I just discovered this presentation from TEDxAustin 2010 as I was searching for this year’s videos. It is an amazing presentation from Steven Tomlinson on his own experiences about looking for fulfillment (both professional and personal) in his work. This video(despite the maddeningly bad audio quality) struck such a chord with me that I immediately watched it again.

I can absolutely identify with having multiple passions and the desire to follow them all. I can also identify with his discussion point about making impulsive decisions. Often we champion the person who makes the big roll of the dice and succeeds. The important thing is to make sure that when you decide to roll the dice, it comes from a place of inspiration and not from desperation(or fear). It’s difficult to know our own motivation sometimes.

His statement that struck me the most:

Don’t care about the fact that you’re not moving fast enough. Don’t let “The Big” that you aspire to, be a barrier to “The Small” that will get you there.

In case the audio is bugging you too much to listen, here is the text of his presentation >>>