Look for the abnormal.

Every quarter JP Morgan puts out a 100-page financial report chock-full of financial lingo and models, dense economic data, and lots of other...interesting...things. When I learned this from one of my clients, I thought, "Man, I bet there are like 1,000 people in the whole world that actually read that thing."

Imagine my shock when my client then said that he reads it cover to cover. For fun. Because it's super interesting.

I said, "That's not normal."

He laughed and went on to explain it, to which I remarked, "That's still not normal."

And yet, that's a sign of passion! What do you love to engross yourself in because it's interesting? What do you lose track of time reading or studying? What abnormal things do you look forward to?

I talked to another guy the other day who hates being a dentist and would rather be a park ranger.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I LOVE camping. Like, if I retired today I'd go camping every night. I'd probably even work at a National Park at the cash register, just to sustain myself so that my wife and I can camp out and travel from National Park to National Park."

Not normal.

How do you find your passion?

Start by looking for the abnormal things you like to do, then ask yourself "why?" If you want to take it one step further, ask how you could apply your talents and actually make money doing that abnormal thing.

Last example:

I was sitting in a meeting the other day with a close friend who works in prosthetics and orthotics. Someone mentioned an interaction they had -- totally off topic -- with an amputee who had a 30 ply prosthetic leg. My friend lit up talking about how 3-ply was the standard. Afterward I said, "Man, you know a lot about that stuff."

He said, "Oh yeah, I love this stuff."

Not normal.

So I continued, "What part of the prosthetics world is your jam?"

"Design," he said.

​"Are you good at it?" I asked.

​"I'd say I'm pretty good at it." (He was being humble).

"And, have you ever made money doing that? Like outside of work?"

"Sure," he said.

I call that convergence...when what you're passionate about, what you're good at, and what you've made money doing all come together. That's also called the foundation of a successful venture.

Figure out your weirdness and do more of it.