PASSION is going to be the buzzword for this particular post so in an attempt to add a new dimension to the blog I thought I would go with the interactive approach. Liking the sound of things? I was hoping so.
Ladies and gentlemen, madame et monsieur, khawateen ohr khazaraat, momineen ohr mominaat. Please may I have your attention? Thanking you in advance. I would like to conduct a short survey, with your unconditional participation that is. All it will involve is for each one of you dear readers to answer one simple
and solitary question which I will present to you at the end of this post.
Today I met a very interesting individual, the type of person who is so enthralling and interesting that whilst in their presence you somehow subconsciously end up leaving your world and entering into theirs. And only once you have left their presence does everything come rushing back… And before some soppy sod starts to think ‘he’s in love’ I am sorry to disappoint you but not this time anyway. So what am I trying to get at?? Let me see if I can put this into words. Beware I may get a little deep on you so if you wish to switch off at this point please do so. I have been informed by some readers that the posts are too short, for which I am sorry as it is not always easy to find the time during a school night. So although it is approximately 2:34am here, I am armed with a big mug of tea made using not 1 but 2 Lipton yellow label tea bags with only a splash of milk so in other words a good strong brew, which should keep me going for a thousand words at the least.
So back to this individual, surely you have all seen the MTV show ‘Pimp My Ride? You know the one where they take peoples wrecked cars and bring them back to life in the most incredible ways. Well this guy runs the Dubai equivalent of West Coast Customs, so when I dropped in to see what it was all about around 2pm I didn’t end up leaving until 4pm. Yes of course the customized bikes and jet skis and boats were all very impressive (he even had a customized WWII helmet! An original one the kind that would double up as the soldiers food bowl) but what really impressed me was the sheer excitement, enthusiasm and energy that this man had for his business. One of the underlying elements that is quite obvious out here is the fact that more than skills, academic qualifications or even experience for that matter employers (local ones at least) look for trust, loyalty and something that sets you aside from the crowd. “It is so important to be passionate about what you do, because if you’re not then you are never going to be as productive as you can be if you were doing something that you really did enjoy. And if you ask me more often than not, it is ingrained within a person and it is not something that you can learn or acquire”. Damn! I only came in to grab a business card for Lala and here I was being confronted by Tony Robbins! But he did have a very cool New York accent and some brilliant gadgets in his funky office including amongst other things a small model Cadillac which when he pressed a button lit up playing music and bouncing up and down with hydraulics. And he even had a real Samurai sword straight from Japan. Don’t ask me how but he claims to have gotten it through customs as kitchenware!
Prior to the tour of the office gadgets I was given a tour of the workshop where they were in the middle of completing a job for Dubai police, who had purchased 20 Yamaha motor bikes in yellow and then decided that they actually wanted them in black..? “Last year I did a golden X5 for the prince, which was kinda cool” wow, people with money really do some odd things I thought to myself, whilst trying to sound impressed, though I guess I was in actual fact, the thought of a golden car sounds like something Gold Member from Austin Powers might be interested in?
So as we were leaving the showroom having seen the paint shop were all the colors were mixed and prepared we walked past a refrigerator which had been fully customized using an image from a scene out of Finding Nemo. The finishing was so good that I actually though for a moment I could touch the water.
All the while he was talking about the business and showing me designs and projects and concepts I realized how fortunate this man really was. Here was a person who had a truly genuine passion for the job that he did, to the extent that the line between work and life had become somewhat blurred and uneasy to indentify. A hobby which became an idea, which developed into a business serving a niche that started in the midst of the recession, and now counts amongst its clients many of the local Royals, goes to show exactly what can be achieved when people are motivated and inspired. And I beg to differ when people say that money is the chief motivator, bullshit! That is simply an impression that is painted to us in order to ensure that our very precious time is consumed in the pursuit of monetary gain more often than not you put your heart into something and the rest tends to look after itself, at least that’s what I think. After all almost everyone knows or has heard of someone who spent most of their life amassing and hoarding wealth only to be left wishing that they never had it. Imam Ali says in the ‘Peak of eloquence’ quote ‘knowledge is more precious than wealth, because you have to look after wealth, whereas knowledge looks after you’.
So in conclusion (I hope this post has been long enough) I guess the message that I am trying to get across in a not so subtle way is that I think if not at this point in life then at some point it is very important that we try to pursue a passion whatever it may be. After all it is common knowledge that the most successful people are driven by their ideals and their vision which all combine to give them the passion to pursue their goals.
Just imagine for a moment how much more productive you would be if you were passionate about what you did for a living as opposed to simply interested or satisfied…?
Going back to the question at the beginning let me know your thoughts. Are you passionate about your job or not? I want to see if it’s true that only 5% of people have that privilege.
Looking forward to your feedback,
Goodnight
Le piece de resistance
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