Overcoming Laziness

What Steve Irwin Taught Us About Having Passion For What You Do

Posted by john on September 8th, 2006 — Posted in Cures For Laziness

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, didn’t create his documentaries for the money, but instead because of his lifelong passion for animals. He was “a dedicated naturalist who was actively committed to highlighting the plight of threatened species, and championing the cause of conservation. Steve Irwin was a special person whose energy and enthusiasm encouraged a whole new audience to better understand and become involved in conservation and science.” (Source: Time.com’s Obituary of Irwin)

That, then, is one cure for laziness:

Discover Something You Love Doing…

And Then Become Obsessed With It.

Steve Irwin was completely genuine. He truly cared about what he did. An Australian newspaper last April revealed that Irwin quietly lobbied the Australian government to cancel plans to make a crocodile hunting industry for tourists in the Northern Territory. He wasn’t motivated by fame — only to help the crocs that he loved. (The only way the newspaper discovered it was from Freedom of Information requests.)

Irwin made millions, but lived in a modest house and drove an old jeep. He plowed most of his earnings into his Australia Zoo, the Wildlife Warriors organization he founded, and toward buying up tracts of land solely for nature conservation. Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with being motivated by money, but there’s nothing remarkable about it either. And wouldn’t be better to make money doing something you love, rather than something you have to endure?

Steve Irwin said, “My belief is that what comes across on the television is a capture of my enthusiasm and my passion for wildlife.”

If there’s something for you and me to learn from the example of the Crocodile Hunter, it is to pick a cause to live for, above and beyond just making money. What is something you could become obsessed with?

That way you’ll enjoy your work — and imagine, if you could wake up every day with just 10% of the passion that Irwin had, then any laziness you may have been feeling will simply vanish… since you’ll have something to live for and get excited about.

Question: As an excercise, let’s try this. Let’s say you’ve made enough money to live off your investments for the rest of your life. What would you then do with the extra money you make? Would you put it into buying up land for conservation? Would you donate it to cancer research? To college scholarships? To something else?

Post your comment to let me know!