If I asked you if you’re doing work that you’re passionate about every day, what would you say?

You might acknowledge that passion isn’t much a part of your life, and with a wistful smile say something like, “Well, we all have responsibilities.”

Or, maybe you’ll instead flash me an ear-to-ear smile, enthusiastically sharing that you have succesfully integrated your passion into your day-to-day.

I suppose you could look at me quizzically and ask, “Passion?  What’s that?”

Regardless of how engaged you are in your work, chances are there’s one key step to maximizing passion in your life that you haven’t made the most of.

Want passion in your work?  Write a manifesto

What is a manifesto?

manifesto ( \ˌma-nə-ˈfes-(ˌ)tō\) – a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer

The definition is a beautiful thing, because it spells out two incredibly simple but key techniques for bringing passion into your life.

1.  A manifesto is written

Regular readers here will note that I often ask you to write things down.  Job Search Mission Statements. Personal Branding Statements. Resume Summary Statements. And for clients there’s even more intense, introspective writing: journaling, blogging, activity tracking and more.  There’s a reason why I so often ask people to write — writing helps to cement things in our brains.

Good persuasive writing is based upon a solid argument — the type that hits both the heartstrings and the head.  And while our opinions are typically formed based on a combination of emotional responses and logical reasoning, we don’t often spend the time working through those opinions step-by-step.  But the exercise is a good one, helping you identify gaps in your thinking.  For this reason, the process of writing a manifesto can help you clarify your purpose and your passion, and really highlight those areas that could use more thinking.

2.   A manifesto is publicly declared

You may or may not be a devotee of the Law of Attraction school of thought, but one thing is for sure — if you tell people what you believe and what you want, you’re more likely to attract the right people and opportunities to you.  What if you could create a community of like-minded people?  What if you asked for your dream and someone gave it to you?  What could you gain?  What could you possibly lose?

So go out and write your manifesto

Get really clear on what makes you tick and what would make the world work.  Write enough for a tweet or a treatise.  And find one person or a hundred to tell about it.

What’s your manifesto?  Who have you shared it with?  What has it given you?

Just one more day to get the Resume Writing e-book.  Plus, you’ll get the new newsletter, Career Kick Start.  Extra bonus!

photo credit: kevinzim

Related posts:

1. Write your personal branding manifesto
2. Passion Profile: Bethany North, Coffee Fanatic
3. Putting passion into your everyday: Create a project
4. Getting into alignment: Putting passion into your everyday
5. Be indispensable: 4 strategies for on-the-job value

Tagged as: Career, career adventure, career coach, kristi daeda, manifesto, mission