“I think I’m having a mid-life crisis,” my friend said. “I need something new, something different.”
My friend has worked the same job since college. He liked his job well enough; he had been doing it so long that he could go through all the motions blindfolded. The job provided well for his family.
I understood his yearning for something different in life. I saw it in myself six years ago. Life was good, but it had become ho-hum. I was humming along.
The “something” that was missing was passion.
Passion is energy. When you are on a passionate path in life, that energy is invigorating. Everyone around you will feel it.
The yearning that pops up is a sign that you’re longing for something “more” in your life. Unfortunately for many, the longing for more is often confused with material things. Once you acquire the material thing and the newness wears off, you’re still left with the yearning for more.
What we truly want is something even deeper: joy, bliss, and passion.
We yearn to do things that matter. To accomplish something epic. To serve others. To make a difference. To leave our mark. To matter. To passionately live life so fully that there is no room for complaint.
“Impossible,” says another friend. “That’s a pipe dream.”
Is it really? Then perhaps you have to take a different look at your perspectives, your thoughts, and your routines. You can invite passion into your life by recognizing your joy. Recognizing what increases your energy instead of what sucks the marrow out of your soul.
Passion is the fuel that will push you above and beyond, a coach once told me.
Passion matters. Passion is the spark that ignites–and it can make the difference between a ho-hum life and a joyful one.
Every morning when you wake up, you’ve been given the gift of a brand new day.
Begin with gratitude. Thankful thoughts combined with deep breaths will awaken your senses better than coffee. (I’m not a coffee drinker so my husband disagrees with me on this one.)
My daughter and I recently experienced a silent meditation with a group of women. We greeted each other in silence, we sat for 90 minutes together in silence, we left in silence.
I left my hearing aids in the car for this. Meditation comes easy with this silent advantage–for I’m never distracted by any sound.
It’s in the stillness we find answers. In this busy, busy world, it’s often hard to slow down and just be. Yet, that’s exactly what is needed when you are in need of answers.
So today, you’ve got your gift sitting in your hands: a brand new day.
When I look around, I see people just going through the motions throughout their day. The routine of stress and mediocrity is etched on the faces of people shopping at the local food store. There’s the usual pattern: the dread of Monday, the perk of aliveness on Wednesday, the celebration of Friday.
And then there’s the weekend: when they truly live it up or kick back and relax.
What if we turned that whole thing into a different paradigm?
What if you woke up each day in gratefulness–beginning with the quiet celebration of breath and the reflection of all that is good.
What if you looked forward to the unfolding of each day and time passed by so fast because you were deep into what you love to do.
What if you were surrounded by people who cheer you on and love you just as you are–yet still push you to be the best you can be.
What if you were vibrating at an energy level so high that others wonder how in the world you can do all that you do.
Yes, that’s what passion will do for you.
When you are lined up with your passion, your purpose, and your quest for serving others–that’s when life becomes bliss. You’re part of something that’s bigger than you, something that stretches you beyond anything you’ve ever imagined, and something that will leave a legacy long after your feet have left this earth.
We need more passion in this world. We need you to wake up with eager anticipation. We need you to share your unique gifts, talents, skills, and abilities with others.
You were not meant to live a ho-hum life. You were meant to to serve, to love, to enjoy, to feel, to imagine, to cry, to celebrate…
You were not meant to walk through this life numb to each day and living for a day in the future.
You know the one…the one that has all the things you’re putting off for some day in the future.
I’m a wonderful procrastinator. My father used to say, “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow.” (Yes, really.) He would say it jokingly, but I took his words to heart.
I had always wanted to write books from the time that I wrote my first story as a kid. I started writing articles and blog posts for no pay. I wrote for the pure pleasure of creating stories and honing the craft.
My first paid gig was for an online review site. I earned five figures from that site…over a couple of years.
I continued to write for several blog sites and occasionally my articles were syndicated in several newspapers. Chicago Tribune offered me a weekly column in the local section, with no pay. I said yes. It was fun to see my articles in print. Later, I became a paid writer. This lead to other paid gigs, like writing for Ricky Martin’s parenting website.
So this leads to the question, what do you love so much you’d do it for free? This is one of the clues to your passions.
Then the second question becomes, what are you willing to do to create the life you want?
I wanted to write books.
Someday.
There’s a line in Billy Joel’s song, James:
“When will you write your masterpiece?”
I finally started writing. I got up at five a.m. and hit the keyboard each morning. I wrote after the kids went to bed. I wrote in between selling stuff for my sales job.
One book. Then two. Then ten. And still writing the next one.
There are three things you need to create the life you want:
Clarity.
Commitment.
Action.
Get clear on the life you want, commit to what needs to be done, then take action.
What are you willing to do to create the life you want?
What did I love to do more than anything in the world?
Barefoot water skiing.
And just like that, the quest appeared before me:
I will barefoot water ski in all 50 states to celebrate my 50’s–and to encourage, inspire, and prompt others to unwrap their passions at any age.
