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Before you can 10x or 2x or even 1x anything, you have to find a way to make x equal greater than zero.

That, like many other concepts that are tossed around like metaphorical Frisbees between people in the ‘entrepreneurial space,’ seems like a simple concept to ingest.

Of course, it can not be so simple.

Too many people have delusions of grandeur, visions of sugar plums, and mini bouts of insanity that are triggered by social media motivational candy.

Is being reminded to ‘rise and grind’ a bad thing? Not necessarily. Get up. Get up early to get a head start. Grind it out through the hard times to make it to the better times. What could be wrong with a message like that?

There is nothing wrong with a message like that. It’s listening to the same overly simplified message, a message with no real nuance, over and over.

Before you begin to book the two-week vacation at the luxury resort with your personal infinity pool, you need to sell a few things. Actually batches and batches of things, but until you sell a few things, you’ve got no baseline to start with.

What do you think? Email me at jclevelandpayne@gmail.com and we can discuss further.

My daughter JJ has severe problems with the unknown. Like how she can survive if we send her to bed with 7 minutes left of an episode of whatever random show she is watching.

Being nine years old, she has no concept of sitcoms. She does not know that the zany antics of her favorite characters never change. That is the ‘situation part of a situation comedy.

The characters never actually learn and rarely grow as people. Apart from an occasional ‘very special episode to mark that the show is aware of the world outside the studio setting and wants to address a pressing matter in a way that works for them, their shows are cookie-cutter creation of similar shtick each week.

The exceptions where real change come from actually change they are forced to address in characters. It is usually due to aging (sometimes purposely) of younger characters out of childhood, advanced aging and real deaths of older characters, and the character recast or write-offs (even if these are often downplayed, without the characters played by the legacy actor, the scenes and reactions change for all left behind).

What she really does not know is that she will survive the night if forced to watch the remaining 7 minutes the next day. Because she is 9, and stick thinks if she covers her eyes and does not see anyone, she is invisible.

This may be harder to teach than the basic setup of a standard 22-minute situation comedy for television.

Have any tips? Email jclevelandpayne@gmail.com and let me know.

It’s as simple as asking the right questions, and then listening to the honest answers.

Common themes are cyclical in the world of personal development, and a common theme that often finds itself in heavy rotation is the search for one’s passion.

The dictionary has a host of definitions for passion, but the one we are concerned with is, “any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.”

As in, what brings powerful and compelling emotion or feeling to you?
Is it a grand quest that you feel needs conquering? Is it having lunch at that awesome Thai place down the street? And should that thing that is my passion be filling or emptying my bank account?

My shtick for personal development is all about asking questions, answering them honestly, and dealing with the consequences those answers drive you to take. So, let me set up the exercise I believe may help those stuck in frustration of being passionless. What are the questions you should ask to help you finally find your passion? These three should suffice:

1) What do you really want to do?

There are things that we love to do that after taking an honest look, we know we are not very good. There are things that we have mastered that chip away a piece of our souls every time we are forced to do it. Somewhere in between, are a hand full of things that you are capable of doing that you don’t completely hate that can sustain your mental wellbeing. Find a few of those and hold on to them as possible choices for your ultimate passion.

2) Who do you want to be?

Your favorite characters from books and movies tell a story about you. Oddly enough, you will gravitate to characters that are pretty much just like you (so you understand precisely the trials they are suffering) or some almost diametric reverse of you (because they can say, do, or be something that you can’t). Because these characters are a product of a creative process that maintains relevant and entertaining stories, these characters rarely change from book to book or show to show. Real humans can fall into character tropes, but they are not as easy to define, because real humans have a tendency to be fickle and random at the least opportune times possible. But you’re going to have to try, as you determine who the real you really is and if that person is ultimately who you want the world to see and believer you are.

3) How do you want to live?

Now that you have some idea of what that thing that can sustain your mental wellbeing is and who you want the world to see and believer you are, there is one important thing to always have in the back of your mind. Positive cash flow. Your standard of living may not directly align with your passion per se, but food, lodging, and clothing are basic needs that always need some addressing, especially if you feel your personal standard is currently lacking. If you find following your passion is not the most financially secure route you can take in life (and few are), that means you must maintain some ‘day job’ that can financially sustain the passion project. You are allowed to hate your day job, but it must pay the bills, including the cost of that passion.

Viola! Passion!

Sounds simple and straightforward? Give it a try and let me know how well it is working toward following your passion.