Passion
A Personal Reflection by Medrice Coluccio

"Simply put, passion is following the calling of your heart with boundless energy and irrepressible enthusiasm.  Passion is at the core of your calling, while energy and enthusiasm are outcomes of passion.

"My passion is serving in health care ministry. I knew I was called to be a leader in health care, to be the best that I could be for the benefit of others, and I just pursued that pathway. It truly was about finding my inner peace, my inner calling, and being confident enough to follow it by giving my best. That’s what passion is. It’s not being the best you can be for yourself, it’s being the best you can be for others. Finding one’s passion is a matter of self discovery; finding what you really want to do in life and how you want to give it to others.

"My fit with Peace Health is fabulous, because my passion aligns beautifully with our mission. Our mission is synchronous to the reason why I wanted to be in health care. And our values fit my passion – you have to be a good steward, a collaborator, work for social justice, and respect others. I truly believe that you must be your best in order to bring the necessary energy and enthusiasm to bear in a genuine way. It just fits.

"Earlier in my life, playing tennis was a passion. At the time, my father gave me an important insight when he told me, 'You don’t talk about being good at tennis, you show people. You let the racket do the talking.'  And I think that’s how your passion inspires people, by role modeling, by being genuine and letting your energy be infectious.

"When you find your passion, opportunities follow. And if you exercise those opportunities in the spirit they’re intended, it’s magic. In some ways passion is synonymous with leadership; and I equate genuineness with passion. If you’re not genuine as a leader, it’s transparent. But if you have genuine passion, your energy and enthusiasm become infectious. As a result, you’re  better able to leverage the diversity amongst individuals; to leverage the special gifts that everyone brings to serve a common purpose, a common vision."