Every so often we find people around us who seem to be superhuman in their ability to influence people, to create something, or to change the world around them. And it makes you wonder, do they have some special X-gene in them? Did they see a flash of blinding light and are suddenly more aware of themselves and the world? Are they on the NZT-48 pill? Do they have some sort of magical powers? It turns out that you don’t need magic.

Put simply, they do things differently. They have 19 habits. And these habits are the tenets that guide their actions. Now, it’s time for us to adopt them as our own. These habits also happen to be the road map of HOW TO LIVE OFF YOUR PASSION. They are a summary of what’s to come.

If we are going to change the world by doing work we love, then below are the requirements to be the change you want to see in the world.


1. Try new things. Constantly experiment with new people, jobs, projects, and experiences. See what sticks. Without experiments we’ll never learn anything. Without learning, we’ll get nowhere. Consider your life as a series of experiments, both big and small. Always be testing. Live outside your comfort zone and don’t underestimate the importance of being a beginner.


2. Measure against your own standards, not others. All of us have different definitions of success and goals that likely have nothing to do with those around us. So stop comparing yourself to others. It’s like comparing apples to oranges and you will either feel overly confident or overly disappointed. Either way it is less than useful. You are your own competition. Define your success and own it.


3. Know who you are. The better you know yourself, the more likely you are to do work that matters. Study your strengths, know your own weakness, identify your values, and learn the things which bring you excitement and make you tremble. Take all the tests and evaluations you can find. Begin to live a life congruent with your values, strengths, and purpose and you will never look back disappointed. No sleepwalking allowed.


4. Realise you’re already free. Freedom does not come from huge financial achievements or the ability to live in some little hut over the Tahitian Lagoon. Go out and survey the average guy rolling in BMW’s and I’ll bet you will find that they feel a lot less free than you’d think. Freedom in the purest form is the ability to choose the way we interpret what happens to us. We can either see life’s occurrences, good or bad, as reasons to pursue what matters, or we can see them as excuses to sit on our asses. The choice is yours. All the freedom you will ever need is already here . Start acting like it.


5. Find the right reasons. If a passionate person gets fired, they brush it off and get excited about the opportunity the lost job must be presenting. You can’t control what happens, but you can control your reaction to it. What challenges have come up today? How could you reframe them? The juiciest possibilities often have the best disguises. Notice them.


6. Create space. If you don’t give big ideas room, they will never show up. Purpose and passion are no different. Lack of space creates pressure – the ultimate killer of creativity. And nothing requires more creative juice than passion. Start small with five minutes each morning, always schedule downtime. Start walking to work instead of taking the bus. Don’t multitask. Get out in nature. Just be, let things flow and see what comes up. Give yourself permission to dream. Passion thrives in emptiness.


7. Learn from those around you. Every interaction is a chance to either learn what fires you up or what makes you want to put a wet finger in a light socket. Knowing one is just as crucial as knowing the other. Embrace your surroundings. Observe closely.


8. Challenge the norm. Assume there is another way. Ask questions. Don’t take things as gospel just because this is how they’ve always been done. Don’t aimlessly listen to those around you. Question everything you have been doing and are about to do. If you don’t enjoy it, is it really what you want? Is it in line with who you are? Perhaps there is a better way. There often is.


9. Believe in what you do. If you don’t have a deep emotional reason for doing the work you do, you’ll likely never do what matters. Know your beliefs. Why do you care so much about the things you do? Nothing big happens without the right reasons. Does what you are doing actually matter? If you can’t put your heart into it, then get yourself out of it.


10. Constantly seek adventure and explore. Nothing adds more clarity to most of life’s confusion than seeing new things. Get out and explore foreign worlds. Spending too much time in one environment makes most people feel like it is the only way. I assure you it’s not. Notice how different cultures do thing differently.


11. Scare yourself. Passionate people thrive off uncertainty. If you aren’t doing things that give you goose bumps, then you are either not learning or you’re dying or bored out of your mind. None of which are good. Do something at least mildly uncomfortable daily. This could be as small as making a phone call or sharing your art with someone. Be vulnerable. There’s a pretty direct correlation between using limits and epic living. Uncertainty is a sign that what you are doing actually matters.


12. Be a constant learner. Become obsessed with learning everything you can find, new skills, approaches, ideas, you name it. If it interests you, then it is important enough to get in your brain. We have to fuel what excites us. Commit to going to be each day at least slightly wiser than when you woke up. The results will add up. Read books, take course, and work with experts. Do it all. Do nothing but this and I guarantee you’ll do work that lights you on fire. Be a sponge.


13. Surround yourself with passionate people. This is the foundation. Most people don’t believe you can do work you love because they’re constantly around people who hate their jobs and don’t know what excites them. This has to change. Those around you have everything to do with your success and your belief in what’s possible. You’ll either rise up or sink down depending on who’s next to you. Passion is contagious. You must have an environment that embodies it. You need a support crew who believes what you believe; people who dream as big as you or bigger. Not only will they give you ideas, but they’ll condition the belief that doing what you love is the norm. They fuel our passion and make the unfathomable possible, even normal. You’ll begin to expect the same of yourself.


14. Focus on the process, not the outcome. Stop worrying about getting there. You never will anyway. All the fun is along the trail next to you. It’s impossible to enjoy it if you are dazed by the blurry horizon the never actually gets any closer. Embrace persistence. Learn to love the process and everything becomes epic.


15. Love change. How else are you going to get where you want to be? Change is going to happen no matter what, so you might as well get used to it. Adopt these habits and you can be sure the change to come is for the future.


16. Model excellence. For just about every goal someone has, there are likely at least a handful of people who already done it. Don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to. Find the people who live the life you want to live. Those who’ve experienced the dreams you’ve always had. Find models for everything. Take note of the good and the bad. Adopt the former and drop the latter. With the right models you can do anything.


17. Test what’s possible. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Most things are not impossible as we think. The only way to find out is to try. This is as important physically as it is with business. When we start to do things we didn’t used to think were possible, the newfound confidence transfers to all kinds of other parts of life. If you just pushed yourself over the finish line of your first marathon (or 5k for that matter) then why couldn’t you also find a way to double your business’ sales next year? If something is impossible to you, find those who have done it, learn from them and try it. You’ll start to impress yourself. Then watch out. Go on and do something impossible.


18. Take notes. Pay attention. New things are constantly happening. Keep a journal of what inspires you and excites you. Let your thoughts run wild. Most importantly, keep a running list of what inspires you: books, magazines, movies, people, products, music, stories, careers, everything. Most people have a brush with passion almost daily. Unfortunately, we’ve often too busy thinking of our 97 item to do list to take in the education. Anytime something catches your eyes or excites you, open up your journal and get it onto paper. Over the years you will have a running story of how you might enjoy spending your time. This isn’t a test run. Live accordingly.


19. Act on what you learn. None of the above matters if you don’t get out and actually do something with the information and the tools you’ve developed along the way. It’s not just about finishing a book, completing a course, reading a blog post or having a chat with a wild new person. The magic doesn’t happen in the learning.

It happens in the action you take as a result. Learning’s an important step, but it is still just the first one. Don’t read any farther if you don’t plan to act on what I’m about to share. Seriously.

These are the habits which separate the Legends from the rest of the world. Practice these daily. Make them routine. They are the foundation of what’s to come.

Get them right and the outcomes will start to blow your minds.

There is no more “Later”. It is time to get rolling.
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Interested in adventure and meeting passionate people?