Recently, my wife and I acquired Kung Fu Panda 2. Do you remember the first one? In the first Kung Fu Panda, Po is unsure of who he is and therefore, what his destiny is. He trains to discover himself as the true Dragon Warrior and not a kung fu meditation interpretation blunder. He finds himself. He is Po; the Dragon Warrior.
In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po goes on a journey to discover his inner peace. He accomplishes this momentous task by discovering himself, once again. The movie leaves off with a nice teaser of Po’s father discovering that he is still alive, setting us all up for what seems to be a Kung Fu Panda 3, where Po will have to rediscover his identity for a third time, due to the impending meeting of his parents.
I found this continual self-discovery slightly annoying at first. Po discovers himself. Po discovers himself again. Po is likely to have to discover himself a third time. It’s as if the good folks at DreamWorks Animation just couldn’t figure out another story surrounding the Dragon Warrior legacy. Goodness knows, it’s hard to beat a good panda on the big screen so, who really cares about the story?
*Note: Don’t even get me started on the HORRIFIC voice acting of Angelina Jolie (Tigress) in this movie… I love me some Angelina, but she is an actress with her expressions, not her voice, and this movie proves it.
I was content to rip this movie’s plot apart (and probably will still) until I realized that this view of constant self-rediscovery is in fact the misguided premise of most of our lives. I don’t think it’s supposed to be.
We tend to define ourselves by what makes us money. No matter how you slice it, this method of defining ourselves places money at the root of who we ARE. I mean, sure, I like money. If you say you don’t like money, you’re a liar. Get off my blog, liar face! If you think about it long enough, it’ll make you sad. When faced with the question of “Who are you?” the man that loves restoring cars in his garage, loves his kids and his wife, and goes to car shows with his son on the weekends, answers, “I’m a UPS driver.” This man is a liar face, and he doesn’t even know it!
I’m not saying that someone is or isn’t what they do, necessarily. I’m saying the waters have been muddied, and in an attempt to purify them, I’m asking you to consider what you are passionate about as a definition of who you are. I am personally not interested in restoring cars, and I’m most certainly not interested in being a UPS driver. But if I had to support my family by doing something I was NOT passionate about, I would probably go for being a UPS driver because of the good pay and benefits… but does that mean I just redefined myself on the inside?
My friend Joe Stevens is an incredibly gifted musician. He has traveled the country, playing many concerts in front of many people page. He is one of those rare musicians I’ve encountered where mere talent is left in the dust by sheer undeniable God-given ability. Recently, Joe took on a job delivering bread to stores to support his wife and new baby boy. I’ve actually heard Joe answer the question “What do you do?” with “I have a bread route.” Joe is not technically incorrect. He does that thing he said. The problem is, we keep trying to define each other by what we do to make money. Money seems to have a firm grasp on our identities! You might deliver bread, Joe Stevens, but you are in fact a musician, through and through. Delivering bread is just a little annoyance you have to deal with while on this blue marble.
I made this mistake recently, when my buddy Rich Kirkpatrick and his daughter came to visit from California. Rich was asking me what exactly I’m trying to accomplish with my career, and I said, “My goal is to be a feature film director, but I’m not making much money with my films right now.” Rich basically answered, “What does that have to do with anything?” I was a little stunned by his Jesus-style, question-for-question wisdom and had little to say in response. He said, “You’re a filmmaker. That’s who you are.”
I have various ways I pick up money when I need it, but the more I thought about it, he’s totally right. All totaled, I have written, directed, filmed, and edited over 30 short films, 7 music videos, 2 commercials, and various EPK and interview type projects. Who’s to say that I’m not a filmmaker? That’s who I am. One day, I may have to go drive a UPS truck, but I’m still going to be a filmmaker. Joe Stevens is still a musician. And Elvis Presley is still alive (ba ha ha!).
You have a passion. If you stop pursuing it, cultivating it, practicing it, you’re going to end up dead inside (depressed). You’ll still be “doing” something that others will try to define you by, but they’ll still be wrong because what you are “doing” left you empty and without a sense of purpose. You have a purpose, and that purpose is your passion. Some of us are just a little lucky and make money from that passion, but it’s just an added little bonus to us; it’s not WHY we do what we do. Keep at that passion! It may not turn into being lucrative, but you are still refined by it. And the next time someone makes the mistake of asking you what you do, answer them with a hearty, “I am a [fill in your passion], but I [fill in your annoyance] just to pay the bills… you know how it is.”
What about you? What is the passion that you are not pursuing, even if there is no money in it?