I’ll never forget all the serendipitous moments that have happened to me over the past two and a half years.

There’s this thing that happens when you start following your heart — all this other amazing stuff starts happening.

All of these amazing things start happening out of nowhere, but why? What exactly unlocks them?

What’s the secret sauce? Passion + meaning + usefulness.

Passion is the tricky one. It’s different for all people. For some it’s sports, for others it’s art. For some it’s creating platforms, for others it’s stringing together words. For some it feels like drinking Red Bull, for others it feels like a peaceful zen. For some it means a childhood dream, for others it means a new discovery in a much later decade in life. Whatever it means to you, it’s your passion, and it’s your lifeline.

Meaning is the beautiful one. It’s knowing that what you are devoting your hours to and what you are working hard on are worth something great. It’s knowing that your work means something to the world, to other people, to your own heart.

Usefulness is the practical one. Finding a way to make your passion and meaning useful to others isn’t easy. It means packaging everything

Attracting opportunies and likeminded peers.

It all appears as if out of thin air.

One minute you’re getting no replies on Twitter, and the next you’re receiving a flood of tweets from individuals you never thought would give you the time of day. One minute you’re hating your day job, and the next you find yourself before a multitude of thrilling jobs and opportunities. One minute you’re feeling lonely, and the next you’re being told you are inspiring.

What gives?

The world is rushing to keep up.

My theory is that the world has been sitting around, waiting patiently, for each of us to unlock our secret sauce. It can’t be one big coincidence, can it? That all of these opportunities start presenting themselves once we decide to make that jump?

Not too long ago, a friend of mine was telling me about her dreams and why they haven’t unfolded yet, and my only reply was: That’s because you haven’t given in to your passion yet. Once you do, you’ll watch the magic happen. A few weeks later, her passion was ignited and she was suddenly matched up with an amazing project to help her along her path.

Perfect? Hardly.

Meaningful and thrilling? Very.

If my theory is correct — and it’s been tried true by various people around me — then you better start soon. Follow your heart, and the world will rush to keep up with chances to let you fulfill your dreams. It’s been waiting all this time to present you with all these opportunities. Once you choose to make the jump, the world will rush to meet you — and take you even further.

I’m no expert on how many portions of this life are luck and how many portions are choice. I’ve written about it before, and the answer of how to combine the two isn’t yet clear to me. But I do know that following your dreams isn’t easy — but it’s well worth it.

Do me a favor. Before you think you can’t, give your dream a shot.

Before you feel like the world isn’t good enough today, tap into that secret sauce. Before you decide you’re stuck, give the well of meaningful opportunity a chance.

Before you can even muster a defeatist thought, give your dream a freaking shot.

You’ll be surprised how quickly you start attracting amazing opportunities. Before you know it, you’ll be your own passion magnet — trust me.

*Read more about doing what you love & online marketing in my new book To Be or Like to Be. You can also receive free blog updates via email.

More badassery:

1. Learning From the Greats: Humanity & Passion at Work.
2. 3 Reflective Steps to Finding Your Why.
3. Who Wants to Work? Instead, Why Not Play?