PASSIONATE. PASSIONOT.

Today I'd like to talk a little about one of Donald Trump's prerequisites for success. He talks about it often and always with a great deal of conviction. He claims that without it the chances of being successful dramatically decline. He is affectionately referring to passion, that strong and deep-seated love for what you do, and/or hope to do.

Kevin Hall, self-proclaimed word nerd and author of Aspire, argues that it's about more than just love. "Passion, as does path," he says, "comes from suffering. It means that you're willing to suffer for what you want. So the question isn't so much are you passionate, it's are you passionate enough to keep going; to finish what you started?"

Me, I consider myself an extremely passionate person, yet I'll be the first to admit that I've veered of the path more times than I care to remember. Nonetheless, I've always felt that passion is an integral part of any well-deserved success. So much so that I originally dubbed "Passion On" the unofficial motto of Ingzig. But as things continued to unfold I kept thinkin, "What if you're not brimming with passion? What if you don't have that certain somethin that lights a fire under your aspirations? Does that mean you don't have any worthwhile goals?" The more I thought about it the more I questioned whether passionate was in fact appropriate for Ingzig, and of course if not, what was? Alas, after a relatively short string of sleep-deprived nights it hit me.

Earnest: A synonym for determined, devoted, diligent, purposeful, constant, steady, sincere, and passionate, was just the constituent I was lookin for. It both fit and felt right, plus, our good friend passionate was part of it, but an equal part, no more no less, and for me that was critical. Because in the end, more so than anything else, Ingzig celebrates a process, one that requires some work, and that work (as any successful person will attest) isn't always (as passionate might imply) eloquent, emotional, heated or heartfelt. In fact just the other day I was watching an instructional video in which legendary rock drummer Tommy Aldridge was sharing his techniques for double bass playing, techniques he said he'd worked years at to perfect; work he himself described as "Boring, Boring, Boring." Now I'm not sayin Tommy isn't passionate about playin, on the contrary, not only do I think he's proven again and again that he's "passionate enough," but also, that passion alone simply isn't.

Make no mistake, if you're in hot pursuit of your passion, if you are indeed doin what you love consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Because the truth is you'd be hard pressed to find a greater source of motivation. On the other hand, if you haven't been blessed with this "rare" and precious gift try not to feel as though you've been short changed, because trust me, there's a whole lot more to it. So pull up your bootstraps, set some goals and hone some skills. Stay hungry, stay focused, and most importantly, stay disciplined. Honor the work involved by doin it, again and again. Granted, you may not always love it, but they'll come a time when you'll damn well appreciate it.

Note: Les Brown is a motivational speaker, coach, and best selling author who recently added radio celebrity to his resume. Not long ago I tuned in and lo and behold just before goin to a commercial break he urged his audience to call in and talk about their passion. "Tell me what's in your heart," he asserted. "What is it that gets you excited?" Upon his return to the air he immediately voiced his disappointment over the number of lines that lit up. "Come on people, I know you're out there," he exclaimed. "Surely there's somethin that gets ya outta bed in the mornin." Now I might be reading way too much into this but suffice it to say the somewhat dismal response to this reasonable request once again had me thinkin about all the good folks who (and I know you're out there) don't echo Mr. Brown's enthusiastic level of passion. However, at the same time I couldn't help but take a bit of comfort in the encouraging fact that we've all got some hopes and dreams, and that there's a really good chance that the only thing standin in the way of em comin true is a little Everyday "Earnest" Effort. See ya next time. Till then, keeep it up.