“Keep your sense of wonder about the world, and that wonder will lead you towards your passion.”
I was talking with one of my children the other day and the topic of “finding your passion” came up. “I don’t know what my passion is,” he said to me somewhat defeatedly.
“That’s okay,” I responded. “You’re only 19; there are people who are 70 who still don’t know what their passion is.”
I was lucky in that when I was 19, I knew exactly what it is that I wanted to do. I knew from a very early age that I wanted a career in comedy, specifically standup comedy. Against the advice of almost every adult in my life, I wanted to pursue a career in comedy. Did it make practical sense? Not in the least, but I didn’t care. Something inside of me knew that if I followed my passion and did so with relentless determination, I would find my way and the “money” (which is what most people consider success) would follow. That indeed happened.
One thing that I have learned along the way is that true career success is loving what we do. True success is jumping out of bed each morning, excited with how we get to contribute to the world, and by loving what we do we have the ability to inspire others to pursue their own passion. Oftentimes, the metics that are used to determine success in our society are the very same metrics that leave people feeling empty and passionless; working jobs that are unfulfilling and solely to check a box to get us approval from others.
For a long time, I never understood how people didn’t know what they were passionate about until the more this topic of conversation came up, the more likely it was that someone would say, “I have no idea what my passion is.” I came to understand that I was blessed at a young age to know what my passion was. Granted, that didn’t make it easier during the early years when almost everyone told me I was crazy to try to pursue my dream of a career in comedy. I had to drown out the cacophony of voices that told me to be more practical and just work a job with good pay, benefits, and a future. I stubbornly moved forward, not caring that people couldn’t understand my passion and I continued pursuing my dreams.
This leads me back to my conversation with one of my 19-year-old sons.
“How do I find my passion,” he asked?
I thought for a moment, and I said, “Keep your sense of wonder about the world, and that wonder will lead you towards your passion.”
I went on to tell my son, “Remain curious and follow that curiosity and just watch where it leads.”
It’s okay that you don’t know exactly what it is that you want to do; allow your interests to guide you and follow them unabashedly and don’t allow anyone who tells you to be practical to dissuade you; instead, find people who support your curiosity and encourage you to discover your destiny. Make a game of it. Co-create with the Universe that supports you. Ask questions of the Universe: What do you have in store for me? How can I serve? Help me to use my talents (even if you don’t know what they are yet) to contribute to the greater good. Align me with the people who can help refine my dreams and aspirations while supporting me to reach outside my comfort zone.
By asking these questions we open ourselves up to the rhythms of the Universe and we align with our destiny. Then, we take actions towards materializing these ideas, dreams, and aspirations until they manifest into our physical reality. Before you know it, you will be on a crash course with your purpose and oftentimes, it will look nothing like you thought it would. It will be different and better than you could have imagined. First, we ask the question to the Universe and then we follow the leads that guide us down the path. Make no mistake, we must take action steps towards realizing these hints from the Universe, but we don’t have to do it all alone; we trust in the co-creation we are engaged in with the Universe at large.
As a parent, I try to give my kids the space to discover their passion. I try not to impose a timetable on how/when this might happen; sometimes it might take someone a large part of their life before they find their passion while others may discover it at a very young age. Either way, I think it’s important to encourage people to, as Joseph Campbell posited, “follow your bliss’. I think there is no greater gift than allowing someone the opportunity to discover work that brings them joy and fulfillment, to stop placing restrictive societal norms on what success looks like, and instead encourage people to follow their heart to contribute to society with their innate gifts.
Yes, sometimes people don’t know what they are good at, but if we remain curious and keep searching, while continuing to ask the Universe for help, we eventually will be led to our destiny. Many times, we just don’t give our children, friends or family members the time to do so; through our own ideas of how something “should” look we place unnecessary time constraints on people to discover their purpose in life.
On the road to discover our passion we most likely will have to work jobs that we may not love. I certainly did in the early years of my comedy career; I bartended and waited tables until eventually I was able to support myself in comedy. My mindset was never on the waiting table or bartending job (I knew what purpose it was serving), instead I kept my vision on what my ideal job looked like, and I never wavered from my intentions.
See David’s book, Happy Accidents
I remain curious to this day. Recently I transitioned out of my comedy show that I had performed for 25 years. It was one hell of a ride, but as I look forward to this next chapter of my life, I do so with excitement knowing that I can co-create a new reality with the Universe. This time I get to find my passion with my grown children, and this is the essence of leaving a legacy; helping the younger generation discover their passion to make their mark on the world.
This is one of the gifts of getting older; having the opportunity to share what we have learned with our children and younger people who are just making their way into the world. By illustrating to them that dreams aren’t far fetched and we can, indeed, do something we love to do for a living. We simply need to provide the space for their dreams to become realized.
To hear David narrate this blog listen on Spotify: