Pay for your Passion, don't Prostitute it.

My Mother is a beacon of wisdom. Even when she isn't trying to hit me off with a little bit of knowledge, she always does. I don't understand how she does it, but she does. I am, however, eternally grateful that I have her as my Mother.

Quite some time ago, when I was in my largest down slump that I can remember...and trust, there have been a few; my Mother told me two things that I feel I need to share with everyone. The first was, that no matter who you are, what you do, or how much you love what you do; you will have to Pay for your Passion.

Let's elaborate a bit upon that concept. Pay for your Passion. Not fiscally, although at times you may have to, but emotionally and paying with your time. Nothing that you want is going to fall on your lap, especially if you are passionate about it. Our generation has this misconception that we will be one of these billionaires by the time we're 25, 28 at the latest. This is partly due to the fact that all of the people that we follow or enjoy watching/listening to LOOK young. The actual fact is, the ones that we try to mold our business lives after (The Bransons, the Combs, the Carters, the Gates, etc.), didn't enjoy the comfort and spoils of their labor until they were at least in their 30s. If you are truly passionate about something, you will have to prove it. Day in and Day out. You will pay for it, consistently.

Also some time ago, my Mother noticed that I wasn't enjoying the things that I once did. I fell into a slump of repetition. She told me, it seemed as if I was Prostituting my Passion.

Now, with that being said...let's discuss prostituting your passion. This is a phrase, that to me, defines what I see a lot. People who say they are passionate about something, but they take on any and every job in an effort to garner some form of "acceptance" (whether it be monetary or otherwise) to "pursue their passion." They overwork themselves, so much so, that they don't even enjoy what they were once passionate about anymore. It becomes an exercise, where they feel that quantity defines quality. More so, they don't take the time to learn and appreciate their craft; hence, regurgitating the same project over and over, falling into a slump of mediocrity never to be seen again. If you constantly exercise with the same weight, doing the same number of reps, for the same time duration...well, the muscle never grows. It never strengthens. It plateaus. Whatever you PASSIONATELY do, do it better the next time. Study your past work, and be willing to accept what was poor about it. Grow from it, learn from it, become better. Don't become a passion prostitute.

I swear, my Mother is a genius.

~Bouier

>P.S. I apologize for the lack of cohesive structure...