A few years ago, NIKE came up with a new slogan for their Football products: Leave Nothing. Their commercial featured various players overcoming incredible obstacles to get across the field. One player ran with a few linemen hanging on to his back. Another player kept breaking tackle after tackle until he reached the end zone.

Those images lingered in my mind for weeks as I reflected on what the slogan meant to me. Leave Nothing. Give it all you've got. Don't hold anything back.

As a wife and mother, I often feel like I have countless responsibilities hanging on my back like linemen. The deadlines ahead of me feel like defenders waiting to tackle me. Yet, I have a calling to give all I have to that which has been entrusted to me.

A wise woman once said to me, "Don't feel sorry for yourself because of all that you have to do; be thankful that you have the ability to do it all!" Her perspective has changed my life. Instead of complaining about my responsibilities, I now prefer to celebrate the fact I have been chosen for a purpose and be passionate about fulfilling that purpose.

It is important to be passionate about more than just your calling. In everything you do, give one hundred percent. Whether it is preparing a meal, doing a chore, making a public appearance, or maintaining a relationship, be passionate about what you do. After a while, passion will become the norm.

There are innumerable benefits to living with passion. Cultivating your passion causes you to:

• Experience joy in everything you do.
• Shine with excellence.
• Stop living by deadlines.
• Stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone.
• Inspire others.
• Achieve more than you ever thought possible.
• Overcome regret and embrace gratitude.
• Live a life of purpose.

Choose today to put your heart into everything you do. You will find that life doesn't just "turn out" a certain way. YOU make things happen in your life by the choices you make and the attitude you carry. Instead of settling, determine in your mind to put your best effort into what you do and watch as your life is transformed.
 

 Articles Provided by Women of Influence. The views expressed are not necessarily the views of Entercom, or Women of Influence.