I love summer. The sound of singing birds, the early morning sun, and soft, gentle breezes fill me with energy and happiness. As a child I always welcomed summer as that wonderful transition time between graduating from one grade and entering the next; a time to refuel, re-energize, and try new things like camp, a new hobby, a new job, or even enrolling in a class to learn a new skill.
Once I entered the work force, I no longer had a summer vacation that lasted more than two months. However, I found myself striving to maintain that sense of excitement and wonder ingrained in me after 18 years as a student. Memorial Day weekend – the official kick off of summer – is one that I have always looked forward to with great anticipation!
So maybe summer isn’t what it used to be when I was younger, but with the longer days and lighter schedule, I have discovered summer to be the perfect time to reconnect with my passion for the work I do.
I recently had the unique opportunity to hear Jim Collins, the author of the best seller, Good to Great (HarperCollins 2001) and Built to Last. In a rare public appearance, he spoke to a room full of CEOs about the importance of having passion for the work you do. He stressed that all the “good-to-great” companies he’s studied over the years focused on activities that ignited their passion. His research is pretty compelling; when we’re engaged in doing the work that we love and are truly called to do, success will soon follow.
As your summer kicks off this weekend, I challenge you to consider the action steps below to help you reconnect with your passion.
Perfecting Connecting® Action Steps:
1. Ask yourself, what are you deeply passionate about? What activities ignite your passion and energize you when you’re doing them? Write them down.
2. As you look over your list, is there a conference, retreat or class you can attend or books you can read this summer to help you get refocused and reconnected with the work you love?
3. Reach out to your network and look for potential human bridges that can connect you to the people, resources, and information you need to help you refuel.
In celebration of summer, I have also added a new preview video streaming on my Web site that reveals my passion, as well as lots of exciting updates to the site such as my new “blog” where you can post your connecting stories. Drop me a line and let me know what you think.
Happy summer days,
