Advice for someone who can't find 'passion'

Follow your value system. You will not regret it. Examine you talents, your attributes and your affinities and develop an idea for entering a business that you would enjoy.

Our existence and our mental universe are driven by factors that we as individuals inherit through the gene pool, as enhanced by our experiences in life. In short we are most at peace when we are in sync with the personal value system that has evolved as a result of the above factors and when we are permitted to pursue our values in our personal and professional endeavors.

If we cannot achieve that harmony we will seek change.

Find the niche that satisfies the above and you will find the long term spark you are seeking.

I would recommend finding a business where your experience as an RN/ in healthcare intersects with your technological interests. Look for a business that matches your core values and that you love their mission. From there, apply yourself to get in. It really doesn't matter where you start (have an open mind). If you are passionate about the mission and the work the organization is doing, it will feed your aspirations, give you fulfillment and help you develop.

I never imagined when I was planning my career that I'd be doing what I do today. For me, as long as I'm developing and leading/ helping people, and helping my community, I'm fulfilled. You wouldn't directly correlate that to my title today if you were reverse engineering a career plan. However, that's what gets me up everyday and I get to enjoy my passions daily in my work!

So find a mission you can get behind, a role that you can grow into and and an organization that you can evolve with, and make sure that you're incorporating and prioritizing the work that fuels you and that you're probably insanely talented at as well. Be vocal about what you want and how you can help others. If after some time honing your passion with an org, you may want to venture out with your own entrepreneurial cause. You can either grow that in tandem with your big org work or venture on your own. You'll at least have clarity and importance in your work.

Best of luck!

Great question. Don’t let “finding your passion” stress you out. It wasn’t that long ago, that no one cared about passion in anything other than love/relationships. Passion itself, and its role in our lives, tends to be misunderstood as the driver or influencer. While it does play a role, its not the real driver and if we put it in the driver’s seat, watch out (every hear of “crimes passion”). Because its an emotion is changes over time and what you’re passionate about for X years can change.

On the other hand our values and beliefs are the things that drive our decisions and significantly influence us. I would say passion sort of, shows up, when our values and beliefs are aligned in what we are doing or how we are living.

I would encourage you to get curious about yourself and your past decisions. Start with some of the things in your question above, why do you say you "love healthcare, medicine, & biotechnology"? What exactly is it that you love? Why do you love technology? And what specifically about "AI, AR, & VR" do you like/enjoy?

Taking time to reflect on past decisions, good/bad/indifferent, can bring to light things we didn't even realize about ourselves. And becoming more self-aware about your value, beliefs, talents and can help simplify the decision process when you consider what you want to do next.

If you haven't already done so, you might also want to check out some of the online “career aptitude tests”. The tests asks questions that are easy to answer and are designed to help give you some insight into yourself. While they don’t always pinpoint you, they do a pretty good job at helping to identify your talents/abilities/strengths.

And finally, if all the above isn't helpful enough, you can always take the opposite position (following your passion doesn’t matter) see Mike Rowe's video on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_viVmpAdsM and see if it helps you think differently, in a good way, about your situation.

Hope this helps.

You should concentrate and think of what's good for you.

i think you should give time to yourself..meditate.meditate and in the begining you will feel you are reachin no where but after 10 healing sessions ...u will somewere close to your answer

Read Simon Sineks Books "Start with Why" and "Find your why"

My passion has always came with amazing leaders and co-workers. People we surround ourselves with in our work. 10 years ago when I started hiring "job fit" really changed for me. I shared with every person I have interviewed this position has to be something you want and willing to do and what Verizon needs for the position and the work. Once I explain the position and work think about how might you have a passion for this work that allows you to grow her and we hope have some fun.

We have a match then things seems to always go well. I too focus on the communication and if the entire conversation has energy and passion. Surround yourself with passionate people and partners and you will catch the passion you desire.

I was on a few teams and with one company the people were very negative. I loved the work and was excited and passionate about the work. It was the people I left for Verizon and the people here at Verizon have a culture that makes it hard not to be passionate about the work we have chosen. You may stop work if you can that pays well and go with work and accounts you enjoy and grow those and look for more like those to work. If I would have my dream job and dream work and the team or a few were negative then hard to light our own passion in this group. Join a running team your going to run better in a short amount of time.

It sounds like you have successfully defined some "loves" which is a great place to start since you can build on a foundation you've already laid. I would suggest doing this as you are not innately enveloped by something else, and we only have so much time on this earth to create our empire/legacy/mark/etc. Consider that your "passion" (i.e., what you get up for) might not be a subject, industry, or job. What if your focus was on using your unique talents to make the world a better place? Your talents might not necessarily be an activity, at least not one you think of in the traditional sense, but would none-the-less be something you could hone and develop. Are you intuitive? A peacemaker? Someone skilled at bringing others together? Someone who sets a high bar? I think, to answer this, you have to dig deeply into the "what makes you-you" arena.

