I have a question for you and I want you to be honest with yourself.

How many things have you been passionate about that you quit? The instrument you were going to master. The workout routine that lasted three weeks. The side project that sounded amazing at midnight and felt impossible by Tuesday.

Passion is a spark. It gets you moving. But it does not keep you going. I have started many experimentation projects simply to make things better. Taking things people demonstrate or teach me and adding deeper thought and structure to them. And then making the processes, systems, experiences, and results better. The ones that lasted were the ones that were tied to something deeper. Something that did not need a good mood or a motivational video to get me out of bed. It becomes clear to me what I need to do, then I do it with all I’ve got.

That something deeper is called PURPOSE. And it is built, not found. You have to tell yourself that you matter and the work you’re doing and the life you’re living matters. POSITIVE SELF TALK is a REAL DEAL GAME CHANGER. Especially if you can train your brain on an idea like the one I allow to lead to my efforts in all of the projects I take on. It was originally derived from folk wisdom and it goes, “Good, better, best: never let them rest until the good is better and the better is best.” it’s been with me a for years now and I share it freely. My only ask is that you will carry it with you in your mind in all that you do. Good ideas are great but you must write them down, revisit them, and do something with them.

Let's get into it.

1 PRINCIPLE, 1 VOICE, 1 VERSE, 1 CHALLENGE

1 PRINCIPLE

PURPOSE

Passion tells you what excites you. Purpose tells you what you would do even when it does not.

There is a difference between being excited about something and being committed to it. Like when the excitement fades. It’s supposed to. That’s just how excitement works. But purpose does not depend on excitement. Purpose is the reason you keep showing up on the days when showing up feels pointless.

You do not find your purpose by sitting in a quiet room and meditating on it. You find it by doing things. By expanding the possibilities, by serving people better. By failing at things that matter to you. By paying attention to what breaks your heart and what makes you angry enough to do something about it. Or by that thing you’ve been doing that brings you great joy. You can see it in the responses and results of communicating and validating your ideas.

If you do not know your purpose yet, that is normal. Most people who say that they found their purpose at 25 changed their mind by 35, and again by 45. But here is what you can do right now. Start building the skills, the discipline, and the character that will be useful no matter what your purpose turns out to be. Purpose finds prepared people who act on it. Always.

1 VOICE

Cal Newport

"Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable."

Newport flipped the script on the "follow your passion" advice that an entire generation grew up hearing. His research showed that passion is not the starting point. It is the result. People who get really good at something valuable develop passion for it over time. Not the other way around. So stop waiting to feel passionate. Start getting good at something that matters. The passion shows up after the competence does. Not before.

1 VERSE

Ecclesiastes 9:10

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."

This verse does not say "do the thing you are passionate about with all your might." It says whatever your hand finds to do. The homework you do not want to do. The job that feels beneath you. The practice that stopped being fun two weeks ago. Do it with everything you have. Not because it is glamorous. Because excellence in small things is how you prepare for big ones. The person who gives 100% to something boring will give 200% when something meaningful shows up. And the person who coasts through the boring stuff will coast through everything.

1 CHALLENGE

The 24-Hour Complaint Fast

Go 24 hours without complaining. Not out loud and not in your head. When something annoying happens, notice it and let it pass. When something hard comes up, do it without narrating how hard it is. This is not about being positive. It is about building the muscle of doing hard things without needing the world to acknowledge how hard they are. That muscle is the foundation of purpose. Track how many times you catch yourself wanting to complain. The number will surprise you. Go practice the quote I shared with you at the beginning and always...

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