What drives you in life?
Author Janet Attwood asked that of more than 1,500 businesswomen gathered in Davie last week. She urged us to stand up and shout out our answers. We did. ''Now, remain standing if you currently are doing the thing that drives you,'' she said.
Nearly the entire room sat down.
I stood up for a few seconds in earnest agreement. Then, after some thought, I sat.
Clearly, we would all like to feel our life is purposeful and inspired by our pursuits. We'd like to live a life with passion. Why then are so many people unfulfilled?
I am living my dream. I work as a reporter at my hometown paper. I love the people I work with and I love that my readers connect with the prickly subject of working hard and living life to its fullest. But there's a caveat to having my career. I have three children and a husband to nurture. I am a PTA mom. I, like others of my generation, must tend to a graying mother and grandmother.
Often, I feel harried, even tired, from juggling my coveted responsibilities. Like the other women in the room, I too, wanted insight from Attwood about pursuing passion and achieving fulfillment. Attwood made me focus.
I sensed camaraderie among the other women at the 4th Annual Work-Life Balance Educational Conference for Businesswomen. Attwood, author of The Passion Test, tells us passion is the process, goals are the outcome. She urged us to write our 100th Birthday Speech. But she cautions against bogging ourselves down in the hows -- how will I find the time, the money, the right skills -- and focus on figuring out our passions.
''Be crystal clear,'' she says, ``Clarity is power.''
Attwood points to the most successful people in their field as proof. Those on top -- Maya Angelou, Bill Gates, Jane Bryant Quinn -- are people who pursued their passion.
I can't help but think about an article in The Miami Herald that same morning on Hollywood music teacher David Lazerson, newly inducted in the National Teachers Hall of Fame. His quote caught my attention: 'I wake up in the morning, I pinch myself and go, `My God, I'm going to go play music for kids, make kids happy and get paid for it.' '' Now, that's passion.
Just after Attwood speaks, country music singer Naomi Judd, mother of Wynonna and Ashley, tells us she found her passion by bouncing back from adversity and sharing her story with the world. Judd has survived domestic violence, homelessness, Hepatitis C. Now, the single mom from Ashland, Ky., not only is a Grammy winner but author of Naomi's Guide to Aging Gratefully: Facts, Myths and Good News for Boomers. ''I'm the most centered and fulfilled I have ever been,'' she said. ``You can't change what happens but you can change how you react to it.''
Judd believes finding your passion requires asking yourself hard questions. ``Be a detective and find out your story.''
But it was Bonnie St. John who warned us we will be tested, even when following our passion. St. John, the first black American to win Olympic medals in ski racing, discovered her passion for skiing as a kid when she tagged along on a friend's family vacation. Mastering the sport with only one leg, her test came when the world's eyes were on her.
On the second run of a downhill ski race in the 1984 Paralympics, St. John had a gold medal in sight. But she fell and thought her dream was over. ''The urge to hide was overwhelming.'' Instead, St. John got up, finished the race and won a bronze medal. She later learned the gold medal went to a skier who hit the same ice spot and also had fallen. ''Everyone falls down,'' she said. ''Winners get up faster.'' Today, St. John's passion is motivating others.
In my job, I often meet people who are motivated to change careers. They tell me they want fulfillment and grew tired of earning a paycheck doing something they weren't passionate about. One day, after making burdensome personal sacrifices, they asked themselves, ``Is this really worth it?''
After reflecting on the day's speakers, I can now say I am doing what drives me. I can stand -- when others sit -- and say the late hours, the deadlines, the juggling, are worth it. I may struggle with balance, but I'm confident I chose my passion.
Send your comments and ideas to Cindy Krischer Goodman at cgoodman @MiamiHerald.com.
