“How do I know it’s passion, when I see one?” asked the famed author Carmine Gallo to the equally famous Chef, Ferran Adria.

Ferran pointed at a wine glass and asked Carmine, “What comes to our mind when you see that?” A drink”, said, Carmine easily. “When I see a wine glass what comes to my mind is celebration, joy, fun and much more”, replied Ferran illustrating the true meaning of passion in the process.

Passion then is what you do out of love. It is that which sustains your soul and not just your monthly income.

Passion is what you can go on doing endlessly without having to look at time or crave for a break.

Maybe that’s why the greatest of artists are also so prolific. They seem to thrive on the quantity of work. When work is such pleasure, who would complain!

After Tom Sawyer of ‘The adventures of Tom Sawyer’ by Mark Twain sells the idea of white washing the fence as an activity of great value,Aunt Polly’s fence was white washed more than twice. Tom’s play mates literally vied with one another to help him, bartering their most precious possessions in return for ‘work’. Mark Twain remarks that ‘work consists of anything that a body is obliged to do and play consists of anything that a body is not obliged to do’. Passion makes work pleasurable like play.

The weight of expectations, a steady income,the society, misguided education often nips off a budding passion. Many of us spend a lifetime being unable to decide where exactly our passion lies.

I always loved reading and writing. Some later I realized that I also enjoy speaking, especially addressing large audiences. I found myself mostly on stage speaking and often training and encouraging my students to enjoy their time on stage whether it was for debate, elocution or simply anchoring for an event at school.

While my interest in writing lay dormant thanks to an unfulfilled ambition to become journalist, I kept writing off and on. It is only with time and much practice that I am able to put up my thoughts before you today.

Teaching is another passion I developed almost accidentally. I love teaching, being able to make even a small difference to someone’s life.When I look at myself today, I am glad that I have more or less interwoven my areas of interest into my life.

So, clearly my passion lies in each one of these areas of my interest.

To identify your area of passion,you should ask yourself, what gives you the purest joy?

Is it numbers,money matters, science or art? What makes you want to do something again and again?

What makes your heart sing, your smile brighter and your days happier. Go find it for yourself and do it.

It’s one life, live it the way you deem fit.

Live your passion! Live it big!