The combination of passion and energy is stronger than academic prowess alone. Are you academically talented and passionate at the same time? If you are, you are obviously in a really strong position. Passion is your drive, ambition and the love of what you do and who you serve. It provides you with a very special view of the world that others often don’t see.

In order for your non profit or social enterprise to succeed, you must have passion for what you want to achieve. However, ensure that your passion aligns with the kind of industry you want to be in. You might have the right passion to do something, but be in the wrong industry at the same time. Your passion should always be aligned with the right kind of Industry. To become a successful leader and lead a thriving non profit or social enterprise, the important thing for each of us to keep in mind is to figure out what is the passion inside of us that will drive us to become the very best we can become in making a positive impact in the communities we want to serve, and in what industry/or targeted population we passionately want to serve.

You might have passion to start a nonprofit that works with children, but you still need to figure out what industry you will work in. Will you work with Children in Educational Setting, Health Setting, Hungers, Talents, Autism, or a combined model? You need to be able to align your passion with the industry or population you are going to serve if you want your nonprofit or social enterprise to succeed and reach the impact.

Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. expressed that people should do what they love doing, sharing that it was his passion for his work and a belief that “people with passion can change the world for the better” that drove him.  Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook states that people should find that thing they are most passionate about and pursue it.  Zuckerberg said, “I think it’s important if you’re going to take on any big challenge, that you just love and really have faith in what you’re doing. That I think is the most important advice I would say.”

I do believe that if you are truly passionate about the work you are doing and you are in the right industry, you will have the greatest chance of achieving success and reach the targeted impact. I believe that when we are passionate about something we have more energy, we work much harder, we get more creative, we search more diligently for solutions when difficult problems arise, and we inspire others who work alongside us.

When passion is strong and it is identified and understood, it is possible to harness that energy to create great things and have a big impact in the world.  Passion is when the fires within ignite. Passion in work turns it into play, something that you love to do. It is the unseen power of any organization and truly inspiring leaders know how to tap into it.