Maine and New Hampshire were on the calendar for the #Barefoot50 in August. I had planned to barefoot with Sun Sports Maine, but due to scheduling conflicts and high wind, I ended up at paddleboarding with my co-worker instead. Stephanie Olson and I had a blast. We were the only ones out on the water due to the wind.
My first time on a paddleboard!
After a speaking gig in Maine, I took off for New Hampshire to hang with Jackie and Claude St. Onge, the parents of 2X World Barefoot Champion, Keith St. Onge (we wrote Gliding Soles.)
New Hampshire was absolutely beautiful and it was my first time in this state. In some ways I felt like I had visited it before–then I realized it was simply from all the stories that Keith shared when we were writing his book.
Claude arranged for me to barefoot with the Leclerc family at their lake. It was a little windy and rough, but we all had a great time on the water. Claude is in his 60’s and he barefoots a like a teenager, proving you’re never too old to do what you love.
Claude St. Onge enjoying the water!
The Leclerc family, St. Onges, and me. I left the group too soon!A Gliding Soles fan!Barefooting backwards–my favorite thing to do.
The three of us took off for Lake Umbagog in the late afternoon, meeting up with Jackie’s sister and her husband. for a ride around the lake while the sun was getting low in the sky. Lake Umbagog is a man-made lake which flows into the Androscoggin River. The name comes from the Abenaki Indian tribe meaning “shallow waters.” Indeed, the average depth of this 10.5 mile long lake is only ten feet.
Breathtaking sunset on Lake Umbagog.
Umbagog is absolutely pristine and many parts are completely untouched by civilization.
The sunset was beautiful that night. When we arrived back to the cottage, we had a wonderful dinner with Jackie’s sister Collette and her husband, Stanley.
I checked out the map of Lake Umbagog and learned that half of the lake is in Maine. I’ll be back to barefoot on that side of the lake for my Maine adventure!
Jackie and Claude St. Onge
We packed a lot into three short days and I could have easily stayed there for a couple of weeks. The area around Mount Washington is simply beautiful. It’s a soulful place. This quest has been so much fun–check out the gallery below for the rest of the adventure.
Grab a copy of Chris Guillebeau’s book and begin a quest of your own. I promise you, your life will light up!
Way back in high school, a wonderful teacher took me out for lunch and gave me a blank writing journal as a gift. This special teacher saw my gift long before I recognized it in myself.
Today, that journal is filled with poems and inspiring quotes. Whenever I need a boost, I open the journal to random pages and I find inspiration once again..
Like Oprah Winfrey says, “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
Here are some quotes to stir the passion within you and lift your energy.
People should love their work, rather than work themselves to death. Every one of you has a gift–use it to empower others.
~Christine Amanda Rosehart
To love what you do and feel that it matters–how could anything be more fun?
~Katherine Graham
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
~Carl Jung
It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.
~Charles Spurgeon
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, compassion, some humor, and some style.
~Maya Angelou
There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
~Nelson Mandela
I would rather die of passion than boredom.
~Vincent Van Gogh
The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.
~Ferdinand Foch
The need for devotion to something outside ourselves is even more profound than the need for companionship. If we are not to go to pieces or wither away, we must have some purpose in life; for no man can live for himself alone.
~Ross Parmenter
Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.
~Jon Bon Jovi
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
~Howard Thurman
I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.
~Walter Cronkite
You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world.
“So, what do you do for fun?” I asked Brenda Schmidt between bites of dinner. We were on our way to see Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy at the Rialto Theater in Joliet.
“My husband and I hunt ghosts for fun.”
I nearly dropped my fork. Not because I had the reaction that most people do about ghosts–the “let’s not talk about uncomfortable topics” squirm, but because it was a subject I had lived with for many years.
Back in 1977, my parents bought two cottages on Christie Lake in Michigan. Mike, the next door neighbor, told us some stories about the previous occupants, including the original owner, Mr. Eberhart, who died at the end of the pier during a storm.
For many years, I felt Mr. Eberhart’s spirit in the tiny bedroom that I shared with my sister.
When my parents moved the house (literally) across town and built their retirement home on the same spot, Mr. Eberhart settled in. For many years, we were busy with the kids. However, whenever I slept in the “Blue Room,” I felt like he was there.
One day, my father asked me if I believed in ghosts.
I told him yes. I told him I felt Mr. Eberhart’s spirit and that he never left. We compared our stories–the footsteps at night (Dad heard this) and the impossible-to-open closet doors that were left open in the middle of the night. My sister also experienced the open closet doors, so I knew I wasn’t imagining things.
We started sharing the stories with visitors and it made for lively conversations around the fire at night. Then our visitors began experiencing Mr. Eberhart’s antics. Whispers in the ear, “I’m still here,” flashing lights, disappearing items.
My mother never believed any of it. The ghost had a habit of turning on the radio in my boat and draining the battery. I replaced the battery, rewired the boat, and figured the problem was solved.
One evening, I took my mom out for a sunset ride in the boat. When we docked, I made sure she watched me turn off the radio, because my father accused the kids of leaving it on.
We were on the dock when out of the corner of my eye, I saw the radio light turn on.
