You’re Either Following Your Passion or You Are a “Loser”!

Back in November 2008, right around the 15th or so, I was watching who is now one of my favorite online video bloggers and host of Wine Library TV Gary Vaynerchuk, or as we all know him in Twitter as @Garyvee. This was maybe the second or 3rd time I was exposed to Gary, but in this particular live cast video he was doing on UStream hit me like a ton of bricks!

Gary said (and I so wish he was recording this) “You’re either following your passion or you are a “loser”!

Why this hit me more than any other self help audio, video or book I have read before is because maybe I resonate better with Gary Vaynerchuk than I do with almost anyone else who has said the same thing millions of times before, but maybe a little less direct. Gary has a way to cut through the BS and just be real! He has built his dream brick by brick, or in his case wine bottle by wine bottle, to where he is today. And of course the best thing about Gary is his passion… and he wears it on his sleeve for all to see!

So… up until today, or at least a few weeks back, when I decided it is time for change as I was indeed this “loser” Gary mentioned. When I was watching this video stream back in November I swear to God he was looking and talking direct to me, as if there was not 250+ other people in the room. It took me a while to not only get over this fact that I was indeed a “loser”, but to also really look back on my life and see where my passion for what I was doing ended… where I did work and play with passion, and how I could get myself back there again. The answers however are now becoming more clear!

So you may say “Doc, you are not a loser, do not be so hard on yourself”… and I would probably agree that I am not a loser in the general definition of the word, but all I know is life is too short to not to do what makes me happy both personally and professionally. Why sit here day in and day out not living 100% to the fullest and pushing myself 200% for what it is I love to do? I remember the days when I loved what I did so much that I worked around the clock… some days for days in a row with little sleep… but in the end I loved the result that came from the work I put into it.

So… I have decided to make some changes in what I do… and to prioritize what I do based on PASSION and true DESIRE. As more comes to light as to what these changes are going to be, I will post them here on my blog. 

I ask myself again today if am I this “loser” Gary Vaynerchuk spoke about? The answer is… not any more baby! And Gary… a huge thank you for the wake up call!

My name is Darin Berntson… but all my friends know, I go by Doc!

Image is (CC) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com, bub.blicio.us.