What is passion? How do you get it? How do you use it? Well the definition of passion has many meanings and that's why I put positive in the title. Passion is intense overpowering emotion or enthusiasm for something or some activity or even someone. It's also a sudden burst of emotion such as rage or anger, this would be negative and definitely not helpful for what I'm talking about.
When we want something in life or feel strongly toward something it usually will generate some form and degree of passion. What we must do is to make sure we channel and use this passion positively in order to keep us moving toward our goals and targets. Allowing it to stir up negative forces within us will only hurt us. As a child I faced great pain and suffering. I lost my father to suicide, my mother to crack cocaine, and my childhood to hurtful and scarring comments such as you will never amount to anything and you're a failure. My stepfather used to to tell me these things constantly and those comments pierced my heart as a young boy and I still to this day remember vividly those words.
I've sense then forgiven him for this but I will always remember how that has changed me forever. When that happened I developed a lot of anger and frustration and always tried to "prove" myself. I later realized that my self worth and importance did not have to come from proving myself to anybody. However it has made me stronger and has helped me realize a lot about human psychology and the effects that emotions have on us and our thoughts.
After my experiences through childhood I then faced again life-changing circumstances as an adult that helped me grow even more as a human being. After this I began to develop a passion within me to want to help others. We can reach monumental success in many areas of our life but I believe there is something deeper within us that we want to achieve that gives us fulfillment and true happiness. I know when I help someone else I become energized. Just the feeling that you get from inspiring someone else when helping them see through the problems and trials they face is amazing.
I've developed a deep passion to help others and inspire them to greatness through sharing my story with them and the world. I used to think that sharing my story would be bragging and then I was embarrassed about it and didn't want people to know "my business". Since then I've realized that sharing my story is neither; only an opportunity to inspire, motivate, and teach others to reach within themselves for the passion and power to make it through and find the opportunities that lay within the circumstances at hand. Napoleon Hill, a fantastic writer about the power of thoughts and motivation wrote in his book Think and Grow Rich, "every adversity has within it the seed of equal or greater benefit."
This quote is powerful because it makes you sit back and look at your circumstances completely after letting the initial feelings and emotions fade. Sometimes we get so caught up with how we feel initially it clouds our minds and judgment and we miss the opportunity it creates. Dreams, purpose, effort, responsibility, circumstances, character, faith, and balance are all interconnected in your quest for greatness. We all have the seeds of personal growth within us, but only a few ever recognize the important role circumstances play in nurturing those seeds to trees of opportunity.
Now some of you may think well if emotions are temporary how then can we develop the passion for something? Well passion used for good purposes and derived from solid principles in your life will remain plentiful. You will "draw from the well" that power and strength needed to continue to move you toward your goal or target no matter what storms you face. It's that internal drive or motivation within you that will keep you going. It is true that we have feelings and emotions that are temporary and our thoughts create those feelings and emotions that drive our actions and then results. So it's very important that you use those principles to combine them with the right thoughts that drive your passion and emotion which will bring you to your results or outcome.
Whatever that may be that drives the passion within you it needs to be a worthwhile goal in order to bring you fulfillment. Use positive passion to your advantage and watch your life begin to change in whatever area you apply it to. Always be a student of yourself, never stop learning and growing. After my father's suicide I felt hopeless. I ran away from home at 16 and never came back. I look at my life now 11 years after that and I'm light years away from where I was mentally, physically, emotionally, and in every aspect of my life.
I'm in college obtaining a finance degree, I have two beautiful children, great professional success and life keeps getting better. God has truly blessed me. The greatest motivational book I ever read was the bible. You can find many writings within in it that mirror some of the great writings of our time about motivation and thought. In Philippians 4:8 (New Testament) Paul said, “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
To giveth much is to accomplish much, that is the power of passion.
Dustin Swigart
Copyright © 2008 by Dustin Swigart
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Purpose Driven Goals
Last week I continued my random writings and thoughts. This week I'll continue again getting into goals and the power of your own thought-life and the correlation with your current results. Enjoy this weeks entry.
