by John Turner

It pushes you to do things that others may think is crazy because of your size, your intelligence level, or your background. That is PASSION!

When I think about “PASSION” and the NFL, the first person that comes to mind is Ray Lewis. He is playing in his 17th season in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens. For him to continue playing the game that he loves is an honor and a blessing in his eyes for God. I had the opportunity to watch “A Football Life: Ray Lewis,” a documentary on his 16th year in the NFL. The NFL Network followed him and filmed his life during the 2011-2012 NFL Season. The documentary encompassed the ups and downs an NFL player such as Ray Lewis goes through just to perform at his peak performance; he is still going strong in his mid-30s.

The documentary showed how Ray Lewis still has the drive to work out and keep himself in top physical shape to play the game that he loves. It also shows his dedication to his family and to the fans who have loved and supported him for so many years. What drives Ray Lewis to keep playing such a physical sport after all these years? In Ray’s words, he does it for his kids, his family, his fans and everyone that believes in him. He does it for God who gave him another opportunity to still do what he loves, even after going to jail on the allegation of double homicide after a nightclub incident in the early 2000s. He was later acquitted of those charges. Ray Lewis’s passion is much deeper than just playing football; it’s pushing him to keep going for the people who have never stopped believing in him and that look up to him as a role model.

There is a fire inside of you that makes you shoot for your dreams and accomplish uncanny goals. It pushes you to do things that others may think is crazy because of your size, your intelligence level, or your background. That is PASSION! What makes a person go back to school and graduate with honors after three children, two divorces, two bankruptcies and a dead end job? PASSION! What makes a college student get up in the morning, go to class every single day, live off a minimal amount of money, barely eat food some nights, and study during all kinds of hours of the day just for a college degree? PASSION! What makes a person quit their job, write up a business plan, seek out financial lenders, and live of a budget 70% less than what they are used to bringing in every month, just to see the doors of their business open up one day? PASSION!

What is your passion pushing you to do?

• Is it pushing you to live your dreams?
• Is it pushing you to leave the past behind and strive to better your finances, your career and your future?
• What is your passion telling you to do?
• Do you know that the passion placed inside of you to do spectacular and amazing things is really not for just for you?

Your passion is placed inside of you by God to do something that will not just satisfy your life, but will become a blessing for someone else! YES, it’s hard to go back to school and be successful when so many other things are going on in life. You have to remember that your passion is not just pushing you to crank out that school work, study hard and graduate. It’s for your kids, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandkids, neighborhood children, and friends to see that you made it! If they can see that YOU made it, then they can know that anything is possible if they work hard. Even with all the obstacles in your life, if they can see you walk across that stage and graduate, land that great job, open up that business, write that book, or become the next great actor or athlete, they can say, I KNOW THAT I CAN DO IT TOO AND PUT MY PASSION INTO ACTION!

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John Turner is an author, speaker, higher education professor and adviser that works to encourage people to live towards their greatest dreams and successes.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.