David Loves Lilly

David Styles is nuts about water lilies. It’s such a passion that he’s nearly run out of room for them all—so now he has bathtubs overflowing with all his loves. What’s not to love about this fabulous ‘bathhouse’ of water lilies lovingly nurtured by him. I’ve driven past this spot in Te Horo so many times and always thought it was a junkyard.

Happily, my new passion for photography has opened my eyes to the beauty that surrounds us, helping me see more clearly the things so many of us pass by. I screeched to a stop when to my delight I took a second look at these old ‘forlorn’ bathtubs and saw the beauty floating inside.

Luck, David told me, was on my side as usually at this hour (4:30ish) the lilies would have closed (11-2 is their waking hour) and some of the lilies are so rare that many people have never seen them at all (the white one especially). And there are the lilies that Monet painted when he lived at Giverney in France. Oh I do so love people with healthy obsessions – passionate people are vitamins for the soul.

This from a book on Monet:

“The water lily, a flower which flourishes only in warm swampy waters symbolized – not just in Marrarme’s poem The White Lily (1895) – the mysterious sources of life and the undividedness of being.”

The symbolism is perfect and holds a lesson for all of us. We too can be at our most radiant, our most magnificent, our most divinely beautiful—even if we are surrounded by a swamp (this may be the negativity of others, a toxic work environment, or some other muddy circumstance.

And as Vincent van Gogh so sagely advises, you can silence the swamp of your doubting mind by blossoming in the truth of your divine essence and flowering with certainty.

Follow your passion to health and prosperity

David, who loves water lilies, has created a beautiful business from his backyard bathtubs. He grows and supplies lillies for garden centres and enthusiasts worldwide. But more importantly, he credits his obsession with restoring his health following a heart attack.

Following my own obsession for passion and passionate people let me to do a ‘Van Gogh” and write books to help others believe in the beauty of their dreams. As I share in Find Your Passion and Purpose:

“The vision was simple: a few short, easy-to-digest tips for time-challenged people looking for inspiration and practical strategies to encourage positive change.

From my experience, I knew that people didn’t need a large wad of words to feel inspired, gain clarity and be stimulated to take action.

In coaching and counselling sessions I’d encourage my clients to ask a question they would like answered. The questions could be specific, such as, ‘How can I make a living from my passion?’ Or vague, for example, ‘What do I most need to know?’

Then I’d ask them to pick a card at random. Without fail, they were astounded by the card’s potent relevance. Disbelieving eyes widened in astonishment as they read the quote or the main message they received. Many would say, “These cards are magic.”

Orders flooded in from global recruitment consultancies, primary schools, colleges, universities, not-for-profit organisations, financial institutions and other multi-national commercial entities. I was asked to speak at conferences around the world about the power of passion. It was amazing to see how popular and successful The Passion Pack became, transcending age, gender, and socio-economic differences.

In this era of information obesity, the need for simple, life-affirming messages is even more important. If you are looking for inspiration and practical tips, in short, sweet sound bites, this guide is for you.

Similarly, if you are a grazer, or someone more methodical, this guide will also work for you. Pick a page at random, or work through the steps sequentially. I encourage you to experiment, be open-minded and try new things. I promise you will achieve outstanding results.

Clive, a 62-year-old man who had suffered work-related burnout, did! He thought that creating a passion journal, Tip 10 in this guide, was childish – something other stressed executives in his men’s support group would baulk at. But once he’d taken up the challenge, he told me enthusiastically,

“They loved it!” They are using their passion journals to visualise, gain clarity, and create their preferred futures. Clive is using it to help manifest his new purpose-driven coaching business.

Let experience be your guide. Give your brain a well-needed break. Let go of ‘why’, and embrace how you feel, or how you want to feel. Honour the messages from your intuition and follow your path with heart.

Laura, who at one stage seemed rudderless career-wise, did just that. She was guided to Tip 14: Who Inspires You? Following that, her motivation to live and work like those she looked up to sparked a determination to start her own business. It was that simple.

At the time of writing I’ve just turned to Tip 31: Fear Of Success. It’s a timely reminder of just how far following my passion has taken me – the shy girl who was once afraid of being seen. The quote is as apt for me as I feel it may be for you:

“Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.”

Here’s to living with passion and purpose!

Introduction

“Mary Oliver says in one of her poems, ‘Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’ Me, I intend to live passionately.”
Isabelle Allende, Novelist

Finding a job you want and living a life you love is impossible without passion, enthusiasm, zest, inspiration and the deep satisfaction that comes from doing something that delivers you some kind of buzz.

Yet, it’s staggeringly, and dishearteningly, true that many people don’t know what they are passionate about, or how they can turn it into a rewarding career. Some research suggests that only 10% of people are living and working with passion. Hence my passion for passion, and helping create more positive change in the world.

If you’re like many people who don’t know what they are passionate about or what gives your life meaning and purpose, this book will help provide the answers.

If you have been told it’s not realistic to work and live with passion, this book will help change your mindset.

Together we’ll help you get your mojo back, challenge your current beliefs and increase your sense of possibility. By tapping into a combination of practical career strategies, Law of Attraction principles, and the spiritual powers of manifestation, you’ll reawaken dreams, boost your self-awareness, empower your life and challenge what you thought was possible.

This is an edited extract from Find Your Passion and Purpose: Four Easy Steps to Discover A Job You Want And Live the Life You Love by Cassandra Gaisford. To purchase your copy and learn how to follow your passion to prosperity, click here to go to your online bookshop.