12 Blogs of Christmas: Day 2 – Passion

This is Part 2 in a 12-Part Series: Read Part 1: Strategy

When someone is passionate about something, it’s pretty easy to tell.  The quality they put out is higher, their attention to detail is noticeable, the air of excitement is palpable, etc, etc.

Does your Digital Personality exude your passion for what you do?

Double Duty

Not only can your passion be a driving force for you to succeed in your business and with your customers, it can drive you to do things others might think are impossible.

One reality of my life is that I work two jobs.  During the day I have my “Day Job”, which is the daily grind where I’m a member of the Cubicle Nation.  The other waking minutes of my life are consumed with my “Passion job”.  My “Passion Job” consists of my blogging efforts and Digital Marketing consulting through my company Empty Jar Marketing.

Most people don’t believe me when I tell them that I work 8 hours a day in an office and then drive home to work another 5-6 hours on digital strategy and social media.  It’s not only true, but it’s what drives me.

I’m wholly committed to my responsibilities and clients with Empty Jar Marketing.  If you’ve kept up with my blogging activities through this site and also For Bloggers, By Bloggers you know I don’t usually slouch there either.  I’m good at what I do because not only have I studied and practiced it for 8+ years, I’m deeply passionate about it as well.

I use my passion about digital marketing and storytelling to fuel all my other endeavors.  I strive to be accountable in all my activities.  If all you care about is making money, don’t be surprised when your customers think all you care about is making money.

I’ve provided a link to Frank Dickinson’s page for a podcast we did about finding the energy, skills and passions to work two jobs because I know I’m not the only one in this boat.  The podcast is roughly 35 minutes long, but we cover a lot of great tips and tactics for balancing a “Day Job” and a “Passion Job” and being successful at both.  The file will also be included in the Digital Personality eManifesto to come.

Passion and Quality

What’s something you are passionate about?  For me, it’s movies, so I’m going to use that as an example.  Have you ever tried talking to someone about movies who didn’t know care anything about them? (For the record, I’m not talking about someone who doesn’t know much about them or is unaware.  I’m talking about a genuine lack of interest)  The conversation moves forward, but it’s lifeless and boring and not beneficial for anyone.  No one’s needs are met and neither of you leave the conversation any better than when you began.

It happens the same way in the online space.  When you are simply “following protocol” and “making the rounds” online that listlessness translates to your audience.

Have you noticed the seeming increase in lackluster products and services over the past few years?  I have.  It also came as no surprise to me to learn that a Harris Interactive survey found that only 20% of working Americans say they are passionate about their jobs.

It goes even further than that, to where people aren’t even satisfied with the jobs that they do.  There’s a visible, growing trend of people being generally dissatisfied and dispassionate about what they do.

You really want to stand out from your competitors?  Be passionate about what you do.

Passion and Digital Personality

It’s never been easier to talk about, live and display your passions than now.  The internet not only gives everyone a clean slate, but one that can then be shown to the entire world for free.  Amazing.

If you’ve read Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It! (Amazon Affiliate Link) or seen the UnReview for Crush It! you know there are multiple ways to talk about your passion.  It’s up to you to do it, but here are some ways that I have found allow you to bring some personality into your digital presence.

1. Write Like You - This may seem obvious, but few company blogs employ this tactic.  We all have an understanding of how business sounds.  We know how companies communicate and when we are within Fort Business, we talk and communicate the same way.  It’s only natural.  The only this is that it’s not natural for your audience.  If you want to show them your passions, open up and write like you would write a letter to your best friend about something you both love dearly.  You want a good list of words and terms to ignore?  Check out David Meerman Scott’s Gobbledygook Manifesto, it’s brilliant.
2. Use Action Verbs – Here I go being all technical and boring again, but passive writing is boring.  “The dog chases the ball” always reads more enthusiastically than “The ball is being chased by the dog.”  If you have to, after you write a post go through and circle all the verbs.  Circle the action verbs in green and circle the passive verbs in red.  There should be more green.  If there isn’t, change it.  Humans act and react and interact.  We connect through events and situations.  Make people connect with your writing by making it something worth attending and reading.
3. Know What You’re Talking About – This one kind of applies to your strategy, but make sure you’ve done extensive research and know just what the hell you’re talking about.  If you’re truly passionate about a topic, this shouldn’t be hard as you will already be ingesting information and resources about it without much effort.  Passionate fans of bands know the band members names and favorite colors and kinds of ice cream (They also sleep outside their houses and sometimes get violent, but we’re not talking about that.)  Car aficionados can name all the specs on their favorite type of car and passionate Chicago Bear fans can give you the starting defensive line-up for the 1983 season.  Make sure you know you’re stuff.

Dusk

Passion is a hard one to explain.  For the most part, you either have it or you don’t.  We are drawing to a close here on the second Day of the 12 Blogs of Christmas.  Most of what you do will stem from your Passion and it can be a guiding light when things get dark and difficult (which they will).

How passionate are you about what you do?  Is it pretty easy to tell when a company you are dealing with is only in it for the money?  What kind of difference does it make for you when you deal with someone who truly cares about what they provide for you?

Make sure you keep an eye open tomorrow for Day 3 of 12 – Attitude.

Merry Christmas!

Tags: 12 blogs of christmas, day job, Digital Personality, facebook, heart and soul, passion, social media