When we think of passion, as an emotion, we think of enthusiasm, fervor, of feeling strongly about or toward something, caring a lot. You can be passionate about a cause, a person, a hobby or career, and much more.
The word passion comes from the Latin passio – suffering, enduring – and is derived from the Latin verb patior, which means to suffer, to endure. In medieval times, this specifically referred to the suffering of Jesus Christ.
When I hear passion, my mind goes instinctively to the German word for it: Leidenschaft. That breaks down to leiden (to suffer) and schaffen (to create). I am clearly not an etymologist, but this is offering a meaningful perspective on the term: the relationship between suffering and creating.
Passion thus becomes an important ingredient in the quest to create value. Challenging work, operating at the edges of your mental or physical capacity, is hard — especially when done over prolonged periods of time.
When we are exchanging notes then and you are telling me about your new idea or project, I do care how passionate you are about it. I am wondering, how much you are willing to endure hardship, to bring it into reality — how much you are willing to suffer for it.
I think passion increases your odds of enduring longer.