Recently, I was asked the question, “What powers your passion?” There are days when I don’t even know what my passion is!  On one such day, I was spiraling downward, and not enjoying my job at all!  Having been a student of the Law of Attraction for awhile, I remembered that I get to choose how I want to FEEL each moment.  So I began to pay attention to my thoughts and watch for anything that made me FEEL a little bit better, and then spend a moment relishing that feeling.  On this day, it was teaching.  “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” (Chinese Proverb).

As a project manager, who works from home, teaching moments are few and far between. That moment when you realize they “get it” is a pretty awesome feeling.  So I relished it.  I don’t remember what event triggered it on this day.  But as I basked in the feeling, I remembered a few people over the years who really powered my passion for teaching.  There is Mindi, who has followed in my footsteps to counseling & advising in higher education. There is Elise, who is now considered one of the campus experts in the college’s software that I helped her learn.  Each of my own children have found a career they love and each one is thriving.  I know there were others who were just as instrumental in creating the persons they are today. So I recognize that it’s not just about what I taught and what they learned that powers the passion. It’s more about watching them flourish with energy and excitement.  It’s watching them stretch and grow and develop.  It’s seeing leaders emerge who never thought they had the skills.  It’s watching them spread their wings and take flight.  You can teach a man to fish, but I would rather teach a man (or woman) to soar…. Just another EXTRAORDINARY Simple Day.