Passion.

"Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman".  ~ Ludwig Van Beethoven.

I remember the very first time I heard Beethoven's ninth symphony,  'Ode To Joy', as a young boy and I thought. - What A Genius.

What Passion.

After hearing the masterpiece I sat in stunned silence, amazed, truly gobsmacked in awe. To think that such power and beauty was within any human being inspired and humbled me. It was pure passion.

Passion drives people.  To create great masterpieces, overcome insurmountable odds, and inspire others. We have only to call on it. Everyone agrees that focused passion is the ingredient that makes the difference between average and great. Yet most people put their daily lives on auto pilot. We forgo focused passion. We slumber through our days. But the fact is passion's the partner we need to dance with if we want to achieve anything of note.  She inspires greatness. She's the muse that drives, determines and defines timeless accomplishment.

So where does passion come from?

From experiences, both good and bad. From memories, dreams and fantasy. From visions and images that dance in our mind we stir ourselves up. We inspire ourselves. ~ What do we need to focus these images? A catalyst.  Some use music, art or words. Some memories. Some anger and hurt. Some use family and the comforts of altruism.

And how do we focus passion?

We take a powerful emotional experience combine it with a drive to accomplish something and add a reminder. A bell for pavlovs dog. Whether it be a piece of music, art, video or literature ~ Most of us need visual or auditory prompts to wake us from our slumber.

Unless we are Ludwig Van Beethoven.