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CREATIVITY AND PASSION
THE PATH TO CREATIVITY
Passion and interest are necessary for creativity to occur. Creativity is something you do as a result of your passion, or internal desire to do something. In fact, passion fuels creativity and innovation. An interesting definition of passion from Mapmaker says, “Passion is the energy that comes from bringing more of you into what you do.”
Also worth mentioning are these thoughts on passion from Innovation Management, a preeminent resource for innovation news and best practices. This was posted on March 23, 2005:
“We live and work in exciting, complex, and unpredictable times. There is little space at the head of the line for those too timid to risk giving voice to the full force of their innate creativity.
For those unwilling to allow the fervor of their belief in an idea to flow freely, a future of passive observation awaits. People who retreat in the face of resistance will find themselves escorted off the playing field and into the grandstand.
Deep within all human beings there is the fire of passion, the audacity of innovation, and the will to persevere. If yours has been dampened a bit by the vicissitudes of life, find a quiet spot, bring your attention to your breath, and allow the cells of your body to remember the life that burns within. Take a moment or two to recall what matters to you. Fantasize about the way you want things to be. Relax into the notion that all good things require both commitment and resilience.”
PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE
You cannot be creative and innovative until and unless you have a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for your job, for what you do, and for what you love to do. In short, creativity comes when you are passionate about your work. People will be most creative when they feel motivated by the interest and the challenge of the world itself; this is what we call intrinsic motivation because it comes from within.
In his book, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, John C. Maxwell shares four truths about passion and what it can do for you as a leader. I would like to share these parts:
Your desire determines your destiny. The passion of great leaders is undeniable: Gandhi for human rights, Winston Churchill for freedom, Martin Luther King, Jr. for equality, Bill Gates for technology.
Anyone who lives beyond an ordinary life has great desire. It’s true in any field: Weak desire brings weak results just as a small fire creates little heat. The stronger your fire, the greater the desire and the greater the potential.
It is said that a dispassionate young man approached the Greek philosopher Socrates and casually stated, “O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge.”
The philosopher took the young man down to the sea, waded in with him, and then dunked him under the water for thirty seconds. When he let the young man up for air, Socrates asked him to repeat what he wanted.
“Knowledge, O great one,” he sputtered. Socrates put him under the water again, only that time a little longer. After repeated dunkings and responses, the philosopher asked, “What do you want?” The young man finally gasped, “Air. I want air!” “Good,” answered Socrates. “Now, when you want knowledge as much as you wanted air, you shall have it.”
There is no substitute for passion. It is fuel for the will. If you want anything badly enough, you can find the willpower to achieve it. The only way to have that kind of desire is to develop passion.
If you follow your passion—instead of others’ perceptions— you can’t help becoming a more dedicated, productive person. And that increases your ability to impact others. In the end, your passion will have more influence than your personality.
Human beings are so made that whenever anything fires the soul, impossibilities vanish. A fire in the heart lifts everything in your life. That’s why passionate leaders are so effective. A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion.
