By Barbara Poole
Career Coach

I am not much of a TV watcher. I can’t intelligently engage in discussions of last night’s episode of “Desperate Housewives” or debate who ought to win the latest round of “American Idol,” because I just don’t watch this stuff.

Perhaps I have a short attention span, or maybe I just don’t like to sit still for that long, but I can generally find something else to do with my time, thus leaving me in the dark with respect to a major element of popular American culture.

Last Sunday afternoon was an exception, however. I found myself riveted to the TV for ninety minutes without so much as a bathroom break to watch the special on photographer Annie Leibovitz, “Life through a Lens.” I was looking forward to this program because I recently bought her new book, “A Photographer’s Life,” a heavyweight retrospective of her work from 1990 to 2005.

From Keith Richards to George Bush to shots of her family and her beloved Susan Sontag, the book is a stark and honest portrayal of what matters to Leibovitz. It has disarmed many critics due to the intensity and sometimes shocking nature of the collection, prompting one critic to refer to her “reckless candor.”

As for me, I love it. And I loved the PBS documentary that supplemented the book with juicy interviews with Leibovitz interspersed with background tracks from the likes of Rosanne Cash and the Rolling Stones.

What I liked the most about it, however, and indeed about Leibovitz’s work, is the sheer passion that drives her, and has done so throughout her illustrious career. Whether it is her early Rolling Stone covers, or her lavish pictorial spreads for Vanity Fair, or her harsh portrayal of the realities of war in Sarajevo, her work incorporates an intensity and a drive that are second to none, and that have earned her a coveted seat at the table of popular America photography.

Leibovitz’s excellence derives from her passion, clear and simple. When the editor of Vanity Fair was asked what makes Leibovitz’s work so special, she replied, “The bottom line is, Annie cares.”

Consider what it means to have someone say that what makes your work brilliant is how very much you care about it. Not about what others will think, but about the essence of the product or the experience you are trying to create.

Passion is the primary currency of excellence. It is more important than intellect or training, and it has the ability to distinguish you from a sea of other people who are engaged in a similar job or line of work as yours.

What are you passionate about? Is it out there in the forefront, driving you every day, or is it buried under layers of obligation and responsibility?

Many people have forgotten what it is that creates that fire in the belly, or they have never really given permission to it in the first place. Here are some questions to help you reconnect with what you are passionate about:

1. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

2. What can you do all day long and still feel energized about when evening rolls around?

3. What activity do you “get lost in,” such that you lose track of time and space and surrender to those flow moments?

4. What is the message you sometimes try to tamp down because you are afraid that if you gave voice to it you would have to act on it?

5. If you knew that you only had one month left on earth, then aside from spending time with loved ones, what would you want to do?

Your passion is the jet fuel that ignites your heart and mind. Understand what it derives from and harness its power; it will drive you to excellence.

Barbara Poole is a leadership and career development coach with Success Builders Inc. E-mail her at coachbarbara@successbuildersinc.com.

SUBSCRIBE | REPRINTS | CONTACT US

Phone: 843-849-3100    Fax: 843-849-3122