Committed 100% to doing a good job, but about 25% passionate? What to do…

Posted on February 25, 2009 by pdncoach

Keith Privette turned to LinkedIn experts when he was approached by a friend who was “commited 100% to doing a good job, but about 25% passionate about the work?” Keith added, “Have you had this happen to you? What did you do? What were the lessons learned? After job was done what was the path?”

Well, I’m a coach, through and through, so I had to respond first with more questions. Within my response are my hopes and prayers for anyone who is “doing a good job”, but lacks passion. Keith honored me by taking two actions:

  1. He is using the coaching contained in this article to discover his remarkable life at The Intersection of Purpose & Now
  2. He named my answer the Best Answer on LinkedIn. Here is my answer in full:

  • What does “passion” mean to you?
  • What are you “100 percent” passionate about (or close to it)?
  • What is the difference between that 100% experience and the work you do at “25 percent”?
  • How are you measuring passion?
  • How is that working?
  • What would it take for you to be more passionate about your work? How would that effect you?
  • How would that effect the “good job” you are doing?
  • What impact would that have on your relationships and other roles?

  • Suppose you identified a purpose or pursuit that brought out in you this elusive quality called passion?
  • How would you be different?
  • What would you do different?
  • How would you feel?
  • How would you act different?
  • What new possibilities might you have then that you do not have now?
  • Would these possibilities be worth the change necessary for you to achieve them?

I certainly could go on with the questions and recommend that you, or anyone seeking benefit from the many answers to Keith’s question, seriously contemplate these questions and write down your thoughts – that’s right, write down your answers whether or not anyone else but you ever reads them (that choice is yours, too).

I believe passion is a product of hope, and hope grows from possibility, which is a product of the assumptions we make daily (if not moment to moment).

Now back to critical questions…

  • What are your assumptions about your work, your role, your life, your ability to pursue your REAL dreams?
  • What are the results of those assumptions?
  • What if you had different assumptions; what might they be?
  • What possibilities might these new assumptions produce for you?
  • Is there one (or more) possibility that tingles your skin yet, until now, you dared not dream?

My guess is that you have some dream deferred, something that you dearly envision for yourself and your life that has always seemed just out of reach. Your assumptions have kept this dream beyond your reach – and maybe it truly is impossible.

But I challenge you to test your assumptions about yourself, about your dream deferred and your ability to pursue and achieve that dream. Maybe with some help (from an experienced coach), you will begin to see your world from a new perspective. Maybe this new line of sight between where you are now and where you really want to be creates a yearning inside you, a deep desire somewhere between 25-100 percent, but enough that the elusive passion you seek will arise and begin to define you in ways that before, you could never imagine.

These are my hopes and prayers for anyone who is “doing a good job”, but lacks passion. I would love to help you and please, do not hesitate to ask me for help – or continue to join me at The Intersection of Purpose & Now.

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Posted in career advice, coaching, dreams, LinkedIn, passion | Leave a comment

"I would like to thank…"

Posted on February 24, 2009 by pdncoach

My friend and fellow coach Julie Poland inspires me, and she inspired my topic today with her own blog, which I recommend you follow in addition to The Intersection of Purpose & Now. And I guess it is accurate to say that Julie was inspired by the Academy Awards ceremony last weekend. Like the Oscar winners, it comes natural to award winners to thank the people who made a difference in their lives. Thus, we end up with marathon awards programs on TV with a mixture of long droning lists of ‘thank you’s’ to everyone from mom, apple pie and my little dog Toto, too, as well as the truly heart-felt and profound stories of gratitude that touch even the hardest of hearts.

As Julie writes:

Who among us doesn’t have helping hands giving us a boost to the next step on our ladder of success? Or cheerleaders who help us celebrate when times are good? Perhaps a consoling shoulder for the days when it seems like the planets have aligned in the worst possible way? Nobody does it alone.


And, like Julie, I would be mortified if – given the chance to thank all those who make the life I live so special – I would tragically leave someone out by trying to mention them all. Truthfully, after finding myself on Julie’s list I couldn’t sleep last night for thinking of all the people I would thank. I KNOW I will leave someone out, but I think it’s important to take that risk by beginning to make my list of those “I would like to thank…”

I encourage you to take the same risk. I don’t expect you to read my list, and it’s already a long one at mid-life; that’s really between me and them. I do challenge you to record your list, write it down and take the risk of – somehow – sharing it publicly. Here goes: “I would like to thank…”

  • My mother, Catherine “Katy” Sturgell – without her I may have lived my life without ever looking Christ in the eyes, without knowing the mercy, love and grace of God, without knowing the physical presence of the Holy Spirit, without knowing the best of what we have to offer as human beings. She taught me how to pray and gave me the best example of how to be. I know I am not alone in recognizing her as a saint – it’s more than the adoration from a son. My mom exemplifies what this blog is all about (and much more):

But it may be that the way of life that she has chosen for herself and the peculiar strength and sweetness of her character may have an ever-growing influence over her fellow men so that, long after her death perhaps, it may be realized that there lived in this age a very remarkable creature.

