Passion and Great Achievements

Michael Jordan. World most highly paid sportsman. A man who is bigger than the sports itself. Left basketball in 1993 to pursue his passion in baseball. He didn't succeed. Came back and achieved a second 3-peat. Retired for the second time. Came back, again, as a Wizards player. Didn't play as well due to age. Retired (third time) and took up office position with Wizards. Fired by Wizards owner.

Points to note:
1. Jordan is passionate about basketball and he achieved great success in the game.
2. Jordan is passionate about baseball but he didn't achieve much.
3. Jordan's success in basketball (as a player) didn't last.
4. Jordan's success in playing basketball didn't translate into success in managing a basketball team.
5. Jordan's success in playing basketball allows him to pursue his other passions.

If Jordan had decided to pursue his passion in playing baseball, no one would know who he is today. If Jordan didn't train harder than other players, he might not achieve that kind of success he had achieved. If Jordan were only 5'6" tall, he might not be playing in the NBA at all. For any great achievement, the 3 key ingredients at work are: Hard Work, Talent and Interest (passion). It is a balance of these 3 ingredients that drives a man to great height.

So if you think passion will lead you to the cheese, think again. Lacking any one of the 3 ingredients makes the road tougher. If you only had passion and talent, but lack hardwork, you may achieve occasional brilliance but that will not last or be repeated, and therefore will not carry you very far. Hard work smoothens out the bad days and ensure that the "money comes later", as the title of this thread goes. On the other hand, if you didn't have talent, hardwork and passion may cause you to run around in circles - tiring yourself out and you don't get to anywhere in the end. Sometimes though, hardwork may overcome that talent handicap, if you really work hard enough, developing new skills along the way, self-motivated by your own burning passion. Lastly, what if one does not have passion but is diligent and talented in doing something? Can he have great achievements? I would say yes, and the likelihood is higher than one lacking hardwork or talent, in this order.

The environment plays an important role. For the 3 ingredients to produce a strong positive result, the environment must be conducive too. I don't think Jordan could have gone as far as he had if he were a Singaporean.

To sum up with a very nice quote from the movie The Great Debater "You do what you have to do so that you can do what you want to do".