Passion, vision, purpose: Your journey to success

Bernie Parent: A lack in passion and purpose will lead to a loss of control over your life and success. There is a three step process to salvage your sanity and success, and it all starts with passion.

by By Bernie Parent, Philly.com | Columnist

Published Mar. 1, 2013, 5:03 a.m. ET

A lack in passion and purpose will lead to a loss of control over your life and success. Do you feel as though you are prohibited by your current situation and you cannot find the method to regain control of your own fate and circumstances? There is a three step process to salvage your sanity and success, and it all starts with passion.

Confucius once said, "If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life." Every person has at least one passion in life, but finds it hard to make it work for them. For some it may be sports, or painting, or helping others. Whatever it is that fires you up inside, take the second step and envision it.

People may mistake vision with purpose. You have a vision, a dream, and the purpose is your substance, your outcome. Once you reach your purpose, you can't just stop. It is a cycle.

My personal, favorite example of how passion, vision, and purpose are facilitated is good, ole' Mr. Ed Snider. Mr. Snider is passionate about the game of hockey, he visualized one day owning a team in the National Hockey League, and achieved his purpose by building his team. He grabbed hold of his passion and used his vision to build it. He visualized what he wanted his team to be and acted upon it accordingly. The outcome, the Philadelphia Flyers, was his substance and he made it tangible.

But he never stopped.

Mr. Snider's purpose changed to winning the Stanley Cup. Eventually, it changed to building a new arena. See the cycle?

He visualized how to accomplish these tasks, and once he did, he moved on to the next one.

Mr. Snider's purposes and visions have impacted Philadelphia greatly. Thousands and thousands of people have benefited from his work; from management to players to fans to employees to builders, etc. Not only did he bring an NHL franchise to a city that is passionate about hockey and the joy of the game, the philanthropic and economic impact he has had on this city is undeniable with all of the jobs and projects he has created such as the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, Flyers Charities, etc.

Before 1974, Philadelphia was in the dumps; things weren't going well for the city. People needed something to be happy about. Mr. Snider ultimately gave the people of Philadelphia back their excitement and passion with the winning of championships. His purpose and visions revived a city plagued by depression. And 40 years later, people are still talking about it.

Let's think of it this way. I've been discussing a fishing tournament for this upcoming summer. I visualize the boat and preparing for the tournament, but at the end of the day, if I don't have a purpose — in this case being the winner of the tournament — I just have a boat floating in the water. Your purpose is connected to your passion, what you love to do. Make your passions your purpose, visualize the steps you need to take, and act on them.

My passion as a child growing up in Canada was obviously the game of hockey, and there was a goaltender by the name of Jacques Plante. I would watch Plante every Saturday night, Hockey Night in Canada. I was only 10 or 12 years old, and when we took it to the streets, I would become him. During the playoffs, I envisioned myself there. I took his place.

I wholeheartedly wanted to be a goaltender in the National Hockey League. And it's funny, when you reach your purpose, it is very seldom the way you may have visualized it. I've dreamed many times about winning a championship with a shutout. My purpose was winning the Cup, but I visualized it being a shutout. When I look back today, we did win the Cup – twice -- but it was nothing like what my vision had been.

When you visualize, you're gliding, everything is smooth, almost like you are on a cloud. But when you're physically experiencing your vision and you are in the moment, don't let the bumps and barriers in the road stop you from reaching your purpose. Because nothing is exactly the way it may seem or turn out the way you had planned it. At the end of the day, you have to have something you're shooting for (and not my head, please).

I recall a time in my life that I didn't have a purpose. I hung around with people that did nothing, had nothing, and life just sucked. I became that person, too. One day, I had a moment of clarity, slammed my fist down on the table, and I told myself that I would never live this way again. If you find yourself in this situation, search yourself to find what it is you love to do. Some people may say that what they love to do won't bring them any financial gain, but I'm here to tell people that once you take the first step, people that you don't even know will come into your life and help you succeed. The process will take care of itself. Once you believe in this, that my friends, is when the magic happens.

Your purpose in life doesn't have to be financial. It can be physical, mental, part of a recovery, etc. Don't just say "I want to be successful." Be specific. You want to be sober. You want to lose 100 lbs. And the key to my success right now is recognizing that my passion, vision and purpose could apply to every aspect of my life emotionally, physically, financially, etc. You have to remember that if you don't like your current situation, you are the only one that can change it.

Structure your passion, vision, and purpose one step at a time. Set small goals to lead you closer to your purpose. And once you have reached it, create another one. Have as many purposes as you like, either simultaneously or one at a time. Someone is sitting out there right now, whether they're 15 or 85, and they're reading my articles. They may find that they are passionate about something and they're visualizing how it may play out.

The next step is to take action, baby.

Get off your ass and find out what it's all about. Explore your passion. Do some research. Become a participant, not a spectator. You have the ability to succeed, my friends.

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I am making myself available for readers to submit their questions pertaining to sports/life/current events/relationships/etc., to Bernie@legendssportsmarketing.com. Submit your questions and I may randomly choose yours to be the subject of my next article!

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Twitter: @BernieParent | Facebook: visit my Official Fan Page www.legendssportsmarketing.com | www.bernieparent.net

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