To say not knowing what to do with your life is scary, would be a disservice to the word “understatement”.

I often find myself in this weird, almost flirtatious relationship with my passions. I know what I’m attracted to, but I’m not always attracted to do it. The inspiration will come in waves, so strong that it’s all I can think about. It’s exciting and incredibly motivating. But then the light will turn green, the water in the shower will go cold, or my boss will tell me to get back to work. Passion has a nasty habit of striking at the most inconvenient times.

This cycle of capturing inspiration, then losing its direction is so frustrating. After enough of these “cycles”, you begin to question if it’s even worth pursuing.

Unfocused passion is like a lightning storm. Powerful? Yes. Useful? Not so much. (with the exception of getting your DeLorean back to 1985). With enough time and nowhere to go, passion explodes and lashes out sporadically. Not knowing what to do with it is simply too intimidating and can even become depressing in the right circumstances. Eventually you give up. The storm clouds dissipate, and you’re left with sunny skies… boring! Passion should be awe inspiring and dangerous. The key here is direction.

Electricity when focused, is far more productive, gratifying, and most importantly, enduring.

Pick a direction and focus intently on it. Even if you have doubts. This can be as bold as outright pursuing your dream job or as restrained as putting aside quality time to research your passion online. Educating yourself is by no means a passive activity.

Furthermore, strike while the iron is hot. When that wave hits you, grab it by the throat. Write it down, record the idea in your phone, pick up the guitar and figure out the verse to the song you’ve been working on.

Whatever you decide, you can’t truly know if it’s the right direction until you spearhead it through the heart. No vague lightning storms, only 100 million volts straight to what it is you’re applying yourself to. If it succeeds, great! You’re another step forward. If it fails, even better! You’re two steps forward with a fire under your ass. Failure can be an astounding motivator. Spoiler alert, there will (typically) be infinitely more failures than successes.

Now at the end of this sentence, leave this website, and go make something happen.