The Power of Listening to Another's Passion -
We live in a world where people love to talk, but not many slow down to listen to others that are close to us. We may get entrenched in a soap opera, the game, or the news, but someone giving clear attention to is quite rare. When we meet people that will listen to us it is refreshing. We feel less alone amidst all of the busy chaos that life brings to our front door.
When a person gives attention to our passions, we open up even more. They add tinder to our heart, and hopelessness begins to dissolve. Even if the person that we are sharing our passion with is only listening because they care about it, and they are only pretending to listen, we will still appreciate their patience and time that they give to us.
When a person is Empathetic with us, and turns the empathy into empowerment for our passions, it is usually quite scary at first. Our addiction to failure will kick in and we will lack clarity to understand that what is happening before us is really the path that we want to be walking, but it is just the stories that we have been told rattling in our minds that we cannot live our dreams. This is not true. The person that is helping us to empower our life is a friend that we need to give care and consideration to, to make sure that they are living the life that they want to be living, when we give attention to the people that empower us, it will only make our ability to empower our lives that much better… It is a win win win!
A passion is what we are willing to walk over glass barefoot to get to. Passions are not to be taken lightly. They are the gateway to happiness in yourself and the hearts of others. The Road to Kaivala shows you how to identify the passions of others who have your same vision so that you can surround yourself with people that are motivated to pursue your dreams. Lacking focus and passion you are struggling with missed appointments, misunderstandings and are surrounded with individuals that do not have or understand your dream. If you feel that others should listen to you, you must listen to them. We can help you with this.
Are you one of those people that are willing to listen to the passions of other people? Some find it difficult to do this as they may have no interest in what other people are pursuing. In The Human Condition we have learned that the best way to receive more power is to help other people. We have learned that whatever we want in life that we must give to others. If you wish to become more valuable in your tribe or society, you will do this by becoming a coach, mentor, or guru and helping other people with their passions.
You do not need to be the world’s best baseball player to coach the world’s best baseball player. You do not need to be able to run a three minute mile to become a coach for people who want to run a three minute mile. You have to have interest in the person, and you have to listen to their goals and desires, and do research where you can help them. Coach Wooden did not know anything about basketball and yet he was able to propel his team, which had never won a game in its entirety, to victory after victory after victory. What he understood was the human spirit and what was really valuable in life.
An educational group was providing computers to impoverished towns in third world countries so that the children could advance their education. The children were able to learn quite rapidly and use the computers on their own, but eventually they came to a plateau where their learning wasn’t increasing very rapidly. There was a shortage of teachers to hire for the children in their scholastic endeavors. The group that was providing the computers then turned to grandmothers in the area and asked them if they could come to the school and help with their studies. The grandma’s all said that they would all be happy to do this but they themselves had no education and they could barely even read and write. They were told that their education was not a requirement. All they had to do was be there, observe the children, and when the children ran up to them to show them a new accomplishment that they had done, the grandmothers were to express awe and admiration and give the children a hug. The learning curve of the children increased rapidly. The grandmothers still had no idea what the children were doing, but they were totally amazed at them. The grandmothers were willing to listen to the passions of the children. This not only helped the children, but it raised the self-esteem of the grandmothers as they all felt more valuable. Everyone in the community benefited.
When I interview people about what their passion is and using stickies to define what their passion is and the importance of what all of their passions are, the one that floats to the top is always helping other people. You cannot help other people unless you are willing to listen and find out what they need. It is useless for a boy scout to help an old lady cross the street when she did not want to cross the street, she was just waiting for the bus. Unless you can determine which direction a person really wants to go, you will become limited in your ability to help them. You will need to understand that what is important to them may not necessarily be important to you. To become a good mentor you will need to detach yourself from forcing them to follow your passion.
If you are training somebody to become a world class runner, but can barely walk or cross the room, you can always enlist the help of other physiologists and endurance trainers so that you can mentor this person better. If a person wants to become a better runner it is not about running, it is about being able to get up in the morning and running everyday. It is about having the ability to control and adjust your diet. It is about learning about how pain works, where it comes from, how to listen to it, and how to benefit from it. It is about helping the person with relationships and their running tribes so that they can refine their skills. It is also about being their for the person who discovers halfway through their program that they really did not want to be a long distance runner, and that you are still there to help them on their next passion.
Do you know anyone that needs your mentoring and help? You can start this search by asking people that you meet what they really enjoy doing and what is their passion. Pay attention to see if you can help them in anyway, and if you can start out small, build a relationship with them, and as time goes on they will depend on you for your mentoring skills. You will find out that whatever you are giving away is coming back to you as you find other people that are willing to mentor you and you will discover that the people that you are teaching will also be teaching you.
Make a list of the people that you can help. Start with just one or two, then keep track of your progress. Journal the things that work and the things that do not work with them. As you observe your progress, you will come to a better understanding of why listening to other people, and helping them will also improve your life. Make wise choices. Do not try to assist people that do not want your help or guidance. There are 8 billion people on the planet and you only need a few. You are great and wonderful. Thank you for joining us on The Road to Kaivala.