Good Books
Karen Schacter, contributing editor (www.dishingwithyourdaughters.com)
Book Review: The Passion Test: The Effortless Path To Discovering Your Destiny
Book by Janet Bray Atwood and Chris Atwood
“Passion is the key to your destiny.” —Mark Victor Hansen
Did you know that 4 out of 5 Americans feel unsatisfied, unhappy and unfulfilled? Four out of five. That’s a full 80% of folks who feel they are not pursuing their purpose and living a life of meaning and inspiration.
Rather than over-analyze WHY this is (stress, busy-ness, the American way?), let me share with you a solution that I have discovered: An easy-to-read, straightforward book called The Passion Test, by Janet Bray Attwood and Chris Atwood.
The foundation of the book is literally a “test” that helps you identify your passions. They ask you initially to make a list of the 10 things you can think of that would give you a life of joy, passion and fulfillment, and then they help you whittle down that list to your top five passions.
The rest of the book is designed to help you implement a life that is organized around these five passions. Their mantra, “When you are clear, what you want will show up in your life, and only to the extent that you are clear,” is a guiding force throughout each subsequent chapter.
Chris and Janet help you clarify your intentions, focus your attention in the right direction, face your fears, and align your beliefs with your desires. They give clear-cut, concrete directions for stepping forward into your desires and living a life that is passion-filled and intentional.
What is also clear from their book is their commitment to service—to making the world a better place. By being a living example of your own passion-filled life, you are able to more clearly lead others by example and inspiration. In fact, they begin Chapter 14 with a quote by Woodrow Wilson that reverberated deeply within me, and I hope may have the same impact on you:
“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget this errand.”
How much more peaceful, loving and connected a world we would live in if we all found our passions and shared them far and wide.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is ready to live a more meaningful life, based on passion, purpose and contribution.