Indeed the mantra of romantically pursuing passion is hammered into us by countless movies, novels and pulp TV. I’m not convinced it is very good advice. Apart from the fact that many people aren’t sure what their passion is, even if they were, there are lots of wonderful things in life that absolutely should not be pursued directly.
Take love. We all want it. But there’s a word for people who pursue love a little too directly. Stalker. Or take happiness. Go after that wholeheartedly and most likely you’ll end up a hedonist, a narcissist, an addict. A great musician who wants to pursue the absolute in artistic creativity doesn’t get there by being creative. She gets there by being disciplined. By learning, listening and by practicing for hours… until one day the creativity just flows of its own accord.
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Pursue discipline. It’s an old-fashioned word, but it’s never been more important.Today’s world is full of an impossible number of distractions. The world-changers are those who find a way of ignoring most of them.
And above all. Pursue generosity. Not just because it will add meaning to your life — though it will do that — but because your future is going to be built on great ideas and in the future you are entering, great ideas HAVE to be given away. They do. The world is more interconnected than ever. The rules of what you give and what you hold on to have changed forever. If you hold on to your best ideas, maybe you can for a moment grab some short-term personal commercial gain.
But if you let them roam free, they can spread like wildfire, earning you a global reputation. They can be reshaped and improved by others. They can achieve impact and influence in the world far greater than if you were to champion them alone.
—A speech to graduating Harvard Architects
(Source: tedchris.posterous.com)
