I recently watched Canadian economist Larry Smith’s TEDX (funny, no-holds-barred) talk on ‘Why you will fail to have a great career’ which ultimately reveals that you need to find your passion, pursue it and not let fear hold you back to have a great career. But how do you find your passion? Take up lots of interests, apparently. As Napoleon Bonaparte once said, ‘There are two levers for moving men: interest and fear.’[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHTawgyKWQ[/youtube]

Resort and tour companies know only too well that time away from our everyday work gives us the opportunity to explore other things, and so they offer a huge variety of activities which could possibly lead to long-term interests (of course, Groupon provides a cheaper stay-at-home alternative) – from the artistic (think napkin lessons and rock painting) to the cultural (such as language courses and landscaping tours).

My friend Mark was interested to hear I had been to Koh Phi Phi. ‘I learnt to dive there and have never dived since! You’re kind of spoilt by the warm, clear waters there. Quarries in England just wouldn’t cut it,’ he said.

And I’m currently looking out of my wrap-around window of Aleenta Hua Hin-Pranburi Resort and Spa villa at the kite surfers skimming the crest of the sea. The warm, shallow waters and gentle wind provide ideal conditions. The thought of heading to Brighton to drag on a wetsuit for choppy, grey waters just isn’t quite as inviting.

I guess the start of every interest should get you fired up, but if you’re really passionate (aka weird or obsessive, as Larry Smith teases) about something (or someone) you’ll stick at it when the conditions aren’t so favourable…