Passion to Performance with Laura Best

Author, keynote speaker, and Passion Collective community founder Laura Best shares her personal journey from corporate burnout to becoming a leading expert on the power of passion in the workplace. Moving beyond simple definitions of engagement and purpose, Laura introduces the academic framework of the Dualistic Model of Passion, distinguishing between healthy harmonious passion and destructive obsessive passion.

She offers practical advice on how to stop running on pure grind, look past rigid corporate purpose statements, and intentionally sprinkle small, self-affirming sparks of personal passion back into their weekly routines.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

While purpose gets you out of bed in the morning, passion is the energy that drives and sustains you through the mundane tasks of the workday.

Authentic workplace satisfaction relies on cultivating harmonious passion which encourages connection, curiosity, and autonomy rather than destructive, obsessive passion that damages health and relationships.

Professionals often focus on what they want to acquire (titles, offices, status) instead of defining how they actually want to feel in their careers.

You don't need to overhaul your entire life to fight disconnection; intentionally scheduling just one hour a week to dabble in something you love can dramatically revitalise your well-being.

BEST MOMENTS

“I had the career that I always really wanted and that I'd built and sacrificed for. And yet, I got to this point where I literally felt like I was flatlining inside."

"Purpose can be a grounding, noble thing that we've got, but passion is truly the motivational force that can propel us forwards, upwards, sideways."

"Your goal should be based on what you want to acquire versus, how do you want to feel?"

"My word is 'fizzy' this sense of fizziness when I'm doing something that I love. And I know it sounds silly and stupid, but I don't care because when I focus on the fact that when I feel this way. I'm actually helping myself and helping other people."