I can tell you from experience that, following external passions aren't necessarily all they are cracked up to be either. The Mark Twain quote about finding a job you enjoy doing and you'll never work a day in your life didn't mention anything about passion. I love what I do now, and by all rights, it would probably have been considered my second choice. Even I didn't know early on it was my true talent. It took years of discovery to uncover why it is and should be my go-to strength.

My advice... pick something and get moving. Life is a buffet, the way I see it. You taste different things, in your case different interests. See which one lights a spark, move on to the next if something doesn't. If it benefits others and you find fulfillment in doing so, then your passion will find you.

Brian

I have been in the IT industry for 30+ years.

The last 10 years I have been building my own Managed Services Practice. As a one-man shop, I do it all.

I often tell clients and potential clients to delegate their tech needs to me. This allows them to free up more time in their life for the other aspects of their business.

I finally took my own advice. I hired a VA who helps with billing and marketing. I hired a part time, junior tech as 1099 who I call upon to assist with larger projects and to give me a break from some of the mundane, daily chores.

Lastly, I added the website brain.fm to my background noise in the office. This added with the 'free-time' really helps me focus.

This has added to my passion. It's not where it once was, but it is there, still.

Good luck!

Much like we are when someone asks us what do we want to be when we grow up, I think you are in the same place. A high school counselor once told me that that's the absolutely worst question to ask a kid since their view of what's available is so limited. I'd say continue to dabble in multiple fields until you find that ONE that draws passion out of you. You will know, but you will also know by taking this journey which ones don't draw the passion out of you. Remember, most small businesses fail in the first year or two - not necessarily because the idea isn't worthy of being a business, and not because of funding or poor business plans. I believe they fail because the passion wasn't there to stick it out. I don't know of many businesses that are successful right off the bat - but it's passion and driven and the fact that the person didn't give up that "willed" and drove that business to live on. Remember success is defined by you and not society when it comes to building your own business. Keep looking - you will find the ONE that draws passion out of you.

As someone who has experienced this, the best advice that I can give is to let it flow naturally. Do not force yourself to come up with Ideas just to say you have one. Think about things that you are passionate about. Write it down and go from there. Also take your time with this. Most of the time businesses fail because people are too quick to throwing things out there before making sure they are providing people with the proper services. Focus on your own journey. What's meant for you will come

You have an impressive list of "Things" in your toolbox Jeffery! Playing with which "ones" you feel excited, enjoy most, and never "seem to" get tired of?! Those may very well be in your 'passion' bucket!

Among the topics that you listed, regarding which ones you usually do have a lot of "what if" type questions, that you like to explore more ?! Those may be related to your 'passion.'

Surely, you may try a few publicly available resources (survey form, questionnaire, etc.) to assess awareness about you and others around you. There are many books on discovering your working identity and your strength.

Regarding finding business partners, you may try attending your local Entrepreneurs' clubs' meetings, open house sessions of venture teams/groups, hackathon sessions, etc.

Wishing you the Best.

I agree with several of the answers above. I am also a believer of your passion will find you. Be willing to try new things, and ask a lot of questions along the way. You may be in a position where you are overthinking it. From your description, I think something in HC and helping people would be something in your alley.

In my opinion your are what we call a LEADER. Have you read about kingdoms and governments? Leaders will always be able to find the right people to do certain things for them but they are by nature not allowed to work. That is why you don't find ease in doing anything, but you find ease in learning about it. You are a leader and that is why you find people easily.

So the solution is this, find a team and just feed them with your knowledge because according to me your passion is in leadership and having things done with your mind but not your hands.

Passion always follows curiosity. If you stay curious, you'll eventually find passion.

Others have mentioned Simon Sinek's point of view on this and I fully support that. Sinek's take (and I'm paraphrasing in my own words here):

We're unfortunately taught that we should follow our passions. Sure, we should do that to enjoy ourselves, enjoy life, and enjoy time with others who are important to us.

But "following your passion" is ultimately bad advice when it comes to your work life.

This is because more often than not, passion is output and not an input. It's a product of doing things that align with your values, your beliefs, and your core ideals about what matters in life. By finding and doing work, or starting a business, that allows you to live your ideals and values the most, the passion will happen, the passion will be produced.

For example, if helping other people realize their potential is important to you, ANY job or business that allows you to do that will fill the passion quotient. A job or business where you don't get to support others will, while it may make you money, leave you feeling unfulfilled and passionless.

I was part of a really good conversation about this question with a group of peers.

As others have said, shifting your view of "passion" will be important here. The example from my peer Rohan was: If you love food, you may not love owning a restaurant.

It's important to think: is this job, or business, what I really like about the food industry? If you love cooking food for people and seeing their reactions, you may align more with being a Chef or Head Chef than owning the restaurant itself.

Think of your passion as the OUTPUT of the work, not the INPUT. This will help you find something you truly can take pride in, and find that passion for.

When you have free time, what interests you? From your background, it sounds like you have a good general knowledge of your industries with some technical knowledge. Consider using your knowledge to help others grow in their journey. I've found that passing along information and insights to others that have similar backgrounds not only increases my own knowledge, but enhances those relationships and makes grows the "passion" of the things that interest you.

