Discovering Your Passion

I recently returned from Girl's Camp. I was asked to teach a class, and I was allowed to choose my own topic. I struggled with this for a while until a friend suggested I talk on 'Discovering Your Passion'. I thought this sounded like a great idea (thank you Erin!!), and went with it.

I have to admit, it was a difficult talk to write, there were so many directions I could go. I tried to incorporate visual aids to keep it interesting and gave out a 'worksheet' to the girls. Although my delivery was probably rushed and disjointed, I spoke from the heart.

As this is a journal, I am trying to save all my writings here, including talks, notes, reports, etc. So, I am sharing this one as well.

Discovering Your Passion

When I was younger ALL I wanted was to be a mom.

When I would write in my journal, I’d often end it with a note to my ‘future children’. I would write about how I couldn’t wait to meet them and how much I loved them.

I was married when I was 20. We waited a couple of years and then decided to start a family.

But, for some reason, I couldn’t get pregnant. We did all kinds of tests, but the Doctors had no idea why we couldn’t have children.

Our only options were to complete medical procedures to help me get pregnant or to adopt a child. Both options cost a lot of money that we don’t have.

So, my goal of being a mother was put on hold. It had been the one thing I really wanted. Without it, I felt lost. I was so depressed.

Then, one day, I started writing about how I was feeling in an online journal. I had always loved writing as a child, but had stopped doing it as I got older. As I poured myself onto the page I realized, I have a passion for writing.

Three years later, my online journal is over 100 pages long. I’ve practically written a book! It has helped me to meet other women who, like me, aren’t able to have children. My writings have been a comfort to them, and their writings are a comfort to me.

Discovering this passion for writing encouraged me to look for other things I am passionate about.

I have always had a love for cooking and baking, but it had been years since I had thrown myself into it. Recently, I joined an online group of bakers who challenge each other to tackle a new and difficult recipe each month. Everyone gives it a try, and we share our experiences. Some have been successful, while others not so much. Regardless, it’s about the experience of trying. When I stand in my kitchen, covered in flour, hands in the dough, I am truly happy. This is passion.

(I passed around pictures of items I made with The Daring Bakers.)

Finally, I have recently borrowed my mother’s sewing machine. I sewed my first project recently: a pillowcase purse (we did this for mutual). As you can see as you pass it around, I am very much a beginner. Will sewing turn into another passion of mine? I don’t know, but I am excited to find out.

(I passed around the Pillowcase Purse.)

Today, we are going to talk about discovering our passions, those things we really love, and setting goals to get there. At some point in your life, you will all probably be wives, mothers, teachers, mentors, or career-women. These things will take up most of your time, as they should. But my hope is to inspire you to find time for those things that are just for you, grow and develop them, and then share them with the world.

4 steps

The first step in discovering your passion is to Get Quiet.

Slow down, spend time with yourself, pray for guidance and become closer to Heavenly Father.

A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, the Native American said, "I hear a cricket." His friend said, "What? You must be crazy. You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!" "No, I'm sure of it," the Native American said, "I heard a cricket." "That's crazy," said the friend. The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed. "That's incredible!" said his friend. "You must have superhuman ears!" "No," said the Native American. "My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you're listening for." "But that can't be!" said the friend. "I could never hear a cricket in all this noise." "Yes, it's true," came the reply. "It depends on what is really important to you. Here let me show you." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discretely dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs. "See what I mean?" asked the Native American. "It all depends on what is important to you."

What is important to you? What do you listen for? Some people say that there is not a God, and that He never speaks to us anymore. But perhaps they can't see or hear Him because they aren't listening for Him. They are living for themselves, not for God. If you are in tune with God, you will be able to notice Him at work in your life and in the world. And you'll be able to hear Him when He speaks.

Step 2: Explore

Pay attention to your environment. Spend some time paying close attention to what excites you, touches you, inspires you, or frustrates you. Watch what is going on around you and note your reactions to it.

An inspiring man named Randy Pausch once said: You just have to decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eeyore. (I called up a volunteer and had them put on Tigger and Eeyore hand puppets.)

Let’s describe Tigger: Explores, Positive, Happy, Never gives up

Describe Eeyore: Depressed, Stays in his Pen, Down, Sad

You make the decision about who you are going to be. Be a Tigger! Explore the world around you and find the things you love!

