Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: unwrap your passion

  • Barefooting 50 States: Louisiana

    Barefooting 50 States: Louisiana

     

    “Have you done Louisiana yet?”

    Mark Varnes, a fellow barefooter, left a comment on one of my Facebook posts. He invited me to ski with him in Louisiana as part of my Barefooting 50 States for my 50’s quest.

    The next thing I knew, I had an assignment to speak in New Orleans, just 45 minutes from Mark’s secret spot on the Pearl River.

    Serendipity.

    Or synchronicity, as Wayne Dyer would say.

    I hopped on a Southwest flight, grabbed a rental car, and took off for the river. I met up with Mark and two of his buddies, Brad Ripp and William “Doc” Kutun. All of us were over the age of 50–and we all shared a crazy passionate love for barefooting. Like me, Brad got back on the water just recently–after a 25 year absence. We spent the afternoon barefooting up and down the Pearl River, one of the most calm, tranquil spots I’ve ever barefooted in. Whenever there was a tiny ripple on the water, Mark drove further down the river until we found glass again. As a result, my feet were burning on my first run! On my second run, I decided to try a backward deep start behind the boat–something that had eluded me during the last several barefooting trips. The start was smooth and I found myself up and about–but I couldn’t find my way around the wake. I let go as I was afraid I was going to fall–but I was so, so, so happy to have accomplished the backward longline start once again!

    Each of the guys took turns footin’–and I was impressed with their skills! I still have a ways to go to catch up!

    On the way back to the dock, one of the guys pointed out an alligator lazing between the trees. Fortunately, the boat was going so fast that I missed it. I was really glad I was done footin’ after they found a gator! Check out the amusing alligator sign in the video that Mark put together:

     

    Want some help putting together a Passion Quest of your own? Check out Karen’s book: Unwrapping Your Passion.

     

  • A New Course on Passion at Udemy

    A New Course on Passion at Udemy

    The difference between an ordinary life and an extraordinary one is:

    PASSION.

    Passion is an energy like no other. Once you unwrap passion and implement new habits–life takes on a whole new dimension.  I study and live this on a daily basis. Through the ups and downs, passion is fuel.

    In the last several years, I’ve talked to over 200 people about passion and learned from the experts. I wrote a book about everything I learned about passion: Unwrapping Your Passion. I’ve given the Passion Test to hundreds of people and I never fail to be amazed at the results–people ARE making a difference in their lives by choosing to live passionately. We have a kinder, happier world when people are engaged in practices that bring joy.

    And now YOU have the opportunity to take a course that will give you the tools to unwrap your passion at ANY age.

    And I really mean ANY age. Passion is a state of mind–it’s an energy you can tap into. Learn how you can tap into yours:

    Udemy Course: Unwrapping Your Passion at ANY Age

    When you follow Karen Putz’s formula for Unwrapping Your Passions,

    the gift you’ll find inside right next to your passions will be deep, true, and lasting happiness. 

    Marci Shimoff, NY Times Bestselling Author of Happy for No Reason

  • Are You Too Old to Do What You Love to Do?

    “I’m too old.”

    In my work as a Passion Mentor, I often hear this excuse as a reason for not living a passionate life. 

    I get it.

    At the age of 44, I felt like I was too old to enjoy the sport I once was so passionate about as a teen. The day before my 44th birthday, I attempted to barefoot water ski with my oldest son driving the boat. 

    I couldn’t do it. 

    I’m too old, I thought. 

    I was lucky. Back in 2009, I saw 66-year-old Judy Myers barefoot water skiing on the TODAY Show. She completely reframed my mindset. Suddenly I wasn’t too old–I had 22 years left to catch up to her! Thanks to Judy, I got back on the water and found my joy again.


    In the last seven years, I’ve been studying this thing we call “passion” and learning from others. I spoke about this at the 140 Conference in Los Angeles: Unwrapping Your Passion at Any Age. 

    Before I went on stage, Howard Rosenman spoke. You might not recognize his name, but you probably have seen the movies he’s produced: Father of the Bride, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Gross Anatomy.

    Howard wanted to be a movie producer when he was a young child but he took a detour by going to medical school to become a doctor instead. In the middle of an operation, Howard decided to listen to his calling for the arts. That decision lead to a career in Hollywood. “Making movies and storytelling, that’s my passion,” Howard said.

    And passion, Howard says, is something that you love so much that you will go through any obstacles to do it. (You can read more about Howard at my Growing Bolder blog.)

