A Guide to Leading Passionately
Motivational speaker inspires students during MLK Days of Celebration.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day may only come around once every January, but Stonehill’s Office of Intercultural Affairs extended the holiday this year through their MLK Days of Celebration program.
As part of this week-long event, staff members hosted workshops and service opportunities, allowing students to honor the life and work of the famed civil rights leader. MLK Days of Celebration concluded January 20 with a keynote address by motivational speaker Tony Thompson.
“The intention behind bringing Tony to campus was to emphasize Dr. King’s legacy of leadership and serving others. We hope that attendees were able to take something away from it to strengthen their leadership and passion to serve in their respective circles,” said Teddi Nguyen Lydon, the Office of Intercultural Affair’s Assistant Director for Mentorship & Advising.
During his speech, Thompson expressed his belief that Dr. King made such an impact on the world because his passion for civil rights allowed him to stay true to his goals. To help students better understand how they can tap into their own passions, Thompson structured his talk around three questions.
Motivational speaker Tony Thompson meets with students in the Office of Intercultural Affairs.
1. What is passion? Thompson discussed the importance of defining passion as a concept before figuring out what yours is. While many associate this virtue with romance and love, Thompson feels there is more to it than that. He argues that your passion is an internal driving force that should push you outside your comfort zone.
2. How do you connect with your passion? Thompson discussed two ways to find your passion. The first involves ignoring unwanted opinions, both internal and external. “There are [things] you know you need to unplug from,” he said. “They’re not adding to who you are. They’re not adding to the fire. They’re taking away from it and putting it out.” The second way you can connect with passion is by remembering all your victories, both small and large. “Some of us aren’t focused on our wins because we are focused on what we haven’t accomplished,” Thompson said. He noted that it was the small wins that kept Dr. King going during many difficult periods of his life. The speaker encouraged students to document their small and large wins so that they have something to keep them going on days when they feel like giving up.
3. Why is it important to connect with causes you are passionate about? Thompson believes working on projects you truly care about allows you to push through challenges that may arise along your journey. “Passion creates an intrinsic motivation,” he said. The speaker suggested that students should “passion test” every path they end up travelling. In other words, if one does not truly care about doing something, they may need to rethink the decision to do it and find something else better suited to their interests.