That day has finally come where we are beginning the journey of a lifetime. We have the opportunity to travel the country in a gigantic RV to ask questions to successful, passionate professionals so we can learn more about life. And we get to take you on the journey through this blog.

How cool is that?

What we are doing with Pursue the Passion is special, but it has been going on since the beginning of time. People in search of advice have always sought out others to provide them with advice.

Napolean Hill did it with Think and Grow Rich.

Po Bronson did it with What Should I Do With My Life.

That one seventeen year old did it with Wisdom For a Young CEO.

Do you know of any other examples? I’m genuinely interested…

It’s that time again to get excited on Friday. Here are five things I’m excited about, besides my little sister Janae turning 20 today…Happy Birthday!

1) Ummmm….how about kicking off the Pursue the Passion tour on Monday? The 14,000 mile, 90 day tour begins July 2nd and will be the opportunity of a lifetime. I have no idea what will happen, but I’m excited to find out.

2) I’m excited to pick up a completely wrapped RV today. The thirty foot RV we are taking around the country is going to look like a tour bus. I can’t wait to see it.

3) I’m excited that I am meeting with Good Morning Arizona traffic reporter Bruce Haffner on Tuesday for an interview in his helicopter. I have to be at the airfield at 5:15am and its a good possibility I will taker my first ever helicopter ride. I’m excited about the possibility of being in for three hours to get majestic views of the Phoenix desert.

4) I’m excited about being featured in the Phoenix Business Journal today. I haven’t seen the article yet, so if you find it, send it to me.

5) I’m excited about hosting the first ever Passion Hour event at Half Moon Grill on Monday at 6pm-7:00pm in Phoenix. We are inviting Phoenicians and friends who are interested in the trip, and like minded passionate professionals to connect for a little after hours networking. Should be a great time, and if you’re not in Phoenix, we will be in your city shortly. Come join us and you can check out our RV!

What are you excited about on a Friday?

Similar to the Friday 5 posts, where I list the top five things I’m excited about on a Friday, I’d like to begin a new series of posts on Thursdays that feature people in the process of pursuing the passion. The individuals featured in these posts have not yet reached their destination, are not considered “successful” by society’s standards, but are taking a risk by following something that is meaningful to them.

There is nothing more admirable than those who take calculated risks. I would like for these posts to be a small way we can assist individuals in need of a little help to realize their dreams.

To kick off the “Pursuit of a Passion” posts, I can think of no one better to feature than Jay Whiting. Jay will be going on the Pursue the Passion tour as our director of multimedia, but his true passion lies within the music industry.

Jay has been crashing on my couch for the last two months and getting by on a budget unbeknownst to many of us. He has eaten more Hot Pockets than any human has ever consumed before (thank you Nestle sponsorship). He diligently works away at Pursue the Passion videos and admin issues by day, and focuses on his passion at night.

Why is he doing this?

Read the full interview »

Is it me or is the “pursuit of a passion” popping up everywhere these days?

You have Lexus and their “Pursuit of Perfection.”

Excedrin says that nothing can stop you from pursuing the passion, while Monster.com says that when you find a job, you find a passion.

Will Smith did the Pursuit of Happiness. Dassault Falcon Aircraft apparently engineers their aircrafts with passion.

Microsoft says that your potential is their passion, while Grant Thorton has a passion for the business of accounting.

As long as we are on the topic of drawing similarities, American Express and their “Members Project” logo looks very familiar, as does American Rights at Work, and even Shaq’s new “Big” project.

What other companies use passion or the pursuit in their slogans?

One week until Pursue the Passion hits the road on it’s 2007 tour! Woo hoo!

I am off to Las Vegas, NV today to attend the annual SHRM conference. Fifteen thousand human resource professionals will be there. I figure that at least a few of the attendees will know people who would make a great interview on the tour.

So I’m off to collect business cards, hand out business cards, make connections all over the country, and in my farfetched dreams, book an interview with Lance Armstrong. Apparently he is the guest speaker.

Wish me luck because I have no idea what’s going to happen! All I know is that a limo driver will be at the airport waiting for me with my name on a sign.

It’s that time of the week to get excited again! Here are the five things I am excited about on the first Friday of summer.