Step 3: Ask questions

What puts a smile on your face?
What activities come easily to you?
What sparks your creativity?
What do you like to talk about?
What would you regret not having tried?

(The girls wrote their answers on the Goals handout.)

The answers to these questions are the stepping stones towards finding your passion. It is a process.

Moroni 4:27 says, 'And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.'

Step 4: Take a risk

Now is the time to stop dreaming and start doing! Challenge your fears with action. Try something new. Many times passions are discovered by attempting something you have never done before!

As a child, I liked helping people. My mom recalls many times when I would mediate between two friends who disagreed with each other. She overheard me speak to them, one at a time, gently explaining the other’s point of view, until they were friends again. Perhaps it’s that I can’t stand squabbling. All I knew is that I was happier when the people around me were happy, as well.

So naturally, I thought I’d become a counselor. But GUESS WHAT? I tried it, and I didn’t like it. It was not my passion. Instead, I became a financial planner. To do that, I had to pass a two day test with problems like these. (Passed around the Equations Sheet from my CFP test.) And I hated math! Learning this stuff felt like a HUGE brick wall, standing in the way of my goal.

Randy Pausch said, “The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something, because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”

This is a story told by President Spencer W. Kimball. His passion was education, and his goal was to go to college. His brick walls were many, and this story is inspiring.

“After my mission I wanted to attend college, but my family could not afford to send me. So I took a job in the freight yards of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Los Angeles to earn money for school. I worked fourteen hours a day moving freight between warehouses and boxcars on a two-wheeled hand truck. Often I had a thousand-pound load on the hand truck. I’m sure you can understand why I was tired at the end of the day.

“I was living with my sister two or three miles away. The streetcar fare was ten cents, but I trudged the whole distance each way in order to save twenty cents a day. I wanted very much to go to college, and walking that distance made my goal that much nearer realization. I was able to save enough money to return to my home state of Arizona and attend the University of Arizona.”

Every person’s passion is significant. Each and every one of us has talents to share and they are all important.

(Showed a ball point pen.) I'm sure everyone knows what this is. Yes, it is a ballpoint pen. What do you think the most important part of this pen is? Many of you said the "ink", that is a common answer. Let's see how useful this ballpoint pen is. I need someone to volunteer to write with this pen, and see if it works properly.

(I had a volunteer try to use the pen. The pen won't write.)

The reason this pen is not working properly is because it is missing a part. It may seem like an insignificant part, but the pen can't work without it. It is the spring! I have it here in my pocket.

(Inserted the spring back into the pen, and confirmed that it is now working properly.)

Even something as simple as a ballpoint pen needs all its parts to work properly. Some parts may seem more important, like the ink, while others may seem less important, like the spring, but they are all needed.

Some people have talents that can be performed, like singing or playing an instrument. Other people have talents that are a part of their character, such as being cheerful, or helping others. The fact is everyone has talents and we are commanded to nurture and grow our talents.

Big goals are achieved by meeting smaller goals first.

Explained the Example of hiking Mount Whitney.

Our Prophet said this:

“No plan. No objective. No goal. The road to anywhere is the road to nowhere, and the road to nowhere leads to dreams sacrificed, opportunities squandered, and a life unfulfilled”
- Thomas S. Monson


Dare To Dream Poem
Julie Anne Ford

Let nothing hold you back from
exploring your wildest fantasies,
wishes, and aspirations.

Don't be afraid to dream big
and to follow your dreams
wherever they may lead you.

Open your eyes to their beauty;
open your mind to their magic;
open your heart to their possibilities.

Dare to dream.
Whether they are in color
or in black and white,
whether they are big or small,
easily attainable or almost impossible,
look to your dreams,
and make them become reality.

Wishes and hopes are nothing
until you take the first step
towards making them something!

Dare to dream,
Because only by dreaming
will you ever discover
who you are, what you want,
and what you can do.

Don't be afraid to take risks,
to become involved,
to make commitment.
Do whatever it takes to make
your dreams come true.
Always believe in miracles,
and always believe in you!

I explained what we were going to do with the Goal Sheet, then I bore my Testimony to the girls.

At that time, I handed out a homemade cookie to each girl (sharing one of my passions with them) and the following handout with 2 Atomic Fireballs attached to it: