[private][private]On Wednesday September 8th, we’re interviewing Lauren Rosenfeld who co-authored the recently published book, “Your To Be List: Turn Those Dreaded To-Do’s into Meaningful Moments” with her husband James McMahon.  Lauren and James are also Co-Founders of Wisdomology.com, an international, interfaith community of seekers and sages on the web. They live in Asheville, North Carolina with their four children. She can be reached at www.wisdomology.com.

Dial in live at 347-205-9038 or via streaming radio at 9:00am PST at www.blogtalkradio.com/passionsandpossibilities

Lauren’s Passioneer Q & A

SO: What’s your definition of “passion?”

Passion is the energy that wakes you up in the morning and whispers to you that you can make the world a better, more beautiful place.  It is the beckoning call that moves you into the world and inspires you to live meaningfully.  It is the rhythm that makes life poetry.  It is the music that calls us to dance.

SO: What have been the key factors in your success and what one word best describes it?

I think my success lies in my authentic curiosity about the world, my love of people, my instinct to question, and my ability to listen to answers without judgment.  I have an honest ability to see the good in others and a desire to draw that good out.  If I could choose one word: willingness.

SO: What has been your biggest challenge(s) in leaping into your passions, and how you have addressed them?

My biggest challenge has been being able to balance the work that comes with pursuing my passions.  When I am deeply involved in any work that involves my passions, it is hard – if not impossible – to do that work half way.  I feel driven to see that work through to its completion, and to bring it into the world as a shining example.  So when I have multiple projects and priorities about which I feel deep passion, it can be challenging to balance it all.  So for example if I am writing, and teaching, and caring for my four wonderful children, it can be hard to remember to give back to myself.  And of course without compassion and love for self, there is not real, genuine compassion and love for others.

SO: Who or what inspired you to leap into your passion?

My husband James and I inspire one another.  He and I co-founded Wisdomology.com together and we also co-authored Your To Be List: Turn Those Dreaded To-Do’s into Meaningful Moments Every Day. I think we see within one another a spark of light that needs to shine in the world.  We have from the start, always encouraged one another to leap, to take chances, and to offer the world our best.  We did this when we got engaged after only four weeks of knowing one another.  We did this when we decided to adopt our two sons from Kazakhstan in the wake of September 11^th.  We did it when we left our life in Atlanta and moved to Asheville to start Wisdomology.  And most recently, we did this when we decided to work together to write Your To Be List.

SO: Do you have a quote that you would like to share that speaks of you and your passion?

My very favorite quote, which appears in Your To Be List is from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.  In the last interview he gave shortly before his death, he was asked what wise words he would like to pass along to young people.  This is what he said: “Know that every deed counts; that every word is power.  And above all remember that despite all absurdities and all frustrations and all disappointments, the meaning of life is to build your life as if it were a work of art.”

SO: What do you hope people would say about you when you’re gone?

I would like for people to say that I truly heard them.  That I truly saw them.  That I made them feel that they truly mattered.  I would like them to say that I felt compassion for them – and that I helped to shed light on what it means to be a human being.  And that in that light, they began to build their life as if it were a work of art.

SO: What three brief tips can you give to somebody making the leap into their passion?

• Know that there is something inside you that can only be revealed into this world by and through you – and by withholding that passion from the world you are withholding a gift that may otherwise not find its way into the world.  And what a tragedy for the world if that is never revealed.
• Find a support network.  A cheerleading squad.  People who believe in you, who love your idea.  In moments of doubt you can always come to these people for support.
• Don’t forget your accomplishments:  the small steps you make on your journey. Sometimes we look where we are and we think, “I’ve accomplished nothing.” But if we look behind us, we will see that we’ve come quite a way, step by step.  Every step you take matters.

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