In an ideal world, I would be working with people to create awesome stuff all the time.

Ryan BonaparteJanuary 31, 2014Money, Career, Priorities, People, Passion, Dreams, Change

Sharing Our Passions With Others

Many of us have passions that inspire or motivate us to individual greatness. But very few passions are present in a vacuum. Our lives are filled with other people and we interact with them on a daily basis.

One way of finding and implementing our passions is through realizing where we can help others. Help doesn't have to be a volunteer effort or a free gift, but rather recognizing what others can benefit from what we bring to the world.

Ryan BonaparteDecember 12, 2013Passion, Sharing, People, Connect