What is passion? Recently after a presentation, I was once again thanked for my passion. The compliment was genuinely given, as was my returned thank you. However, as the day progressed, my thoughts kept returning to what really is passion? For the next several days as I attempted to ponder this question, other questions surfaced. What does it mean when one has passion? What separates people with passion and those without passion? Is passion always positive? Could passion be negative? Is there a relationship between passion and purpose? How does it fit me?

Sometimes the best place to begin to define a word is with Webster. Websters dictionary states that passion is an emotional response.

Being an intellectual conceptualizer or more simply stated a heurist, I wrote down 3 words passion, performance and purpose.

Consider the following: Imagine someone standing with out stretched arms and open hands with one hand holding the word passion and the other holding the word purpose.

What I would like you to consider is that passion is the present where others as well as ourselves see our emotions. Purpose is the future, our true north, where we constantly strive towards to reach our vision. And the performance is the individual with the outstretched hands. Performance is the collection of all past experiences and current actions where we continually apply knowledge as we hold our passion and purpose.

Passion exists with our purpose and performance as a partner to help achieve the present and the future that we desire for our families our friends our communities and ourselves.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Good Day. Thanks for visiting. I hope that you have enjoyed my articles. In 1999, I founded ADVANCED SYSTEMS because I saw that performance could and should be doubled in warp time. Individuals, small and large businesses could not afford expensive solutions that may or may not deliver improved results in 12 months.

From my corporate, small business and education experiences, I recognized the individuals must have opportunities for connecting their passion to their purpose to secure the desired performance results, but many lacked the necessary skills, strategies and tools.

With over 20 years in sales management and 10 years in education, I understand how to unite productivity with profitability by developing a proactive working culture. My previous experiences resulted in cost savings through one of the first implementations of a computer software in a wholesaler distributor to the creation of a vendor performance assessment.

Since facilitating over 500 sessions, developing and editing over 25 training programs and writing numerous articles focusing on performance improvement, I bring a results focused approach to my clients. Also, I am proud to be one of the first five nationally certified facilitators of America?s Rising Stars (a Student Leadership developmental curriculum).

My passion is to help others connect their passion to their purpose to double performance. As The small business coach in Chicago, my clients have easily doubled their performance. Since our greatest resource is our young people, I am now working with large urban schools to generate the same results.

Education Background

• Graduated with honors from Purdue University with a B.A. in Education
• Earned M.S. from Purdue University in Instructional Design and Curriculum
• Published in the national trade journal, The Supply House Times, and numerous national newsletters
• Developed seminars and training on diversity, communication, leadership, sales, effective trade show behavior, networking, knowledge management, goal setting and improved educational outcomes
• Co-authored M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential: 7 Capicities for Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement, to be available in 2006
• Working a another book focusing on performance in public education
• Speaker in a national bureau - Resource Associates Corporation