May 6, 2009

We all know there’s no one magic formula for prosperity and happiness, but there’s one common denominator I’ve found among successful nurses: they have a passionate drive to do what they do. They are on fire. Some inner spark in the mind, spirit and soul burns intensely, driving them over seemingly insurmountable barriers. Kind of like the passion we feel for a newborn baby. I just got back from my great niece’s christening in San Diego.

I was there the night she was born (March 29, 2009) and it was love at first sight. There’s nothing like the love we feel for a new baby, but wouldn’t it be nice if the love you feel for your work could be almost as strong as the love you feel for a baby?

Ask yourself if you’re passionate about the work you do as an RN. If the answer is no, it’s nothing more than a nursing job. Don’t say you go to work every day because of the family and bills. We’ve all got those. While we can’t all quit our jobs and just play in our garden or hold precious babies all day, we can set up our lives to enjoy our work. Just because we have to make a living doesn’t mean that we have to feel like we’re not living to make it.

When I started my legal nurse consulting business in 1982, I felt like I was birthing a baby. I had to work overtime at the hospital to pay my mortgage. Because my passion for starting my business was so strong, I was willing to give up TV, a social life and every spare minute I had to go for what I wanted. Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? YES! What do women say they remember most from the deliveries – the pain, or the unconditional love they felt? That’s how I remember my business start-up days. I was in love with the business I was creating, launching and growing.

Because I am passionate about my business and the work that goes with it, I am not really working at all. Does that sound strange or counter-intuitive? It shouldn’t. If you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. If you do what you love, you’ll never work another day in your life. Will you go to a job? Sure, probably five days a week. Will some days be harder than others? Sure. When Debra from our accounting department is distributing the paychecks, Tom will sometimes be heard to shout, “This is great! I can’t believe I get paid to work here! Woo-hoo!”

Do you have a “Woo-Hoo!” moment when you get your paycheck or do you have a “Ho-Humm” sigh? Without the fire that only passion arouses, success eludes us. If you’re not passionate about an idea, you won’t do what it takes to carry it out, because pursuing that idea would be way too hard without passion. Would a mom be able to go sleep deprived for years and do all that she does to care for her child without love?

To live passionately is to act. If you’re true to yourself, you’ll put energy behind your passions and take the necessary actions to bring them to fulfillment.

Passions are lived out in as many expressions as there are people. Yours are inside you, and they will reveal themselves with ease if you listen carefully. Take some time today and listen for your passion. It might surprise you and you may end up never working a day for the rest of your life.

Passionately yours,

Success Is Inside!