We as human beings are responsible for helping our fellow man and to show them life is what you make it; that God loves you and wants you to be blessed. Remember David said, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so shall he be." This is the perfect example of how powerful your thoughts can be in your life. Gratitude and appreciation come from the hard work and struggle of obtaining worthwhile goals and dreams. As your gratitude and appreciation increases so does your blessings. Wisdom is priceless and can only be obtained through experience and perseverance. The right attitude with a grateful mind, and purpose driven goals, can move mountains and change people. Failure cannot compete with persistence, it buckles under the pressure of sustained effort.
Greatness has a name and its purpose. With purpose you can overcome insurmountable obstacles. When the "why" is greater than the "what" nothing can stop you. The only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves. We are a product of our thought factory. As Jesus said in the New Testament, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and the same for a bad tree cannot bear good fruit; so in essence good thoughts cannot create bad results and vice versa. Our minds are like our muscles in that we need to exercise it to keep it strong; feed it to keep it healthy. Your mind needs to stay properly tuned and maintained or it will exhibit poor performance.
An unhealthy mind will lead to an unhealthy body, they are interconnected. The mind cannot live without the body and the body cannot live without the mind; they must work in harmony. If you want to reach your goals in life you MUST TAKE ACTION. If you want the fruit you must climb the tree. In life the greatest challenge in sharing your vision is to inspire others to see the invisible.
Until next week. God Bless
Dustin Swigart
Copyright © 2008 by Dustin Swigart
We as human beings are responsible for helping our fellow man and to show them life is what you make it; that God loves you and wants you to be blessed. Remember David said, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so shall he be." This is the perfect example of how powerful your thoughts can be in your life. Gratitude and appreciation come from the hard work and struggle of obtaining worthwhile goals and dreams. As your gratitude and appreciation increases so does your blessings. Wisdom is priceless and can only be obtained through experience and perseverance. The right attitude with a grateful mind, and purpose driven goals, can move mountains and change people. Failure cannot compete with persistence, it buckles under the pressure of sustained effort.
Greatness has a name and its purpose. With purpose you can overcome insurmountable obstacles. When the "why" is greater than the "what" nothing can stop you. The only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves. We are a product of our thought factory. As Jesus said in the New Testament, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and the same for a bad tree cannot bear good fruit; so in essence good thoughts cannot create bad results and vice versa. Our minds are like our muscles in that we need to exercise it to keep it strong; feed it to keep it healthy. Your mind needs to stay properly tuned and maintained or it will exhibit poor performance.
An unhealthy mind will lead to an unhealthy body, they are interconnected. The mind cannot live without the body and the body cannot live without the mind; they must work in harmony. If you want to reach your goals in life you MUST TAKE ACTION. If you want the fruit you must climb the tree. In life the greatest challenge in sharing your vision is to inspire others to see the invisible.
Until next week. God Bless
Dustin Swigart
Copyright © 2008 by Dustin Swigart
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Importance of Action
Okay so last week I gave you a piece of some of my writings, this week I'll continue but first I just wanted to say something. I know our lives get hectic and "busy" at times and we get so wrapped up in what we are doing that we forget to show or even tell the ones we really love how much they mean to us. So right now, yes, right now tell them how much you care for them. This could be your wife, girlfriend, child, whomever you choose. Just let them know how much you love them.
If you have parents you haven't talked to for whatever reason. Talk to them. You should count your blessings if you still have parents alive or even drug-free for that matter.
Now enjoy what I have for this week and remember you have the power to change your mind, your destiny, and how your story finishes in life. The special people in your life that drive you and motivate are intricate pieces to the puzzle and you musn't forget that. Cherish every breathe, seize every opportunity, and never fear of what the future holds. If you do, you will rob yourself of wonderful experiences and you will let opportunities just pass you by. God Bless and enjoy!
Is not paintings, cars, and many other things we utilize in everyday life first conceived in our minds? Our imagination is the workshop of the human mind. We can duplicate that which we invision with our imagination into reality by taking action. Action is the key to fulfilling our dreams.