1) I am excited about getting an in-kind sponsorship from Kronik Energy Drinks. Yesterday Jay and I went to go pick up 4 cases of their beverages that are named Grind, Low Carb, Energy, and Entourage. Jay sampled the Entourage while I stuck to the Grind.

I’m excited about using these drinks to get through the long days on the road and the early morning interviews.

2) Yesterday I wrote the biggest check I’ve ever written in my life to purchase the newest 30 foot edition to our team, the RV Arvydis Sabonis. I’m excited because I’m now an RV owner! We have some video in the works that captures the whole experience, so stay tuned.

3) Many of you have seen my e-book, but I still have dreams of writing a “real” book about my experiences on the 2006 tour. I’m excited because this week I found inspiration in a few different areas and decided to go back to the drawing board with how I would write the book. I’m excited about getting down to business this weekend.

4) I’m excited Jay Whiting got a hair cut. It was getting scary for a minute there, and now he looks so fresh and so clean.

5) I’m excited to have booked some really cool interviews this week. The list includes a Sea World Killer Whale trainer in San Diego, a tattoo artist in Venice Beach, a bodybuilder on Muscle Beach, and the founder of Fairytale Brownies in Phoenix.

Bonus: I’m excited it’s Zach’s last day of work before he joins the PTP Team!

I want to know what you’re excited about! Comment below…

I could not wait until Friday to share my excitement. Below is the initial design of our RV. I think it is awesome! Tell me what you think by commenting below…

If you are wondering where this wrap will go, it is going on our RV…which we are going to buy today!!!! So much excitement.

Many thanks to Kristen Zirkler who stayed late to perfect the design…we love you!

What job comes to mind when you think of someone that has ZERO passion? The accountant crunching numbers in a cube? An insurance salesman? The garbage man? The janitor that cleans second grade throw up every day?

I’m going to go out on a limb to say that these professions, which are typically looked upon as “passionless,” are passionate too.

Now I know that there are more industries out there that could be looked upon as being more passionate about their work. But I want to meet the people who love the jobs that nobody loves. I want to meet the accountant that gets no greater thrill in life than when everything on the balance sheet balances. I’d like to meet the garbage man that takes pride in providing more than the standard garbage man service.

Do you know these people? They have to exist, right?

If you know someone in a job typically viewed as passionless, but they really love their job despite the societal stereotypes, email me at brett@pursuethepassion.com.

I’d love to use them as an example to show the world that the passionless are passionate too.

One thing I’ve heard time and time again in my interviews is that people often end up in an industry or career position that they never intended to go into.

The same goes with me and blogging. I never would have thought I would be known as a blogger, probably would have bet you the world that I could have never gone from accounting to the newest form of online journalistic expression. But here I am blogging, and yesterday, the reality that I was a blogger set in.

At about 4:45pm on a Monday afternoon I stopped by our future sponsor’s office to show them some video. As I walked to the video office, I passed by someone that called me out as “that blogger guy.”

This was certainly new for me. I had never in my whole entire life been referred to as a “blogger.” The title actually gave me a slight shudder.

Then, after dropping off the video, I made my way towards the exit. To get to the exit you have to walk across a sales floor the size of a Pop Warner football field. You can see the floor from wall to wall because there aren’t any cubicles to block the view.

Just as I entered this large open space I ran into the lady that had called me out as “that blogger guy” no less than fifteen minutes prior. I looked down to avoid eye contact. It didn’t work.

She came over to me and asked me how to pronounce my last name. I said Farmiloe (Far-ma-low), knowing this was about to turn into trouble. Without any warning, she turns to her sales force, which was compiled of about 50-75 people, and loudly gives this announcement:

“Everybody, stop what you are doing because I want you to listen up. It’s a pleasure to introduce one of Arizona’s top bloggers, from Pursue the Passion, Breeeeetttttttt Faaaarrrmmmilllooooooooooooeeeee.”

The entire sales force rose to greet me with a hugely undeserved standing ovation. I felt my face redden of embarrassment as I gave a couple courtesy waves. One guy in front of announced that he read my blog all the time. It was…….an experience.

Point of the story is, sometimes in your career you find yourself categorized into something completely different from what you had originally intended to go into. For me, all I wanted to do is travel the country in a gigantic RV and interview people about their passions.

Now I’m a blogger.