Without passion, you don't have energy; without energy, you have nothing.
― Donald Trump
If I had a nickel for every time some guru said success stems from passion, I'd be living in Mar-a-Lago.
Sure, passion's prerequisite―but far less so than money, talent, timing and luck.
Passion alone, however, can lead to distinction. It won't lead to "great;" but it can lead to "worst."
Consider the case of Ed Wood, the Hollywood hack who earned distinction as "worst director of all time."
Passion alone―and he was passionate―couldn't carry him to greatness. The tides ran against him.
"Ed Wood wasn’t the worst filmmaker of all time," says film critic Matt Singer, "but he might have been the unluckiest.
"His life story is a series of missed opportunities and broken promises. He would prepare a film, and the financing would fall through. He’d plan a project for an actor, and the actor would die. He made what would become one of the most famous movies in history, then thoughtlessly sold the rights to it for a single dollar to pay his rent."
"Passion is the genesis of genius," Tony Robbins says.
But passion alone can bear bitter fruit.
Unbacked by money, talent, timing and luck, passion is the font of failure.