  • Judi – Without the love, encouragement, support and commitment of my wife, I am only less of a man.
  • Tyler, Dylan, Ryan – Without the hugs, kisses, love and future of my children, I have only less of a purpose.
  • Mrs. Bradford, my first grade teacher – perhaps if I had not been in love with my first grade teacher I would not have have fallen in love with learning (and several other teachers in the years that followed)!
  • Mrs. Johnson, my second grade teacher – perhaps if she had not caught me faking my book reports on Dr. Seuss, I would not have developed the respect I have for the opportunity learn.
  • Mrs. Keifer, my third grade teacher – if she had not been so unfair, perhaps I would not have sought to always be fair.
  • Mrs. Dawson – she was my first music teacher, but without her appreciation for my early ability to communicate well, I would not have ever grown into my own skin.
  • My brother and sisters (Becky, Terry, Betty and Cindy) – without their unconditional and unending love (and antagonism), I would be so much more alone in this world, and so much less intimate with this world.
  • Wayne Scritchlow, my 4-H advisor – without his recognition of a young teenager adrift in a world of opportunity, I would never have known that life is about choice. Thank you, Wayne, for giving me a choice to dive into the deep end in order to learn how to swim, for making me “Willie B. 4-Her” and making the most of the chance to become a member of the Report to the State team, which changed everything and probably saved my life from mediocrity.
  • Dave McMurtry – Dave, if you hadn’t introduced yourself and coached me that day on the way to our interviews for the Report to the State team, I would never have made it; I would never have achieved most of the things I have since those early days in 4-H. Out of countless 4-H friends, you will always be the most important one.
  • Warren Sperry, my high school band director – without his highest expectations of me I would never have known about my unlimited potential, that the more of my potential I discover and use, the more potential I create. Thank you Warren, I really do “have the world by the heels.”
  • Del Dahl – if you hadn’t traded me for 70 cases of copy paper, I would be probably be an unhappy mortician, pursuing a worthy career with unworthy passion.
  • Sid Hutchcraft, former Illinois State Fair superintendent – without you inviting me back to the State Fair Press Office as an “experienced writer”, I might never have known true success and some of the best friends and memories one could ever had.
  • Susan Idleman Helm – my dearest Susan, you mentored me, befriended me, coached me, inspired me and loved me only as a true friend can; all that, and you and Jim saved me from despair (and the Dragon Lady) when I really needed saving, too. You will always be a piece of my soul. (Thank goodness you didn’t puke on me on that ferris wheel!)
  • My State Fair Press Office friends – you pulled me out of my paranoid little shell and taught me how to really live. Oh, the fun we had and got away with…
  • The Illinois State 4-H Office staff over the years – the people who keep coming back to me to help, to lead, to be led and to learn. So much of what I have done, learned, and received, so many of the places I’ve been and the great people I met, began with the opportunities you chose to offer to me. I forever remain humbly honored and deeply grateful.
  • The SIU Wesley Foundation – a group of friends who influenced me both on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings in a way that developed my character, enriched my spirit and sweetened my soul.
  • Dr. Marie Kilker, my SIU academic advisor – without your wisdom and guidance, Lord knows what I would have done for an education. You opened up a world of possibility for me that did not exist before, one that few if any others would even consider.
  • Cheryl Pruitt (Miss America 1978) and a couple of Miss USAs – without your kisses, I would have one less story to tell over and over and over again.
  • Jay Lowe – for supporting my efforts to continually grow in my career, and for teaching how to act locally to change the world.
  • Pam Schnake – without the opportunity to work with you I probably wouldn’t be in business today.
  • Jacques Nuzzo – without you I would not be the facilitator I am today.
  • John Schirle, my best friend and so much more – without you I would, WOW, there is too long a list to share here! Thank you for being my business right hand, my devotional partner, my prayer warrior and your prayers for my boys, for taking me into a life a adventure (and crawling through darkness, mud, wet clay and frigid chest-high water for fun), and much, much, much more. Thank you, friend.
  • David Herdlinger, my friend, coach and coach mentor – without you I would not be the coach I am or know the person I aspire to become.
  • Cindy Key & Cheryl Clausen – without my first two coaching buddies I would be so far behind the competition and a puddle of unaddressed issues!
  • Jerry Fons & Julie Poland – two more coaching buddies that hold me to the highest standards of coaching and being coached.
  • Dennis Pescitelli – you inspire me, follow me and lead me with a keen spirit and noble values.
  • RAC Network – to difficult to categorize: a circle of friends, a community of colleagues, a pack of drinking buddies? If ever I need to know the right answer or the right question, you are there for me. Without the respect, support and accountability of my colleagues and clients over the years, I would only be less useful.
  • There have been hundreds of people with disabilities, high school and college students, correctional inmates, mid-career professionals, business owners, managers, employees, community leaders and job-seekers who, through their own dreams and experiences, made me a better coach. They led me to my VOCATION and helped me recognize my passion for nurturing the self-advocacy, accountability and leadership potential of others.
  • Finally, I thank and encourage anyone who chooses to help others – it’s the only really useful thing we can do during our time on earth.