    If you find yourself thinking that it’s too late to live a passionate life, I want you to take ten minutes to watch a video that can change your life. In ten short minutes of this captioned video, you’ll learn how you can unwrap YOUR passion at any age: 

    No, You’re Not Too Old

  • Invite Passion Into Your Life

    Five years ago, I got lucky. I saw a sassy 66-year-old woman on the TODAY Show doing the very thing I was so freakingly passionate about as a teenager. I had stopped barefoot water skiing a few years after becoming deaf from a fall while footin’–then at 44, I figured I was too old to ever do it again. I met Judy Myers in Florida, put my feet back on the water, and re-discovered my passion again.

    Karen Putz-19

    I learned a lot about passion in the last five years. Now I’m working on sharing those lessons with others. When you do what you’re passionate about, your life takes on a whole new dimension. Everyone around you benefits too. Passion is energy. You’ve gotta choose it. Most of the time, we put it off, ignore it, or suppress it. As a result, we give off less than optimal energy. This leads to a sad, grumpy world.

    Use your gifts. Use your abilities. There is no one in this whole wide world as unique as you. Not happy? Grab a brand new pen and create a new story for your life. Because if you don’t, you’ll end up with the exact same life five years from now. If you don’t like it now, you won’t like it later, either.

    Passion–choose to invite it in your life.

    If you need help with this, contact me at karen@agelesspassions.com.

  • Unwrap Your Passion, And Happiness Will Follow

    (Originally posted as a guest blog on Happiness Inside, which is now closed)

    Earlier this year, I pursued a passion that was long buried inside of me. I didn’t even realize how long it was buried until I began to unwrap it on my 44th birthday last year.

    I was sitting on the pontoon at my parent’s lake, thinking back to some of the best memories of my life. I was rather down at that moment, so I wanted to conjure up some memories that included some happy times. I thought back to my teen years. I learned to water ski on my bare feet shortly after my sixteenth birthday. What a thrill that was! I spent the next three years barefooting with the guys on Christie Lake. Every single time that I went out on the water, I was happy.

    One day, when I was nineteen, I decided to go out and practice some wake crossings. I caught a toe and slammed into the water in a not-so-graceful cartwheel. In an instant, I went from hard of hearing to deaf. When I climbed into the boat and started talking to my friends, I couldn’t hear myself talk. I just figured that I had water in my ears and that the hearing I had left would return.

    It didn’t.

    At first, adjusting to being deaf was a horrible struggle. There were many days and nights that I cried. One day, I came to the realization that I could either do battle every day, or I could embrace this new identity as a deaf person and get on with life. From that moment, another passion was unwrapped. I learned American Sign Language and a rich world opened up filled with deaf and hard of hearing friends. Happiness arrived with that new-found passion. Most of my career since graduating from college has centered around helping others who are deaf and hard of hearing. I started and ran a non-profit organization, Illinois Hands and Voices and began providing mentoring services through the state’s Early Intervention program. Along the way, I uncovered a passion for birth and I attended several home and hospital births as a doula. Every birth filled me with incredible happiness inside.

    Fast forward to October of last year: my husband sent me a link to the Today Show segment featuring Judy Myers, a 66-year-old woman who learned to barefoot water ski at the age of 53. I connected with her and she invited me to come to the World Barefoot Center to learn to barefoot again. The very moment that I put my feet on the water, I was filled with incredible joy. The sport that had brought both happiness and sadness in my life was now filling me with happiness again.

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    At the World Barefoot Center, I met Keith St. Onge, the owner and a two-time World Barefoot Champion. Keith learned to barefoot at the age of ten and by time he was thirteen, he knew he wanted to follow his passion for the sport. He has competed since he was eleven, turned pro at eighteen and runs the ski school and a wetsuit company. The sport has brought him all over the world and he has been featured on ESPN, CNN and in several magazines.

    “Barefoot water skiing is my passion—it’s what I wanted to do since I was thirteen,” Keith shared. “I wanted to be the greatest. I wanted to be a pro the same way that young kids want to be a fireman. And I get to fuel my passion every day. When I’m on the water on my bare feet—it’s a feeling of complete freedom. When you fuel your passion–passion brings happiness—they feed off each other.”

    I recently had the opportunity to talk with Keith’s mom, Jackie St. Onge and I asked her to share her thoughts on passion.

    “Passion is your joy,” Jackie explained. “It is the essence of who you are. You have to unwrap it and find it. Some people find it easier than others. The body and the mind and the soul become one when you find your passion. Passion comes naturally to a person. It is like running water: turn on the tap and it flows.”

    Passion and happiness are intertwined. When you discover your passion and incorporate it into your life, happiness follows. If you’re not sure how to answer the question, “What is your passion?” you can find the answer by reflecting on the happy and joyful times in your life. What fires you up? What feeds your soul? What puts a smile on your face in the morning and a deep sense of satisfaction and joy when your head hits the pillow at night?

    Passion is inside each and every one of us. Unwrap yours.


    Copyright Karen Putz, November 2010

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