Abstract: All of us are innately passionate about something. However, have you ever wondered why only few people pursue their passion? Education, wealth, or pedigree were insignificant to success achieved by those who followed their dreams. Then what is the unfair advantage that dreamers who succeeded had that others didn’t? We explain below.
“Even those who followed their dreams had probably overlooked their unfair advantage”
The story of a man who loved to fix cars
As an automotive enthusiast, I am very particular about maintaining my vehicles in pristine condition. Unfortunately, most service centers are not reliable. I was desperately looking out for a private service center known for its ethical and qualitative services. It was destiny that brought me to Ignite Garage – A service center ran by a true-blood auto enthusiast named Raghav in ECR, Chennai. He knew cars like Einstein knew physics.
Before Raghav started this garage, he worked in the corporate world for about 5 years and hated his job. He loved cars, and was passionate about servicing them. The sheer boredom of his corporate work compelled him to fix cars for his friends and colleagues over weekends. He did it for fun. It was his weekend solace. When he didn’t have any work on the weekends, he would spend time reading auto magazines. However, he never had the risk appetite to pursue his passion full-time. His passion caught the attention of many friends – who were genuinely worried about Raghav’s disgruntled corporate life. They periodically encouraged Raghav to follow his passion, despite him lacking courage to take the risk.
However, the repeated encourangement and persistence of friends paid off when Raghav finally accepted to go entrepreneurial. Raghav took the plunge in 2008, and positioned his garage’s value proposition with qualitative and ethical service. Owing to his services, I have been able to maintain a 63 year old Jeep in flawless working condition. Today, his garage is a very popular destination in Chennai for many auto enthusiasts like myself. An important question to consider here is, would Raghav have started the garage, had his close friends not encouraged him periodically?
The story of a man who loved to cook
My college friend, Sriram, is innately passionate about cooking and started learning it since high school. He would seek guidance from his maid whenever appropriate, and over time, he started experimenting his own recipes. However, to this day, he never considered a full time career as a star chef or running his own gastronomy channel on YouTube. He has a successful career in management & operations, however, nothing lights up the gleam in his eyes when someone bring up a food topic – be it cooking recipes or discussing about the best food joints in town.
I am not sure if Sriram would ever consider an alternate career path in the culinary department, however, I felt that he needed reassurance of his eminent talent. I suggested, at the very least, he should be taking photos of dishes he prepares, and post it on facebook, just to note what comments his friends would make. I was compelled to suggest this because I would never pass off an opportunity to make him cook when he’s visiting me. Without the slightest hesitation, he would charge up with a smile, and impulsively head to the grocery store. At the store, when we pass each aisle, he would request what type of cuisine I prefer and he’d also suggest options that will make my taste buds drool. Depending on my choice, he would pick the right ingredients. The guy is so meticulous that he wouldn’t even bother buying premade sauces or preserved condiments. He would prepare them at home from scratch.
Needless to say, the dishes Sriram prepared and uploaded on facebook, attracted a lot of engagement. If only there was a drool icon to justify what our taste buds feel, thanks to his vivid descriptions of the dishes he prepares. As I gaze through his gastronomy photo collections, I have now requested that he start his own facebook page with the title “Sri Dreams of Food.” He promised to implement this over the weekend (note the date of this article). I am very optimistic of the very large fan base to follow his page. Just like the previous story, and important question to consider here is, would Sriram have started taking pictures of his dishes, had I not compelled him to do it periodically?
So why are most people not pursuing their passion?
A simple answer to the above question, is the lack of consistent reassurance from an associate. In the above two stories, it was evident that periodic encouragement from an associate had compelled the dreamers to follow their passion, or at least give it a shot. It would be fair in concluding that even the most successful entrepreneurs, political leaders, actors, singers, etc. had someone behind them, to fuel their pursuit of passion. That associate could have been a parent, sibling, teacher, friend or a mentor. All successful people had mentors, to whom they attribute their achievements. That mentor could be anyone – even if they lacked the knowledge or experience – who wholeheartedly supported the dreamers and gave them the courage to take the risk and pursue their passion.
Most people are bogged down in their daily routine. They ignore their monotonous work-life – despite being conscious of it – because they have to pay bills, and that combined with other commitments, make their dreams seem impractical. Their dreams become more and more obsolete as they grow older and family commitments continue to increase. Over time, even if sparks of their dreams exist, they completely lack the confidence in themselves to take the chance, due to fear of jeopardizing their family’s financial security. What is important to note then, is that irrespective of one’s age, the support, encouragement and consistent reassurance from a trusted associate is an important attribute to following one’s passion.
If you look deeply into this theory, you will realize that all achievements – big or small – can be credited to one or more people associated with the dreamer. Here are some real-life scenarios:
- A co-founder in a startup who believed in the founder’s idea
- An experienced football coach who can foresee a young player’s potential
- A best friend who helped you in getting your first job
- A teacher who identified and encouraged the math talent in a high school student
- A sister who gave her saved cash for her brother to buy an electric guitar and start a band
- A grandfather who sold his estate so that his grandson can set up an auto tuning workshop
- A mother who sacrificed her Christmas present so her daughter could attend music lessons
We can say with confidence that without an associate’s consistent encouragement, there won’t be realization of one’s dreams. This is our strong conviction for including the Dream Credentials section in Credait website (Credait.com). CREDAIT is an acronym for credentials, dreams, and traits. We firmly believe that many people with dreams, lack encouragement from people surrounding them. To make matters worse, even when the dreamers share their passion, it is either ridiculed, deemed to be impractical or discouraged on the grounds of “playing it safe.” We firmly believe that when such negativity is avoided, people will have the courage to pursue their passion.
As mentioned in the above two stories, where Raghav and Sriram had the privilege of associates supporting them in following their passion, we intend Credait to be every dreamer’s supportive associate. We firmly believe that someone’s passion is another person’s priority. And unlike other platforms where one needs to search for an ideal profile and apply for a position, in Credait, the dreamer will be pursued by others. So by default, the dreamer is assured that someone has reached out to them because they already find value in their passion. An ice breaker is already established and neither parties need to be wasting time with unwanted screening questions. Let us consider some real-life scenarios:
- Teenagers can identify a local talent to form a music band
- A short-film maker, can hire a hobbyist in drone flying, for aerial video shots
- A high school can hire a local piano artist for special classes every Saturday
- A librarian passionate about bridal make-up, can supplement her income working part time
- A retired grandmother with expertise in Mongolian cuisine can share her talent to others
- A machinist can pursue a skilled 3D printing expert for a unique project requiring both applications
Imagine the possibilities that can unfold, when people are pursued for their passion. Even those people with jobs can enter their dream credentials. This way, they could be pursued for their passion part-time. And those without jobs can be pursued for their passion full-time, and eventually end up making a career out of their passion. Even for the people with jobs, they may initially choose to pursue their passion part-time, and that could turn into full-time proposition. As Zig Ziglar put it, “When you catch a glimpse of your potential, that’s when passion is born.” We encourage everyone to take their passion to new heights by getting identified through Credait.