Our thoughts are like gasoline in an automobile, without the ignition - ACTION - the gas cannot do its job by providing the fuel for the engine to run. The ignition is what starts the whole process, action is what begins the process of making your dreams a reality. Our results are fueled by our willingness to take action on our thoughts and dreams. Thoughts become feelings, feelings become actions, and actions become our results.
This harmonious flow repeats itself over and over again. This flow is governed by the Law of Cause and Effect to which every effect has a cause, it's infallible. Just take a few moments and look at where you are today.
1. What are you thinking right now?
2. Did you know your mind never stops? Its always working but what is it working towards?
3. Are you moving forward or backward?
Take a moment and think about this, the results are profound.
Thomas Edison said "what you are will show in what you do." Is it not true then that what you do will show how and what you think? Thoughts of peace, love, and joy should be filling our minds, instead we are bombarded day by day with bad news that eventually clouds our judgment and affects our attitude toward the world and each other.
So long as we live on this earth there will be bad people but no even remotely close to as many good that are in the world. All we hear about is the bad and negative, this feeds the minds of mediocre people who need excuses to justify their actions and place in this world.
Well that's page two I hope you enjoyed it. Next week I'll continue with page 3. Pretty soon I'll be releasing my ebook Living With No Limits, this is my story of my childhood, my upbringing, and many experiences I went through in my life and how its shaped me as a man. Its changed my life and hopefully it will inspire you as well.
Thanks again.
Until next week God bless
Copyright © 2008 by Dustin Swigart
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
What Drives Us in Life?
What I'm going to share with you is some random thoughts put to paper in and effort to fully understand myself, my thoughts, my feelings, and every aspect of what makes me, me. Its an amazing feeling sometimes when you just sit back and think deeply upon many things in your life, your experiences, how you felt at those times, what you planned to do, and what lessons you've learned through trial and error. Its a moment of growth.
See I believe each of us have the seeds of growth and success inside of us we just need nourishment to grow these seeds to trees of opportunity. I never had an ideal childhood and with our society as it is today, many children share the same path. The key is what do you do with it. How do you grow from these experiences. Life to me is a constant learning experience that you continue to go through your entire life. God created us in his likeness and therefore we can participate in the creative process; all we need is the right thought and attitude toward life and circumstances and nothing could ever overcome us.
Below are some of my thoughts I want to share with you that I had one night that inspired me to write them down. I express myself through poetry as well. I did this after my father's suicide too help cope with the loss. I still remember my feelings in that time and how its forever changed my perspective of the world and my responsibilities as a father.
I wonder sometimes why my life has purpose, meaning, sustenance. Confusing at times and others almost a sense of being suspended in air with no support. My struggles in life are a sign of my thought life; a direct reflection of the inner turmoil. But yet something inside of me stirs, it fights back saying; go you must go on, greatness is before you working in your life. In the midst of my trials I smile happily to the world and testify life is grand and full of opportunity.
I make people smile and feel better about themsleves and life, is this my calling? Inside my mind a raging battle goes on between good and bad, positive and negative. The grieving of my father's suicide, the drug addiction of my mother, the mental and physical abuse I endured as a child. What does this all mean? God is in control but what do I make of it? What does he want to tell me?
My soul tells me I will never break. I can bear the burdens of life and still be victorious. With each of my struggles I become stronger, wiser, and more grateful of life. How satisfying would life be if everything was easy and fell into your lap? How grateful one becomes when we labour and fight for what we want in life. When one achieves greatness must not you keep it? One's character has been developed and tested through trials ans struggles. Napoleon Hill once said "within every adversity and defeat lies the seed of equivelant or equal benefit." With greatness comes responsibility and with responsibility comes leadership.
People need leadership; people need direction. Some people today are drowning in their own self pity and mediocrity. We as human beings are made in likeness of God. He wants us to have everything our hearts desires, all that is good of course. He showers us with blessings that we take for granted everyday. Just think about the simple and small things in life that you are blessed with that other people could only dream of having.