Rather than start with the question of which business idea you are passionate about, I would recommend taking the business focus out of the conversation initially and ask yourself, what do you enjoy doing with your time and energy and how you would spend your time if you didn't have to work. Grab a sheet of paper and start writing random thoughts and ideas that get you excited. Through the soul-searching and deep diving, it will eventually come to you.

You have to find what drives you, and that can take some trial and error. I did not come out of college knowing exactly the career path that was right for me. It took some trial and error in different roles, with different companies to determine my passion. For me, passion comes from being able to lead people and see them grow and learn in their role. So for me it is not the "what am I doing" it is the "what am I doing for my team" that drives me everyday. Keep trying and you will find what drives you and leads to that feeling of passion.

Hi!

I gave myself the trouble to critically analyze your statements. I hope you enjoy.

"I have many business ventures, but I am unable to find that one certain spark that I am ridiculously passionate about"

R: I don't find coherence in having many business ventures and saying that you can't find the spark... to have many business ventures you have to have some spark. People are not robots that just do things automatically. This doesn't make sense.

"I have found a love of business and entrepreneurship in general, but I am searching for something that I wake up every morning and am excited to start the day"

R: You say that "you have found love for business and entrepreneurship in general" but nothing that excites you when you wake up every morning... that means you have not found love for business and entrepreneurship... it's like you like to dream of being an entrepreneur but you don't like to work for it. That is inconsistent.

"I have difficulty with making decisions regarding what business to go all into and I don't want to go down that path again and waste precious time. Does anyone have suggestions?"

R: At the beginning you said that you have "many business ventures" but now it takes you a long time to make decisions about which business to start. This doesn't make sense either... You expect people to tell you or give you ideas about what business to do... Mentoring is supposed to help you with your business, not to give you business ideas.

"Should I just go keep trying new things? A few things I do know, I love healthcare, medicine, & biotechnology (I was an RN for 8 years)"

R: What you say here doesn't make sense either. You say you "love" health care, medicine and biotechnology and then ask for the spark that turns you on. I mean, isn't that spark?... If it isn't, how come you love that? Again another inconsistency.

"I love technology, AI, AR, & VR. I don't code and don't want to learn how (aside from the basic HTML, CSS, and python I already know)"

R: Now you love technology... and you say look for the spark that gets you up every morning. Worse yet, you say that you don't code but you know HTML, CSS, Python!... If that's not coding the what is?. Again... you are being inconsistent in this statement as well.

"I don't mind getting dirty to get things done; building websites, trying marketing tactics, contacting people but am also able to outsource and do a good job finding the right people. I do have a difficult time finding business partners"

R: You say that "I don't mind getting dirty to do things" but you don't want to learn to code! that wouldn't mean "getting dirty to do things"... unless your approach to technology is at the user level... like selling or renting AI, AR, & VR products or services.

Finally... what happens if your passion is to do nothing?... to be asleep and live life effortlessly and full of comforts... if you like the idea, something is wrong... seriously.

Meditate what you have written and find the inconsistencies, not everything is passion in this world, mature people act based on responsibilities. Passion can give you a boost but it is discipline and commitment that sustains the business. If you only look for your passions you will end up being mowed down by them.

Zeno said "for the man who is rational by nature, obeying nature and obeying reason are the same"

Apart from above comments- i would like you to think that you are a versatile person and one thing I would suggest is that enjoy what you do. You may not ever be "passionate" about what you do for a living. And that's okay. As long as you have the sense of satisfaction on what you do it will make your day.

One of the best ways of finding purpose is choosing one's responsibility in God's will . Call me chief priest if u want

Jeffery, hi. The passion for something cannot be improvised or consciously built, it is born spontaneously. Until this emerges and you discover it, I suggest to focus and work on your priorities.

Nice Answers, I tried reading few.

What do you love doing even when you don't make money from it/them.

What problem(s) makes you uncomfortable, who do you see and want to be like, what do you see and wish you are the one that made or produced it. Look at your childhood, when you are growing what service,play, activities were consistent in your life. What skills do you have, ask your friends, family .

If you are able to answer these, write it down you wont be far or might even arrive at your passion.

God enables us with the skills and abilities we need to solve the problems we are wired to solve, look at your abilities/skills with Prayers you will surely see that you are ment for.

For Ideas, start from your environment, look out for that problem you are wired to solve, solve it long enough you will start making money.

Nice Answers, I tried reading few.

What do you love doing even when you don't make money from it/them.

What problem(s) makes you uncomfortable, who do you see and want to be like, what do you see and wish you are the one that made or produced it. Look at your childhood, when you are growing what service,play, activities were consistent in your life. What skills do you have, ask your friends, family .

If you are able to answer these, write it down you wont be far or might even arrive at your passion.

God enables us with the skills and abilities we need to solve the problems we are wired to solve, look at your abilities/skills with Prayers you will surely see that you are ment for.

For Ideas, start from your environment, look out for that problem you are wired to solve, solve it long enough you will start making money.