I am indebted to a teenager from Shetland that I was working with for this week's inspiration. I was out mountain-biking with him and a group of his peers in the Cairngorms area and he was pointing out different trees to his friends, and doing so quite knowledgeably. It transpired that his parents grow trees as a business and some of their passion and their knowledge has passed on to him.

It got me thinking about the people that are affected by our passion for our work. Maybe you are in a service industry and can instantly identify the people that benefit from what you do. Are they fully benefitting from you working passionately on their behalf? Or are you simply going through the motions because its your work?

Perhaps though you have to think hard about whom you are actually serving by carrying out your particular function. Maybe you are manufacturing something for people you will never meet. Or you feel that the only people that benefit from what you do are the shareholders. Or the directors.
But what about the people around you in other areas of life - how are they affected by your work? Do you come home and interest and excite people with stories of what you have done? Are people that you touch inspired to investigate your job as a possible career for themselves?
Alternatively, do you dislike your job so much that it is obvious to all you meet? Are people being adversely affected because you dislike doing what you do and so withhold passion and excellence?
Maybe being in the right job has an impact wider than just on ourselves. Instead through the way it makes us feel, it impacts on everyone we come into contact with. How much more important does that make finding the job that fits us best?