2022 is the Year of the Passion Project: what I learned from mine and why you need one
“So basically what you’re saying is that you won covid,” a new friend joked recently over brunch after finding out that I released my debut novel, Trading Secrets, in May 2020, at the height of the pandemic lockdown. I certainly wouldn’t say my pandemic experience felt like ‘winning’ by any metric. I did, however, accomplish something I’d only dreamed of for nearly a decade, writing a book and releasing it into the world, and that was a pretty incredible feeling. I’m pleased to say the Trading Secrets sequel, Risky Assets, will be released later this year.
Howard Thurman reminds us:
Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -Howard Thurman
My passion was, is storytelling. Yours could be an act of service, for example, teaching ESL to immigrants or volunteering at a women’s shelter. Maybe you’ve always loved working with your hands and want to unplug by refurbishing model Ts or learning to cross-stitch. Chances are, you would be quick to reply if I asked what your passion was. Whatever it is, I hope that you can devote some time this year to what makes you come alive. We’ll all be better for your unique contribution.
The enormity and uncertainty of the pandemic made us all take a hard look in the mirror and question our priorities and preconceived notions of success. I recently heard this pandemic self-reflection coined “covid clarity,” and I love the concept.
If I’m being honest, I defined myself by my professional and academic success for most of my adult life. When the world slowed down, I realized that it was the wrong lens and that work/life balance meant so much more than succeeding at work and making it to the gym. Each of us is here to make an impact and leave a legacy. As I thought about mine, I realized we must allow ourselves to experience the fullness life has to offer—and not simply for our own individual pleasure. It makes us better partners, better parents, better friends, and better employees.
I began my love affair with storytelling in the 2010s. I was going to write a how-to guide for modern women to balance the demands of healthy living with busy careers based on my eighteen years practicing and teaching yoga and meditation, and more recently, my nutritionist training. It was perfectly aligned with what I thought I wanted to write. Imagine my astonishment when I sat down to work on my how-to, and time after time, I pulled out a notebook to write a different storyline that was nagging at me—a Wall Street thriller with a complex heroine influenced by my year-and-a-half stint in securities litigation.
Talk about imposter syndrome. I knew nothing about creative writing. I didn’t have an MFA from a top university. The last creative writing course I took was Intro to Poetry in undergrad. I was trained to write legal briefs, memos, and legislation. I wrote serious stuff, and I excelled at it. Why was I venturing into an arena where I was a novice? I couldn’t answer that, but I knew it to my core that I had to keep going.
What made me continue was how I felt when I was writing and watching the story unfold on my laptop screen. I finally understood what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi meant in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
He defines the concept of flow as “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
“Flow: the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
I was in the flow! I had a creative outlet, a positive escape from the alarming statistics and news cycles (let’s be honest—the Zoom happy hours and bread baking got old fairly quickly—for me at least). I refined my manuscript every night after work and on the weekends (in between scrambled trips to my local Duane Reade because someone said they had Clorox wipes in stock—remember those not-so-distant-past days?). Between my pandemic anxiety and working on my project, I’m not sure if I slept any significant amount for months. It felt like a miracle, then, when sometime in mid-April 2020, my sleep-deprived self had created something that could be called a book.
So now what? I basically had two options: I could go the traditional publishing route and begin querying agents. Or I could release the book on my own terms by self-publishing. Traditional publishing is challenging because it can take many years to get a book out into the world, and I felt an overwhelming desire to release the book in 2020.
It took me less than a day to make the decision—I didn’t want to wait two years or longer. I would publish the thing myself. Despite it being one of the biggest risks I’d ever taken, I felt more certain in my decision than any other I’d made.
I got to work on the logistics and to my amazement, it all fell into place—and a month before my planned release date! I moved up my book birthday (or as they say in the biz, my pub date) of my debut novel to May 4, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Besides the many ways your life will be enriched by pursuing a passion, learning the nuances of a new industry or a new craft is an incredibly valuable experience.
I’ve grown in ways I never would’ve imagined by publishing a book. It has made me a stronger communicator. I’ve come to understand the importance and power of social media.
I’ve learned that I can take neither criticism nor praise too personally. Some people will love what I create, and no matter what I do, some people will never like my work. Andy Warhol instructed, “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they’re deciding, make even more art.” I remind myself of this often.
I’ve learned that I may as well create something authentically me, instead of trying to please the people in the cheap seats. As one of my favorite authors, James Clear, points out in Atomic Habits, "You can either be judged because you created something or ignored because you left your greatness inside of you. Your call."
You can either be judged because you created something or ignored because you left your greatness inside of you. Your call." –James Clear
I’ve loved every minute of releasing my story into the world and learned so much about myself, my perseverance, and my dreams in the process. Clear says something else spot on—“If you think you can learn a lot reading books, try writing one."
So. What does this have to do with you and why you need a passion project? Well, finding mine has been such an incredible game changer in my life and I wholeheartedly agree with Howard Thurman—the world needs more people who have come alive. My hope is that passing along how positive it has been in my life to pursue one of my passions will be the push you need if you've been putting it off. The world needs your contribution now more than ever.
I hope this year brings you the space to explore what makes you come alive.
Cheers to a joyful & passionate 2022.
rachael eckles, trading secrets, risky assets, best thrillers, sequel, book one, debut novel