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Jon Lapre

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How do you get inspired, stay motivated, and become passionate in what you do as a TEDster? What is your passion how did you discover it?

I am interested in the experiences and stories of others to give me a perspective on how people become passionate about something or how they get inspired to do great things. Their journey of how they became passionate and inspired.

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    elizabeth muncey 10+

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    Dec 7 2012: How far are you prepared to pursue your dreams Jon? What are you prepared to sacrifice ? Sometimes on various search engines there are 'Top ten' type articles about people who seem to embody something that seems desirable. For example many people find the lives of the Hollywood movie stars fascinating, they seem wealthy and happy and successful then you read a biography or autobiography and it turns out things in their personal lives were not so rosy. Personally I was inspired by a teacher who taught me social and economic history when I was about 14 years old. I am not sure what it was about her but I formed a personal philosophy from what she taught me about social dynamics. I will always owe her a massive debt. She taught me to look twice before judging. Sometimes it takes a loss before you realise what your passion is. One way of visualising is to pretend you are writing a book. You start with a contents page, write your chapters then think about a title. If you don't like using words you can use pictures or take photos or draw. What makes your heart beat just a little faster (in a good way).
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      Jon Lapre

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      Dec 12 2012: I agree with you whole heartily that there is going to be some sacrifice and am I willing to take that sacrifice is surely the question. When I get to that road I drop you a line and tell you if it was worth it. But as for now I am looking more for what is my passion and as I am coming across more and more TED videos I am seeing that discovering a passion maybe a fun journey. I think that I am going to take Matt Cutts advise in the video that I linked you. Mainly to take one step and not giant leaps. We tend to forget that it is the tiny steps that amount to great things and not the end product but how we obtained it in the first place. Going to try something for 30 days will be fun and interesting. I hope in my journey of the upcoming year that I will discover something that I am passionate about and may one day be up at the TED conference talking about my journey of discovering ones passion.

      http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html
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        elizabeth muncey 10+

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        Dec 13 2012: Jon, in yr photo u look like a guy who loves life. Fun is definately a good way to explore one's passions. Here are some positive affirmations that might give you a framework, think of them as a type of job description. 'sense of beauty, love of life, simplicity, intelligence, grounded, ambitious, tenacious, loyal, energetic, warm hearted and lucky. I have found positive affirmations tend to help focus on constructive results but you do need to be aware of your mind trying to trick your whole self. Listen to the information from your heart and your stomach as well. Your skin is one of the biggest sensory organs of all and conveys a wealth of information about your own well being if you know how to read it. Totally agree with the journey metaphor - re the thirty day trial of a way of being thing have you read about the guy who decided to say yes to everything for 30 days (available on the internet somewhere but not sure which search engine to refer you to). Want to wish you many hours of fun on your voyage of discovery.

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