Rearview Mirrors: People of Passion

Between success and passion, passion pulls my attention the most.

I don’t have any formal creative training. I studied journalism accidentally, edited Afrikaans news videos for an Afrikaans newspaper and then, suddenly, found myself in the daytime television industry.

For two years, while in-studio and on-location, we listened to people share their various stories for the camera.

Some people were successful. Some people were passionate. Some people were successful and passionate.

Of the two human currencies displayed (success and passion), passion pulled my attention the most.

The TV company was always busy. Because of this, we’d often ask the same people in the same industries the same questions. We would ask singers about their songs, painters about their paintings, woodworkers about their wood, and interior designers about why they chose an ocean theme for the house next to the sea.

After asking the same-but-different questions, we would listen to the answers. Those who weren’t passionate about their passion would give us their same-but-different answers.

Those who were passionate about their passion would dissolve our template questions and give us their un-template answers. They could make any subject fascinating. They wouldn’t try convince us of anything; they just spoke their reality. Then, when we asked them to demonstrate their daily process for the camera, the quiet confidence evident in their small, unassuming movements spoke words they could never share themselves for the camera.

The common lesson learned while observing and interacting with people of passion is that, to be passionate, you need to be exactly that: passionate.

And, through their energy, it became clear that passion doesn’t just begin randomly; you need to stumble forward, find it and keep it.