The Lightning Effect –– Striking With Such Force That Passion And Purpose Fuse Together

There’s nothing that beats sitting on the porch, listening to the sky rumble, and watching a ferocious lightning bolt strike with such precision and forceful intent. The process from infancy to maturity for that lightning bolt is fascinating, relatable, and represents more than a natural phenomenon.

We’ve all witnessed friends experience their lightning bolt moments – where passion fuses with opportunity. We’ve watched them wander down paths that are clearly laid out and defined for them. They’ve utilized their surroundings, collected their necessary resources, focused their energy, and struck with such force on their targets that the world feels their impact. It’s a delicious blend of hard work, relentless pursuit of their dreams, a little luck, and a few moments of being brave.

This theme of passion-fuelled living seems to be a popular topic of generation Y, and it pierces violently through the stories of a lot of people before us. It’s both inspiring and frustrating to profile the lives of those around you who are so cemented in a life of authenticity and a career that fuses everything they love about the world with a way to make their living. They’re so secure in their decisions and have no doubt in their minds that they’re doing what they were built to do. They’ve had their lightning bolt moment and it was beautiful to witness.

What makes them different? Are they more in tune with themselves? Have they taken more risks? Experienced more of life?

Much like the water drops that evaporate from the ground to gather in the cloud, we wander through our lives collecting. We dabble in all sorts of activities and learn about our skills, talents, and abilities. We gather triumphs, setbacks, experiences, and failures. As we accumulate, our cloud energizes and grows, and we hone in on a specific set of qualities that are uniquely ours and perfectly suited for a purpose that is solely our own.

Eventually, when we’ve harnessed enough of that energy and the right opportunity arises, we can strike with such deliberate intent and force that passion and purpose connect to create something substantial, beautiful, powerful, and uniquely ours. It’s a connection that utilizes all of our collected education, talents, abilities, and triumphs.

For those of us that are still in the gathering stage and not quite ready to explode onto the scene, know that everything you’ve done up to this point in your life has served a purpose and will eventually come together in a burst of tremendous force. We often wish that moment would reveal itself sooner than it seems to want to. If we accept that it’s necessary for us to gain a little more education through experience, and we understand that there are still a few stones left unturned, we’ll be well prepared to strike when that moment arrives.

Be like a lightning bolt and continue to harness all of your energy. Collect experiences, uncover new abilities, and extract all you can from your journey. When that opportunity reveals itself, use all of the energy you’ve gathered to strike with such incredible force that passion and purpose fuse into one and you can supply the world with all you have to offer.