People often ask me for advice on how they can be successful in business. Some people may assume I’ve had things easy in my life and in my career, and that’s what has led to my success. I want to be very clear: I have not had things easy. My challenges have helped prove to me, though, that I have what it takes to be successful at work and in life.

Growing up as one of four kids with a single mom left me feeling “less than” other kids who had much more than I did. My mother worked extremely hard at multiple jobs just to keep food on the table, and even as a child I was able to see clearly that some people were successful, while others were not. I watched others and I tried to figure out what I needed to do to succeed.

As an adult, I knew that I would not struggle financially the way my mother had. I decided to outwork everyone and put myself on the fast track for success—in all aspects of my life.

I’ve gathered my top 10 easy tips for helping you outshine others and set yourself apart for this blog series, How To Succeed in Business and Life. With each tip, I’ll address in detail how to become more successful in all that you do.

Tip 6: Find Your Passion. Then Pursue It. 

Identifying your passion may seem like a strange bit of advice when you are young and entering the workforce, but your elder peers will understand the importance. Early in my career, I didn’t know that passion was important— or relevant— to a career, or in life.  I thought I worked for a paycheck and to ensure I never had to struggle like my mother. I was wrong. 

Ideally, work should be something that taps into your passion and allows you to make money simultaneously. This is real, and it really is the answer for those that are unhappy at work. If you don’t like what you do everyday for your job, you need to discover what your passion is and pursue it. Even if you can’t quit your job today, at least you can begin to work toward your passion, which will help you feel better and create a plan to get yourself there in the future. 

I had an amazing employee call me to tell me that she felt lost. She had a great marriage, wonderful kids and a job on our team that she appreciated for years. But she was bored. I asked her what her passion was and she said she didn’t have one.  I asked her what her superpower was and she said she didn’t have one. That wasn’t true. I already knew that this strong and talented woman had a superpower that involved a pen and writing, and I could see it a mile a way. We discussed three different ideas for her to work on to help her discover her real passion. One week later, she called me to let me know that her passion was writing— not a business proposal, but a book! She is now doing this at night and on the weekends. Her job is paying for her life while she is chasing her passion outside of work. Everyone has a passion. You just need to identify it and then pursue it at work or, if necessary, outside of the office.  The sooner you do, the more successful you’ll be.

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