When we are growing up, they say we can be whatever we want to be but when we get older they say we should not chase our passion because it is not realistic.

When I wanted to start designing my life, they told me that I would be laughed at when I came crawling back in six months. I have been laughing at the naysayers and the doubters ever since.

The most amazing experience in the world is working towards a goal that truly interests you, truly sets your blood on fire, and motivates you to do more than yesterday. If you do not build your own dream then someone else will hire you to build theirs.

Here are six reasons that every man and woman, no matter their age, should chase their passion:

1. It provides you with clarity of purpose

There is a problem in the world in which we live today, there are too many distractions and too many things drawing our attention from what is important. The television wants a piece of us, social media wants a piece, our email wants a piece, and our friends and family want a piece. There is only one of you and you only have twenty four hours in a day.

There is no way to give everything the attention that it needs in order to satisfy it. When we chase our passions, the things that are important to us solidify and the distractions melt away. I like to refer to this as a low information lifestyle. The only things that take up your full attention are the things directly related to your passion. It is the fastest way to develop tunnel vision and clarity of purpose. When there is clarity of purpose then accomplishment is not far behind.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman

2. Your passion will feed you and clothe you

This may seem like a strange thing to say. How can an abstract concept such as passion, feed and clothe someone? It is rather simple really. When you are passionate about something, other concerns go out the window. In my personal experience, I have been able to work on a project for twenty hours straight and instead of it taking me a week to finish, it took about two days. I did not eat, and I did not even take a shower during that time.

It was not because I was fasting or intentionally trying to starve myself, it was because I simply forgot; those concerns because secondary. When I say that your passion will feed and clothe you I mean that everything else will fall by the wayside and allow you to truly concentrate on what is necessary.

3. It is just fun

The old saying; do what you love and you will never work a day in your life still holds true. Passion is something that allows you to remove the title of work from your actions. It is something that no one will ever need to tell you to get to work on. You enjoy doing it and can do it to the exclusion of everything else. There is no feeling quite like waking up to live a life that you designed from the ground up.

4. It allows you to remove the excess

We have a lot of things in our lives that, frankly, are not necessary. We have many clothes that we no longer wear, we have appliances that we do not use, and we have endless heaps of clutter in our lives. If you are able to develop the type of tunnel vision that I discussed in number one, the realization will dawn upon you that less is more.

These objects do not fulfill you, it is the experiences and activities that you engage in that allow you to become the type of person that lives life to the fullest. You have never heard someone talking about a car the same way they would talk about a their memories of a vacation. A new car is an object that quickly loses its flair while memories are always recalled fondly.

It is only when you are able to shift from the mindset of amassing things and objects to one of amassing experiences and memories that you will truly be able to chase and enjoy your passion. There will be nothing holding you back from achieving greatness at that point. Design a life worth living.

5. It will eventually pay you very well

No matter what you love doing and no matter how obscure it may be; it will eventually pay you very well. When the passion in your heart bleeds onto the canvas of your work, the world has no choice but to sit up and take notice.

If you are a baker then bake the best bread in the world. If you are a blogger then create the most amazing blog. If you are a rock climber then teach people to master their fears and climb mountains. There is no limit to what you can do and once you achieve mastery, the world will beat down a path to your door (expertise in this day and age is no longer difficult to achieve as long as you are willing to put in the work).

6. The world will acknowledge your wisdom

This is more of a personal one for me but it still holds true. When you first decide to bite the bullet and chase your passion many people will say that you shouldn’t do it. You should not risk your life and future for a hobby that may or may not pay your dividends.

They will fight you, they will discourage you, and they will ridicule you. Rest assured, if your passion really is that and is bordering on an obsession then no force, real or imagined can keep you from achieving your destiny.  You will be vindicated when the dust settles, the naysayers will become your staunchest supporters and you will attract a new breed of human, the haters.

“Anything that gets your blood racing, is probably worth doing.” – Hunter S. Thompson

Conclusion

Passion is something that is given to us by a divine hand. We only have two choices; we can chase it to the end and eventually achieve greatness or we can allow it to burn out like a fire drenched with water. In the end, the choice is yours but I sincerely hope that you choose to fight for your dreams and make the world a more amazing place in the process.

Thank you for reading my article! I hope these tips will help you decide to chase your passion!