Truth Seekers: 3 Things You Must Convince Yourself

I started writing poetry and short stories in the sixth grade and felt an immediate connection to the written word. In fact, I fell in love with writing the moment I allowed myself to try. For reasons that I don’t entirely regret, I decided to pursue a degree in advertising instead of journalism and then made my way into PR after college perhaps because I could only find a PR job when I got out of school and I needed to make money (if you consider $19,000 a year, money). I’ve considered myself a writer trapped in a PR practitioner’s body for at least 12 years now since I finished grad school. As I’ve gotten older, I have come to the realization that I HAVE to write. Not writing for me is tantamount to not breathing. In order to stay alive, I’ve had to convince myself of three things. And if you’re really good at something and it’s your life’s passion (and no, I’m not talking about a passion for shoe shopping, stealing somebody’s spouse or committing felonious acts), it’s time to take a long, hard look at yourself and join the Be True to Yourself Club.

Here are three things you must convince yourself:

1. People give a shit. No really… you must convince yourself that people other than your mother or your best friend will give a shit about the one thing you’re passionate about. If you don’t, you won’t try as hard to excel at whatever it is you love. Some people (mostly my psychologist friends) will try to convince us that many people do the things they love for themselves or for the intrinsic value, but I would argue that this not completely true. Yes, we all seek self fulfillment, blah, blah, blah… But what gets 99.9% of the world’s population hyped and propels them to greatness is gaining the respect and adoration of their friends, family, peers and the world. Think about it. Think about people like Jay-Z, for example. Yeah, he raps because he loves words and he’s really good at what he does. I get that. But the real reason he worked so hard to get and stay on top is because he fell in love with the attention and he loves the reaction he gets from his millions of fans worldwide. So does Sting. So does Steve Jobs. So does Oprah. You can’t convince me otherwise. Everyone wants to be loved. Everyone wants to have fans, at least on some level. So convince yourself that people give a shit. This will make you work harder to hone your craft and people will start to pay attention either because: A) they are genuinely rooting for you, B) they are haters and want to see you fall on your face because it gives them something to talk about or C) you are doing something truly unique and they want to ride your coattails as you ascend (or they just want you to succeed). Take your pick.
   

   Jay-Z Addicted To The Game

2. Your life’s passion has a real purpose in this crazy world. Whether you’re penning your memoirs, creating new apps that will propel modern technology forward or developing the real cure for cancer, if you don’t believe there’s a real purpose in what you do, you won’t be motivated to take it to the next level. Think about that wild man, Mark Zuckerberg for example and his Facebook comrades. Sure there were selfish reasons for developing Facebook but if he didn’t think his social media software would make it easier for college coeds to connect (and have lots of sex) with each other, he probably never would have put his all into it. This makes him a lot of things, good and evil, but above all else this makes him a billionaire… and a winner!
   

   Mark Zuckerberg

3. If you DON’T pursue your passion, you’ll die a slow, painful death. Okay, this may be a bit extreme because I can be really dramatic at times but the point is that we have a finite time here on this earth. If you allow life to get in the way and extinguish the flame, you’ll look back at a life filled with regrets. Our passions and our talents are by design. They are not accidents and you must nurture these blessings. Ignoring them because you have to make more money or work in a profession that your father wanted you to pursue is a mistake. I’m not suggesting that passion should come before common sense. I’m simply saying that in addition to paying the bills and/or pleasing your parents you have to work hard at what you love or you’re living a lie. Believe that.