But it’s not really the end of my list. Who have I forgotten? Who will influence me today? Tomorrow? These will be the people who will help me make the second half of my life even more meaningful and significant than the first half. “I would like to thank…” I’ve only begun my list.

Join me at The Intersection of Purpose & Now. Who will you thank?

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Posted in Academy Awards, gratitude, Oscars, Purpose, thank you | Leave a comment

What cage are you in?

Posted on February 19, 2009 by pdncoach

I am reading a great book. Actually, I am nearly always reading more than one great book. This one in particular is likely to influence future Purpose & Now entries; it certainly inspired my thoughts today and it inspired an earlier post by my friend, Jared Vogel. The book is Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God by Mark Batterson. I am nearly finished, but my thoughts today are inspired from the book’s beginning. Batterson writes about how, too often, people find themselves taken into safe havens, away from risk, where struggles are mitigated and the danger removed. Sound tempting? Actually, what I might call “safe haven syndrome” scares me and it concerns Batterson, a church pastor among other things, because it creates what he calls “caged Christians”.

I believe all of us are borne into a life of adventure, yet end up spending too much of our lives avoiding adventures with safe homes, safe neighborhoods, safe churches, safe jobs, safe communities… We become risk averse and ill-prepared to deal with struggles in a world filled with opportunities for adventure. I am not advocating unsafe communities or unwise risks, by any means. I am advocating an adventurous and purposeful life.

For example, parenting is tough. Perhaps the toughest part of parenting is allowing my sons’ adventures, allowing them to take risks, make mistakes, learn, succeed and and even allowing them to fail. Certainly, I want to equip them to make good decisions about the paths they take, but I also encourage them to explore new paths which by their very nature are dangerous and risky. I dread that they must deal with the consequences of bad decisions. My biggest fear is that they might take an all-too dangerous path and fall off a figurative cliff. So my most important role as parent is not protecting my sons from dangerous paths, but preparing them to choose the right adventures and survive or conquer hidden dangers. Otherwise, like so many of the youth and adults I work with as a coach – my sons might end up “caged”.

What cages us in? Batterson lists six cages that keep us from living the life of adventure and purpose meant for us. They reflect the very same obstacles that I find are holding back my clients from pursuing their God-given dreams and goals. They are the very same obstacles that hold me back from time to time.


The first cage is the Cage of Responsibility. Those endless “to-do lists”, overflowing schedules and “crackberries” ringing and vibrating at all times can bury us in responsibility. Less important responsibilities displace important ones. We find our ourselves getting a lot done, but little of it truly brings us alive. This is productivity without purpose. When your “should do” list takes precedence over your “must do” list; when your responsibilities become excuses for not pursuing your passion – you may be caged by responsibility.

The second cage is the Cage of Routine. Now there is nothing wrong with a good routine. I am the first to suggest that healthy habits breed success. But when our daily routine becomes too routine, it’s time to disrupt the routine. Try something different; mix things up a bit. Otherwise, as Batterson aptly puts it, “sacred routines become empty rituals that keep us caged.”

The third cage is the Cage of Assumptions. Batterson describes this cage as when we start living out of memory rather than imagination and stop believing and start assuming. Hope springs from belief in possibilities. When we assume our possibilities are limited, so are our choices and we become caged by these assumptions. What assumptions might be caging you in? I’m too old. I’m too young. It will cost too much. It will take too much time. Someone else will do it. I’m not qualified. I had no choice. Assumptions cage us into what has been rather than what could be.

Another cage is the Cage of Guilt. This one saddens me the most. I’ve known people with “neutralized spirits” who remain focused on their regrets. Guilt changes our reflexes from hope and possibility to dread and reactionary. As long as we are focused on what we have done wrong in the past we have little energy to dream and take right actions for the present and future.

Fifth is the Cage of Failure. Sometimes our efforts must fail in order to learn or, as Batterson wisely writes, “…in order for God’s plans to succeed.” You may be familiar with the story of Thomas Edison, who believed he had to fail “a thousand times” in order to get the light bulb right one time. Failure becomes a cage when we come to believe it is the only possible end result.

The last cage Batterson describes is the Cage of Fear. You know what F.E.A.R. stands for? False Expectations Appearing Real. Our adventures get derailed by fear of what might happen, what others might think, and countless other fears. I always say there are at least seven obstacles to every goal; fear is nearly always one of them. The world needs more daring people with daring plans for daring adventures. Why not you?

All six cages require a reconditioning of spirit, action based on noble values and openness to new possibilities. A life of adventure keeps us out of these cages, but we must constantly seek opportunities to live in the world in new ways. One new question, one new thought, one discussion, one action, one step outside of the cages you live in can change everything for you. Everything.

“Life is either a dangerous adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller


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Posted in adventure, caged Christians, passion, possibility, Purpose, Wild Goose Chase | Leave a comment