“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci

Sometimes it really helps to keep things simple. With this in mind, let’s take a look at three P’s that will help us all get wherever we want to go:

Passion: This is the fuel that lights our fire that keeps us going every day. It drives us forward. It makes the impossible happen. It energizes us and lifts us into realms of the imagination where our ideas can take flight. It’s invisible — and yet it’s not. You can see it in the way someone’s eyes light up when they talk about a project they love. You can hear it in their voice when they describe a breakthrough they’ve had. “Always be the most enthusiastic person in a room,” a dad once told his son — what great advice! And enthusiasm is contagious — when you share it, other people can catch it.

Persistence: Without this precious power, it’s easy for passion to fizzle out and fade away. However you describe it — doggedness, stick-to-it-I’ve-ness, stubbornness, perseverance, staying power — this is the track we have to run on. Our path may be rocky and ragged, but with the help of persistence, we can go over, through, under, and around any obstacle in our way. When we cultivate our persistence by consistently pushing on and keeping on, we give ourselves permission to succeed. “Don’t quit, can’t fail” — that’s one motto we can take to our hearts.

Patience: If persistence is staying power, then we could say that patience is “knowing power.” It’s the quiet strength that underlies persistence and keeps passion burning. Patience lets us take the long view — it enables us to remain calm and focused when we hit the roadblocks that threaten to derail us. It is the sense that, in the end, all will be well. If we can tap the wellspring of patience within us, then we can touch the quiet power that gives rise to creativity and commitment.

Passion, persistence, and patience — these are all within our grasp. We can reach for them any day and every day as we all write on!