TAYLOR MADE

I gotta level with ya, it felt pretty awkward puttin passion in its place last time around. But in all honesty I just couldn't resist, primarily for two reasons. First, when it comes to personal growth and achievement I know as well as anyone that deep down ingrained passion is priceless. But by and large it's somethin you're born with...or not. 3E on the other hand is somethin you work at, and that I'm reasonably convinced makes it somethin we can all potentially benefit from.

Secondly, even if ya do possess the passion, ya still gotta put in the effort, cause there's still plenty of work to be done. Passion may be priceless when you're chasin your dreams, but I can tell ya firsthand it's as worthless as God given talent or ability if that's all you're willing to bring to the table. Doin what'cha love requires a helluva lot more that just doin what'cha love, and I think the following excerpt from Success for Teens illustrates that pretty well.

In the book, Taylor, 18, tells of how she loves playing soccer, but has always hated doing running drills during practice to improve her conditioning. She has played soccer since the age of 5, but as she got older and the game got more competitive, her coaches made the team perform more running drills to stay in shape. Her team would spend the first hour of their three-hour practice on conditioning. And on the days they didn't have practice, her coach told the team to run three miles in 30 minutes.

"For the first month, I couldn't even finish the three miles," Taylor says. "I would stop at about two and a half because the pain was so great. It made me sick to my stomach to run that far. And there were days when I wouldn't run at all because I didn't feel like it."

Taylor thought maybe she could get away with not running, but during practice, it was obvious which players did and didn't complete their conditioning drills. She began lagging behind, unable to keep up with her teammates. She soon realized she was hurting her team, and their chances of reaching their goals at the end of the season.

From that point forward, on the days she didn't feel like running, Taylor made herself put on her shoes and work on her conditioning. "Even if I had to start slow, I realized I was at least trying, instead of sitting at home," she says. "The first day I could only do two miles in 30 minutes. It was slow and painful because I hadn't been running. But once I kept going, I could see myself getting faster, and as you see yourself getting faster, the easier it gets."

It took Taylor two months to be able to run three miles in 30 minutes. She was then able to play an entire soccer match without feeling worn out. Soon college coaches who were scouting her high school team started noticing her excellent conditioning. They sent her emails commending her on her ability to play at a high level the entire game. Ultimately, Taylor's willingness to make small strides toward her goals paid off big. She is now attending college on a scholarship and is playing soccer for the school team.

Kudos Taylor, for doin something you love, as well as, the other things that most of us don't. Or won't. See ya next time. Till then, keeep it up.