Is finding passion a good thing?

"You’ve got it all wrong," my father said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Tell me,” he continued,

“What do you feel passionate about?"

"Well," I paused for a second, "I feel passionate about entrepreneurship, technology, and car racing."

"Passion is a feeling," my father said in a loud voice. "If you pursue passion, you will end up in trouble. You can't run your life on feelings — feelings are not reliable. Emotions ALWAYS fade away! Always!”

He’s right. I'm passionate about entrepreneurship. I’ve started businesses that have led me to unnecessary trouble. I'm passionate about technology. I’ve wasted money being an early adopter of unnecessary technology. I'm passionate about car racing. Several years ago I got into GoKart racing. “What was I thinking!”

My father proposed a different perspective to me, "You need to start with a clear purpose for your life. PURPOSE is the reason for the journey, PASSION is the fuel that pushes you through the journey,” he offered.

It took me a while to understand that emotions cause stress and will drain me. Working with purpose will never wear me out; it’s an endless fire inside of me.

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So, to answer your question, is finding passion a good thing?

Yes, and no.

Yes, because passion will keep you moving forward through seasons in life.

No, because it WILL get you in trouble if you let it flow freely without a clear purpose.

What about you? Do you have a meaningful purpose that fills you with passion?

-Hector Quintanilla