The singers , the artists , the teachers , the coaches , the wellness experts , the happiness coaches , the bakers , the chefs , the fitness experts , the doctors , the designers , the hackers , the coders , the mind readers , the motivational speakers , the storytellers , the stand up comedians , the photographers , the models , the entrepreneurs , the affiliate marketeers , everyone who is part of the passion economy. this is your time to live your passion . My favourite line has been “Don’t die with your song in your heart.” .

In my corporate career spanning over three decades I have spoken to many employees who were doing what they didn’t love just for the paycheque. Every year Gallup employee engagement studies that shows roughly 50 % of the employees are not engaged with their work and around 20% are actively disengaged . There is a term TGIF (Thank God It is Friday) which was very popular , many would wait for the weekend to live their lives !

What was being missed ? Why would so many employees trade their lives to do what they were not passionate about ?

Till COVID 19 happened , suddenly many individuals lost their safe jobs , there are pay cuts and there is uncertainty . The future of jobs could be contracts , where you get paid for what you deliver, this gives organisations flexibility to get the best talent for job at hand.

For passionprenuers the post COVID world is a golden opportunity to shine in a globally connected world . The world needs a lot more passion , people who bring passion to their work , those who are artists , who go beyond to make a difference , those who are out there to change the world with their contribution.

Don’t follow the Crowd , make your path !

It all begins as school , we are told what the crowd does must be right . In school I loved getting up on stage and speaking to an audience , I won numerous public speaking competitions . I loved to share ideas and stories that would grab the attention of audiences. I was a avid reader and a dreamer , My favourite subject was history , I would not just read history , I would get inside history , visit the times in my imagination , feel the emotions of characters in the history books . I top scored in History in the state examinations.

Yet when it was time for choosing my stream for my career after school I chose what the crowd did , I picked up the science stream as it was most sought after and then I failed . I switched into commerce which again I did because that was the next obvious choice and after graduating my first job was in accounts and I hated it , I quit within a month . At heart I was a storyteller who could get into a story and wow my audiences to become a part of the story . I found my calling in sales and marketing , since then I have been storytelling for over 30 years.

Follow the crowd has been built into our subconscious mind both by the society and parents also our education system believes in grading children . Disengagement begins when we follow what the crowd does and not our heart.

If you are not passionate , don’t begin

Each one of us is born with a unique gift, yet we forget our gift . My son Mayank made a short film in school using his mobile phone , I could see he too was a storyteller . He would click pictures that would tell a story. He chose what he wanted to do in life very early , he chose his college education in mass media , on his own he learnt the tricks of photography and he is a artist who specialises in fashion photography .

All I did was not get in the way and support his decisions . He would do collaboration shoots free , he worked with the best photographers in the business for free . I once asked him why he does that , his answer was “I am getting to learn from the best free of cost”. He had more short term lucrative choices even in photography but he stuck to fashion , like wedding shoots were easy money , yet he was focused on his passion . He stayed focused , his work has been featured in leading fashion magazines and just few months back he did a shoot with an Indian film actress, model and the winner of Miss India international title , Esha Gupta . (You can follow Mayank’s work on http://www.mayankmudnaney.com).

Myank is happy because he is following his passion for fashion photography , he can be at shoots from early morning to late nights , he is never feels exhausted or stressed . He loves to do a shoot on any day including a Sunday , there is no TGIF and he is not chasing money , he is chasing good work , money comes . I didn’t teach Mayank marketing , his passion reflected in his work and his work got him word of mouth business.

In any field those that succeed are highly passionate about what they do and I have worked many passionate individuals and entrepreneurs so I know . And it is not just about making more money , I have seen passion in founders of all non profits I have worked with for their cause . You cannot lead for a cause if you are not passionate , Dr Ashish Satav serves the poorest of poor in Melghat , he was so passionate about serving the poor tribals that during college in minus temperatures he would bathe in cold water to get himself acclimatised to working in tough conditions.

The biggest risk is playing safe

“The monthly paycheque is comforting , besides I have responsibilities , so why take risk ?” is the answer I get from some I speak to. The is another answer “I will begin later after I have saved enough .” Nothing wrong with these answers and one has a choice to live the way one wishes to.

What one needs to get is that paycheque comes only when you add value to business and to that extent you are in business even if you consider yourself to be in the safety of a job. And you will find you are a safe player you cannot go far , being one of the crowd , not standing out , playing safe , is risky , in business also in a job . If you are a commodity you could be replaced sooner than later.

You need to rock the boat , stand out , make a difference , be counted . Also remember you have only one life and as I said my favourite line is “don’t die with your song in your heart.” . The biggest regret people have in their old age is regret of not living their passion , It is risky to play safe.

My school friend Huzefa who is a serial startup founder tells me that in silicon valley “failure is considered as a batch of honour”. He says that his failures were his biggest teachers. Every startup is a risk , its a bet on the future many of them fail yet even in failure there is learning . I was part of startup ideas that were ahead of times , yet from each I learnt something that helped me become better at my game. So take risks , rock the boat , you have but one life.

The world is waiting for you , begin with passion

The biggest advantage for passionprenuers is that the world is ready for the passion economy , the internet , the smart phone and low data cost now make it possible for you to reach your tribes anywhere in the world. Anyone today who has passion and an idea he or she believes in you can find your tribe on the internet . It needs persistence but the time is right . Post COVID there would be an acceleration of businesses going online as customers are going to spend more time on the net .

You need to have the passion for what you are doing , if you believe in going vegan helps individuals to heal diabetes , you need to be vegan , if you believe that stress can be healed through meditation , you need to practice meditation, if you believe yoga can make an individual fit you need to be a Yoga practitioner yourself. If you are in a job , find passion in what you do , go beyond , take risks.

You need a back story , why are you doing what you are doing and you need to be passionate about whatever you do.

Your journey as a passionprenuer begins with YOU !

#passionproject

Sanjay mudnaney

#passionproject is my way of helping passionprenuers make impact . I have helped passionprenuers in healthcare , wellness, causes scale , If you are part of passion economy and want to scale your impact get in touch with me on 9821876559 .