Your Passion Project

by Mazzi Odu

What makes your heart race? Brings a spring to your step and a smile to your face? If it is the thought of your best-beloved then that is fantastic news, and long may those positive vibes emanate from a life-long liaison!

Whilst passion in one’s romantic life has practically become a human rights matter, with the spark being kept alive via date nights, fit-fam apps to maintain first-date hot factor and gift giving bonanzas, it is not the whole picture. Of course, we are made to love and be loved. However, we are also made to do. And not just in a half-hearted manner but with a passion and verve that is every bit as intense as when we are enveloped in an embrace.

So, what does passion in one’s work look like?

I believe it begins in the realms of the metaphysical. One has to go beyond oneself, and see one’s life as more than a series of tasks completed by a faceless automaton. You have to trust that there is a passion project marked out for you.  That you, yes, you, have a pivotal role to play in the world. Many of the individuals we laud began their journey by following this principle:

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

These words uttered by famous abolitionist, activist and the original Poster Girl for black emancipation, Harriet Tubman, are a call to action that still resonates, over a century after her death.

Passion when applied purposefully has the power to change the world. Tubman was born into slavery, but in her 90 years she not only fought a successful war against it, but also participated in the women’s suffrage movement, and even worked as a government spy during the American Civil War.

A fulfilled life to be sure!

Another great misnomer with passion is that like a flame it burns bright only to flicker into nothing. Both in love and work, passion, when accompanied with a clear vision, is the foundation for long lasting success and contentment.

Our Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu, puts it more succinctly:

“I am a great believer in the power of vision. It is fundamental to any achievement, to greatness – but only when accompanied by action and follow through.”

Greatness which is oftentimes a by-product of passion comes as a result of continued commitment and activity, the aforementioned follow-through.

Just as in romance a perfect date is followed up with at the very least a text expressing thus and a request for another, passion at work requires consistent and constant efforts, to better previous achievements. It is a journey, but one where one does not rest on their laurels or assume that because some milestones have been achieved that they have arrived at the destination.

If you’ve selected a passion project that truly resonates with you, it won’t even feel like labour and toil at all, but rather a joy and privilege.