7 Lessons for a Passion-Filled Life

What I’ve Learned from 57 of the World’s Most Inspiring People

Illustration by Mihajlo Stojanovic

"I think what we're all seeking is the rapturous experience of being alive." — Joseph Campbell

What a year! On Fire is officially one year old. To everyone who has read, shared, been interviewed, or introduced me to passionate people: thank you. It’s been an absolute joy to have a space to geek out about passion with all of you.

I’m always fascinated by how much awareness shapes our lives. When we start paying attention to something, it seems to pop up everywhere. For me, what started as a lack of passion in my own life became a full-blown search, then an obsession: how could I reignite that deep, all-consuming excitement I used to feel as a kid?

That search led me to a surprising discovery: passionate people are everywhere — you just have to look for them. Almost everyone has something they’re passionate about, even if they don’t pursue it to the point of full-on obsession. And passion is contagious — exposure to passionate people sparks passion in ourselves.

Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing 57 of the world’s most passionate individuals from all walks of life. Each of them was generous enough to share their insights, struggles, and joys. It’s been an honor to listen and learn from them, and now, I’d like to share some of what I’ve discovered along the way.

Here are seven things I learned about passion this year, with actionable takeaways you can apply to your own journey.

A few on discovering a passion…

1. Passion is All in the Details.

Every single passionate person I’ve spoken to shares one key trait: they’re obsessed with the little details. The kind of details that might seem boring or unimportant to anyone else.

For Steve Paranto, it’s about the precise angle of a pickleball paddle for that killer serve — something he’s been refining for over 50 years. Steve Sando? He’s captivated by beans. Yes, beans. He finds endless fascination in their flavor, history, and cultivation. And Rayron Gracie and I could talk about jiu-jitsu minutiae for hours without getting bored.

The takeaway: Wondering if you’re truly passionate about something? Pay attention: do you love the details? Passion often lives in the micro moments.

2. Passions are Rarely Love at First Sight.

Sure, there are lightning-bolt moments. Megan Vaughan Giesbrecht fell in love with handstands the instant she stepped into a gym as a kid. For Dr. Gary Greenberg, the first time he looked into a microscope was transformative.

But for most people, passion isn’t instant. It’s something that develops over time. What begins as curiosity can snowball, taking us down rabbit holes that reshape our lives. As Presidential historian Louis Picone told me, “It’s like amnesia. One day you look around and wonder, ‘How did I end up here?’”

The takeaway: Most of the time, passion grows like love — slowly. The more you explore and appreciate the complexity of something, the more your passion for it deepens.

3. Curiosity Lights the Way.

One of my favorite questions to ask passionate people in the interviews I do is how they discovered their passion. Time and again, the answer is the same: they followed their curiosity.

When they felt that initial spark — whether it was tiny or electric — they didn’t dismiss it. Instead, they leaned into it. They read books, sought out mentors, signed up for classes, and explored every avenue that curiosity opened for them. They gave themselves permission to let their curiosity lead.

One example of this is writer A.J. Jacobs, who says curiosity has been the driving force behind his entire quest-filled life: “I may not be the smartest, best looking, or most athletic,” he joked in our interview. “But I do have a high level of curiosity, and I feel very lucky about that because I think it’s a great drive.”

The takeaway: When you feel a spark of curiosity, don’t ignore it. Follow the rabbit hole — you might just find your passion waiting at the bottom.

And a few on sustaining passion…

4. Passion Doesn’t Mean Easy.

There’s a common misconception that finding your passion is the hard part, and once you’ve found it, everything falls into place. Smooth sailing from there, right? Not exactly.

As I wrote in a recent article about my own challenges, passionate living comes with a cost. It requires sacrifice — whether it’s time, energy, or even financial resources. It opens you up to the risk of burnout and, sometimes, heartbreak. Choosing to pursue your passion means embracing the highs but also accepting the challenges that come with it.

The 50+ people I’ve interviewed agreed: it’s not easy. But they also agreed it’s worth it. Passion demands something from you, but what it gives back is far greater.

The takeaway: Don’t expect an easy ride. Passion comes with challenges, but it’s a trade-off worth making.

5. A Little Obsession Fuels Passion for the Long Haul.

Psychologists who study passion often distinguish between two types: harmonious passion and obsessive passion. Harmonious passion enriches your life, blending smoothly with your other priorities. Obsessive passion, on the other hand, can consume you, leading to burnout or imbalance. The first is often seen as sustainable, while the second burns hot and fast, risking an eventual fizzle.

But in my experience, and from observing the most passionate people I’ve interviewed, a little bit of obsession seems necessary to sustain passion over the long haul. The most passionate people I know can’t help but let their minds drift back to their craft, and let it take up a significant portion of their lives.

Take my friend, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman. When he’s not exploring the intricacies of human potential, he devotes nearly all his free time to mentalism. He’s endlessly fascinated by it — and that’s what keeps his passion alive.

To me, this balance — what I’d call “harmonious obsession” — is a secret ingredient for sustainable passion and excellence. It’s that healthy dose of fixation that keeps you going even when the initial excitement fades.

The takeaway: To sustain a passion, let yourself get a little obsessed. Balance, in the traditional sense, is unrealistic in a passion-driven life.

6. Rest is Essential to Sustain Passion.

So far, I haven’t encountered many people who’ve admitted to burning out on their passion — perhaps because there’s some shame associated with it. But the risk of burnout is very real, especially when you’re grinding day after day at something you love, often without consistent external rewards — like many athletes and artists do.

If I’ve learned anything from my 15-year career in fitness, it’s that carving out time for rest and recovery is non-negotiable if you want to sustain your craft. In fitness, this means treating recovery activities — like stretching, mobility work, saunas, or days off — as essential as the workouts themselves. I force myself to take Sundays off as a sacred day of rest. I don’t always want to — exercise makes me feel good physically and mentally, and it’s tempting to train anyway. But this commitment to recovery has kept me injury-free and passionate about fitness for this long.

The same principle applies to any passion. The more passionate and obsessed you are, the more crucial it is to take intentional breaks. Even if your craft isn’t physical, your mind needs time to rest. It’s far better to proactively carve out time during your day or week to step away than to push yourself to the point of burnout, where your body or brain forces you to stop.

The takeaway: If you want to sustain your passion, make rest a priority. Proactive recovery isn’t a weakness — it’s a strategy for the long haul.

7. Passion Doesn’t Last Without Commitment.

The lows that come with pursuing a passion can be tough — really tough. Whether it’s hearing crickets from the creative gatekeepers after pouring your heart into a creative project, losing a big competition, or grinding day after day with no obvious external reward, it’s only natural to want to quit. Most people would.

But the people who don’t? They’re not relying on the fleeting feeling of passion — that spark aliveness and excitement that’s arguably one of the greatest parts of the human experience. Instead, they committed to their passion long before the hard times hit. For them, quitting isn’t even an option. They just keep going.

“If you follow that feeling [of passion], you won’t show up very often,” sports psychologist Mark Aoyagi explained in our interview. “But if you follow commitment… you’re probably going to show up, be engaged, and get the most out of it.”

The takeaway: Passion alone won’t sustain you in tough times. Commitment will. Decide ahead of time that you’re in it for the long haul.

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As always, thank you for reading On Fire and for supporting my mission to make this a more passion-filled world. I can’t wait to keep researching and talking to passionate people in 2025. And I’m always looking for passionate people to interview — if you have someone in mind, reach out here.

With fire,

Krista

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