Talk about the passion!

Maria was incredibly passionate about cooking. Her love of creating delicious dishes was unmatched, and she would often experiment with new recipes in her kitchen. One day, Maria decided to host a dinner party to showcase her latest culinary creation.

As her guests arrived, the aroma of her cooking filled the room, and everyone was eager to taste her masterpiece. Maria, with a twinkle in her eye, announced that she had prepared a dish called "surprise stew."

As the guests took their first bites, they were pleasantly surprised by the explosion of flavors. One curious guest asked, "Maria, what's the secret ingredient in this stew?"

Maria, with a mischievous grin, replied, "Passion! And maybe a little too much garlic."

The guests burst into laughter, realizing that Maria's passion for cooking was the true secret ingredient that made her dishes so delightful.

Passion is the secret ingredient that turns ordinary efforts into extraordinary experiences, and a dash of humor makes it all the more memorable.

There is an old Texas saying: "You can't light a fire with a wet match." To be successful, you need to pursue everything with a spark of passion to light your own fire.

Dale Carnegie, one of my favorite authors, said, "Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart. Live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours."

Similarly, Blake Mycoskie, American entrepreneur and the founder of Toms Shoes and co-founder of Madefor, said, "If you organize your life around your passion, you can turn your passion into your story and then turn your story into something bigger — something that matters."

Passion is at the top of the list of the skills you need to excel, whether you're in sales or any other profession. A salesperson without passion is just an order taker.

If you're in sales, you can have a great product, a tremendous territory and a fabulous marketing campaign, but if you don't have passion, it's hard to make a sale. When you have passion, you speak with conviction, act with authority and present with zeal. When you are excited and passionate about a product — or anything for that matter — people notice. They want in on the action. They want to know what can be so good.  

There is no substitute for passion. If you don't have an intense, burning desire for what you are doing, there's no way you'll be able to work the long, hard hours it takes to become successful.

The subtitle to one of my books is, "Love what you do and do what you love." That pretty much sums up passion. If you have passion, faith and are willing to work hard, you can do anything you want in this life.

However, I will offer one caveat about passion. If you're not good at what you are passionate about, it doesn't matter. I was passionate about becoming a professional golfer at one time, but my mother helped me realize that because I lived in Minnesota where you can only play golf about half the year, it would be difficult for me to catch up with young golfers from warmer climates. Now I'm passionate about golf as a hobby.

Fortunately, I discovered that I was also pretty good at selling and had been developing that skill since I was a kid. I loved being able to make customers happy and reap the benefits. I loved spending time with the old pros who taught me, inspired me and challenged me to get better. I was passionate. And I still am. 

When you start to discover your own passion, surround yourself with people who are passionate about their jobs. You'll catch their passion. Remember, you can't be passionate when you feel like it. You must be passionate about your job, product or cause all the time. There's no off switch on a tiger.

Following your passion is one of the most rewarding things you can do in life. It gives us purpose, meaning and fulfillment. Whether you're an artist, an entrepreneur or someone looking to make a change in the world, there's no better time than now to start pursuing your passions.

Mackay's Moral: Purpose is the reason you journey. Passion is the fire that lights the way.

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Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com, by emailing [email protected] or by writing him at MackayMitchell Envelope Co., 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.