IGNITE YOUR PASSION AT WORK
The Importance of Passion at Work
At Passion Collective, we focus on rediscovering or creating harmonious passion. The women who are drawn to Passion Collective call themselves “Passion Seekers” or “Passionados.” They are looking to rediscover the activities in work and life that feel good to them and give them meaning and energy. Passion at work looks and feels differently for every individual. Typically, it is found at the crossroads of what you’re good at, a business need, and an impact you want to make.
Ignite Your Passion at Work Learn the secret to finding meaning in your career and supercharging your potential at any stage in life.
Everybody has unique talents and the potential to help other humans. When you find your passion in work, you feel aligned with your values and skills. You know that you’re making a difference, not just in your life, but in your customers’ or team’s lives. You can sleep better at night knowing you are putting your talents to the best use possible and feel good doing it. I believe it’s our duty and responsibility to figure out our passion at work. Because if we don’t, we’re missing all these opportunities to live our best lives and help others. Now, it’s unrealistic to think that 100% of any job will fill you with pure joy and passion! I have yet to find or read about anybody who achieves that goal, me included! It’s your job to figure out how much of your work week should light you up. I was once told that as a leader, I should expect 30% of my working week to be work that I didn’t enjoy. For me, that wasn’t going to cut it, and it was a clear sign that culture was not for me. On the flip side, some organizations make the mistake of demanding that their employees are 100% passion-driven and that they prove it publicly. If you’re forcing people to feel passionate, you’ve got a problem with toxic positivity, and - at best - you’ll lose your best people.
Bringing Passion Collective to Life
Laura Best, Founder, Passion Collective
In 2014, I was an accomplished marketing leader. I had just become a mum to a beautiful daughter and had a top job at a national consulting agency which meant high pressure, billable hours, and frequent travel. On the outside, I appeared successful, but I realized that I had lost sight of the things that I loved to do. I was lacking a sense of fulfillment, and I was serving everybody before myself. It was a classic case of burnout with an undercurrent of questioning about who I was and where I was going. I was curious about this and wondered if the awesome women I knew felt the same. So, I started a Facebook group and began sharing things I loved - books, shows, ideas. The conversation grew, so I created events and workshops to create the energy of sharing, encouragement, and support. My hope was that if we got the right women with similar intentions in one room, we could help each other rediscover that “spark.” Now in 2023, we’re a community of 8,500+ people who identify as women (and many male allies!) who are seeking their passion. It shows what a universal need this is.
Passion is an energy you feel when you’re connected to the things that you love to do or the beliefs that light you up. In the 17th century, there was a philosopher called Spinoza. He believed that every acceptable thought came from reason, and every unacceptable thought came from passion. For thousands of years, passion has been related to suffering or hardship – even the Latin word for suffering is “passio.” There are two different types of passions, according to a group of French philosophers who published research on the subject 20 years ago. One is “harmonious passion” – this is an activity that makes your life better. You’re not overly driven by this activity, but it’s something that you want to do willingly. Then, there is “obsessive passion,” which is the opposite. It can create conflict in your life and relationships. This is where addiction comes in, or pursuing dangerous hobbies that put your life or the lives of other people at risk. Obsessive passion is a passion that you can’t help yourself but do, and it can be very destructive.
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