Jesus said, "knock and the door shall be opened to you, ask and you shall receive." God wired us wit feelings and emotions and our own sense of free will. Saying that we cannot achieve what want is to say that God cannot create miracles, that's ludicurous. God would not give us dreams without also giving us the tools and means to reach them. Everything you see in your life that is manmade was first conceived in the mind as a thought.
Our minds can be a magical and wonderful place or they can be like jail cells that confine us to torture and agony of our own making.
Well that's page one and I have more to come. Please read the next blog for the continuation of my random writings. In life we all want significance and progress toward our expectations. We must first learn what drives us and fuels our passion then we can examine our thought patterns and see if they match. If not, a self assessment is needed. Sometimes we don't even realize why we do things. I'm guilty myself. I hope you enjoyed this and I'll have more to come.
Thanks
Dustin Swigart
Copyright © 2008 by Dustin Swigart
See I believe each of us have the seeds of growth and success inside of us we just need nourishment to grow these seeds to trees of opportunity. I never had an ideal childhood and with our society as it is today, many children share the same path. The key is what do you do with it. How do you grow from these experiences. Life to me is a constant learning experience that you continue to go through your entire life. God created us in his likeness and therefore we can participate in the creative process; all we need is the right thought and attitude toward life and circumstances and nothing could ever overcome us.
Below are some of my thoughts I want to share with you that I had one night that inspired me to write them down. I express myself through poetry as well. I did this after my father's suicide too help cope with the loss. I still remember my feelings in that time and how its forever changed my perspective of the world and my responsibilities as a father.
I wonder sometimes why my life has purpose, meaning, sustenance. Confusing at times and others almost a sense of being suspended in air with no support. My struggles in life are a sign of my thought life; a direct reflection of the inner turmoil. But yet something inside of me stirs, it fights back saying; go you must go on, greatness is before you working in your life. In the midst of my trials I smile happily to the world and testify life is grand and full of opportunity.
I make people smile and feel better about themsleves and life, is this my calling? Inside my mind a raging battle goes on between good and bad, positive and negative. The grieving of my father's suicide, the drug addiction of my mother, the mental and physical abuse I endured as a child. What does this all mean? God is in control but what do I make of it? What does he want to tell me?
My soul tells me I will never break. I can bear the burdens of life and still be victorious. With each of my struggles I become stronger, wiser, and more grateful of life. How satisfying would life be if everything was easy and fell into your lap? How grateful one becomes when we labour and fight for what we want in life. When one achieves greatness must not you keep it? One's character has been developed and tested through trials ans struggles. Napoleon Hill once said "within every adversity and defeat lies the seed of equivelant or equal benefit." With greatness comes responsibility and with responsibility comes leadership.
People need leadership; people need direction. Some people today are drowning in their own self pity and mediocrity. We as human beings are made in likeness of God. He wants us to have everything our hearts desires, all that is good of course. He showers us with blessings that we take for granted everyday. Just think about the simple and small things in life that you are blessed with that other people could only dream of having.
Jesus said, "knock and the door shall be opened to you, ask and you shall receive." God wired us wit feelings and emotions and our own sense of free will. Saying that we cannot achieve what want is to say that God cannot create miracles, that's ludicurous. God would not give us dreams without also giving us the tools and means to reach them. Everything you see in your life that is manmade was first conceived in the mind as a thought.
Our minds can be a magical and wonderful place or they can be like jail cells that confine us to torture and agony of our own making.
Well that's page one and I have more to come. Please read the next blog for the continuation of my random writings. In life we all want significance and progress toward our expectations. We must first learn what drives us and fuels our passion then we can examine our thought patterns and see if they match. If not, a self assessment is needed. Sometimes we don't even realize why we do things. I'm guilty myself. I hope you enjoyed this and I'll have more to come.
Thanks
Dustin Swigart
Copyright © 2008 by Dustin Swigart
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