My thanks to David Kanigan at Lead.Learn.Live. for putting me onto an excellent piece by M.A. Tohami called “The 10 Habits of Passionate People.” It caught my eye because last week I wrote that being passionate is one of the things you absolutely need to do to make it as an indie.

From David Kanigan’s blog, Lead.Learn.Live.

I don’t know how many of these 10 you are doing, but like David, I come in around 7.5. On a couple of these, I am way underwater. I have never been an early riser, and I’m only a reluctant exerciser. Those are my two main deficiencies, but I am working on them.

I noticed Tohami has a note about Thomas Jefferson rising with the sun. Being a graduate of Mr. Jefferson’s University (U.Va.), I do remember reading somewhere that no matter what time he went to bed, he was always up by sunrise. Yes, but did he take naps? That’s the question.

I totally agree with Tohami’s point about the importance of networking with other passionate people. There is nothing worse than going out with coworkers and bellyaching about everything that’s wrong at the office. While some venting is probably healthy, I would suggest you extricate yourself from those situations as quickly as possible. Listening to and engaging in negative talk is a big time-waster and only detracts from your passion.

I was also pleased to see that Tohami is a fan of blogs. For those who have asked me from time to time why I do this crazy thing called blogging, he says it better than I could:

Have a Blog

“Blogs are much more powerful than most realize. They’re a simple way to explore and share the thoughts and beliefs you’re excited about and for people to immediately see and provide feedback.” – Scott Dinsmore of Live Your Legend

A blog is a multimedia platform through which you can share your passion with the world in text, audio or video formats. People can come read, listen or watch you delivering your value. And if they like what you do, they will share it with their friends and the community will grow.

It is also a perfect way to practice and share your passion with the world on a daily basis. It ensures a constant strong bond between you and your passion.

So give some thought to taking the blogging plunge. You’ll find the water’s just fine.