Life
Passion + Love + The Brain
By Christopher Duff
Steven Spielberg was rejected from his dream school, the University of Southern California, three times. Marilyn Monroe’s first contract with Columbia Pictures expired because they told her she was not pretty or talented enough to be an actress.
R.H. Macy had a history failing businesses, including a dud – Macy’s in New York City. After Sidney Poitier’s first audition, the casting director instructed him to just stop wasting everyone’s time and get a job as a dishwasher or something else other than acting. Albert Einstein did not speak until age four and did not read until age seven. His teachers labelled him ‘slow’ and ‘mentally handicapped.’ But Einstein just had a different way of thinking.
Oprah Winfrey was fired from her television reporting job because they told her she was not fit to be on screen. Henry Ford’s first auto company went out of business. He abandoned a second because of a fight and a third went downhill because of declining sales.
Seven different people. Seven different circumstances of adversity.
Have you ever wondered why many of the greats were able to press through so much? Or why they were able to stand up against the odds and choose to keep going? Or were humiliated but never allowed that to stop them?
One word: Passion!
You may find it surprising that the brain of a person who is passionate fires and responds remarkably similarly to the brain of someone in love. And contrary to popular beliefs, love does not happen in the heart. It happens in the brain.
