When working with current and aspiring entrepreneurs, I talk a lot about finding your  passion. I used to say that you know you’ve found your passion when you’re engaged in a task and time passes quickly.

I don’t believe that anymore. After all, time passes quickly when I drive the repetitive 40-mile route home from teaching 2 nights a week. More than once I have arrived home somewhat surprised that I didn’t remember the drive. Has that happened to anyone else? Sure. But does that mean we’re passionate about driving? Not necessarily.

Likewise on occasion I’ve had to dig into getting my office organized or my financial records in order. I can get to a place where I’m so focused I don’t even realize I’m hungry or that so much time has passed. Does that mean I’m passionate about those activities? Hardly.

Time can pass when you’re NOT having fun. Time passes when you’re focused. So how can you identify the difference between being able to focus on a task and being passionate about it? It’s about the energy.

Last night, I gave a workshop at UMBC on Finding Value in Ideas. Following our 3-phase model for entrepreneurial innovation, Get Sparked, Get Real, and Get Results, I talked for over an hour about a topic I am passionate about. Sure, the time passed, but there was something different about this time passing and my commutes home.
My energy was MULTIPLIED, not drained.

It struck me as I was driving home that I was PUMPED. Even though I expended a great deal of energy to be “on” for the group, I actually felt MORE energetic than when the session had begun. I started thinking about past occasions when I felt that way. Teaching an ACTiVATE class. Empowering a group of women. Giving an individual a much-needed empowerment “Boot in the Butt”.

Although these tasks often require considerable energy to conduct, I am left feeling more powerful, more energized, than I did before I started. THAT, I realized, is what passion does.

Passion for what I do has allowed me to function with less sleep, to get excited about the future, and to realize, day after day, that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be. Sure, there are aspects of my “work” that I don’t get excited about (like finances) but because I’m able to focus on the goal – the path forward – those less-than-fun tasks are now inconsequential. It’s magic.

So how do you find out what you’re passionate about? Notice the next time you get that sudden surge of energy, of power. Stop and take a moment to think about the cause. It could be a particular task or the meaning behind it. I guarantee you if you pay more attention, the answers will become clear.