“Mom, you saw me turn off the radio, right?”
She nodded.
“Well, take a look at the radio now.”
Her mouth dropped open.
Yet, she still didn’t believe in ghosts.
So when Brenda told me that her husband Paul was the president of The Illinois Paranomalists , I had to share the story. I gave them a copy of Totally Scared, which featured the story of the ghost at the lake house.
Could we prove the ghost theory?
Paul was intrigued. He stopped by my house to get a key and headed up to the lake house. He spent several hours there, setting up equipment and recording both audio and visual modes.
The results were pretty clear: the house was haunted. I was finally validated after all the years of sharing “ghost stories.”
I invited Paul to share his experiences:
I am extremely honored that Karen invited me to be a guest on her blog. The hardest thing has been deciding what to write.
Karen writes about finding and following your passion. I have a lifelong passion for the paranormal—resulting in my becoming a ghost hunter.
I grew up reading everything I could on ghosts: Bigfoot, the Bermuda triangle, Loch Ness monster, etc. I enjoyed the fact that there are still mysteries in the world. I dreamed of one day actually seeing one of these mysterious phenomena. Unfortunately, advances in technology have proven many of these supposed mysteries to be nonexistent or in some cases fabricated.
About 11 years ago I realized it was possible to pursue my interests in ghosts when the show “Ghosthunters” first appeared on the SyFy channel. Like many of my ghost hunting friends a light bulb went off and I realized people actually do this stuff.
I began researching and going on “pay to hunt” public hunts. I then joined a club and learned all I could. At the urging of my family I finally formed my own club with a group of friends—The Illinois Paranormalists (TIP). We all love to ghost hunt and have fun together. We’ve explored places like the Rialto Theatre in Joliet, The Eldred house, and the Goldenrod Showboat.
Karen and my wife Brenda are friends and during a dinner conversation my hobby came up. Karen’s family owned a home for many years that they thought was haunted but did not have proof. She invited me to investigate and I jumped at the chance to visit somewhere no one else had ever investigated. (BTW: you’d be surprised how many people tell me they live, work, or know of a haunted location.)
I brought my cameras and recorders and investigated into the night. While I was there, I had some very interesting personal experiences. To me the most interesting thing was actually how my body tingled for at least an hour when I was up in the bedroom that Karen identified as haunted. Karen says the spirit would say “I’m still here” to occasional visitors. I could not believe the reaction of my KII meter when I asked the question “are you still here”. Usually a few additional lights light up, but my meter went crazy with the lights going up and down in a blur. In 20/20 hindsight, I wish I had filmed it with my iPhone. The camera I had in the room was pointed too high to catch it. My recorders however captured a number of unexplained loud noises in the bedroom where the haunting appears to be centered.
Karen was happy to finally have some validation to the experiences she had while in the house over the years.
If you are interested or have more questions, my club has a webpage at www.ghosttip.com and a Facebook page. I want to thank Karen again for giving me this opportunity.
At the beginning of this quest, I’ve already barefoot water skied in eight states. In July, I added Missouri to the list while on a trip to visit my brother, Brian. We joined up with Brian Tillema, an attorney from Kansas City and headed out to Lake Lotawana, home of the famed Don Thomson, a true pioneer superstar of barefoot water skiing.
In the same month, I headed down to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, my family’s hometown. Both of my parents were born there. I never in a million years would have ever thought that I would be able to barefoot water ski in this tiny, rural town. My cousin, Jerry, introduced me to Seth Burgett, an entrepreneur who has patented over 40 items, including YurBuds, semi-customized sports ear buds.
Six-time World Barefoot Champion David Small held a two day ski clinic on a beautiful, private lake. The barefooting conditions were fantastic and everyone in the boat had a blast.
“There are opportunities all around us–we just have to notice them.”
When my daughter, Ren, decided to leave college to pursue an acting career, I was not exactly on board with the plan at first. The practical parent in me thought my daughter wasn’t being grateful for the opportunity to attend college with scholarships and she was throwing all of that away.
As a result of pursuing what she was totally passionate about, Ren landed a swing role in Broadway in Spring Awakening.
While she was performing at a nightclub, a Tony Award winning director watched her on stage. The director cast her, without an audition, in the New York City Center play, Runaways.
As I watched my daughter on stage, I thought about how one opportunity lead to another. Here she was, performing in front of nearly 3,000 people with a radiant smile on her face during the final bow.
The next day, Ren introduced us to Joshua De Jesus.
When Joshua tried out for Runaways, he was among a group of over 300 kids vying for a role. Just before his turn, the girl before him sang the same song he picked out and she did a stellar job.
Joshua did not get a call back.
He was crushed, but he so strongly felt he wanted to be a part of this play. Acting was his passion since he was a young boy.
When he left the room, he spied an audition form lying on a desk, filled it out, and confidently strolled into a room with a different group of scouts.
He got the part.
The lesson here…
Be passionately persistent! Don’t give up when there are obstacles in your path. Stay strong in the vision of what you want and stay open to the opportunities that show up.
