Live Your Passion

Over twenty five years ago, Peter Stas and his wife Aletta found themselves entranced by the high end Swiss watches they saw in retail shop windows when they were in the country for ski vacations. But, being young people on a tight budget, they couldn't afford what they were seeing. And yet, it planted in them an idea. Why couldn't they start their own business and create beautiful luxury watches that would be vastly more affordable than what they had been seeing?

They had found their passion, and decided to live it. So, when they published a book on their corporate story, they entitled it "Live Your Passion." From the inception of the company on, the "affordable luxury" watches of Fredrique Constant have delighted people around the world. I've mentioned Peter before, a couple of months ago, in a blog post about luxury, but it's this aspect of his story I'd like to highlight today. By living their passion, the good that Peter and Aletta have been able to do has gone far, and probably beyond their youthful dreams.

The power of passion, well directed, is astonishing.

A young attorney told me last week that when she was growing up and her dad loaded up the kids in their car to go anywhere, he'd pull into any used car lots that he might pass along the way, "just to look," as he would explain to them. At a certain point, it became obvious to the children that their dad's passion was cars, in all their variety. They encouraged him to change careers and set up his own used car lot, which he did, and truly found his passion at work - a passion that has helped him flourish in his new business throughout the years.

When his daughter was in law school, a man came onto the lot one day to ask the car guy if he would help him to sell his car. He didn't usually work like that, but he liked the visitor right away, and they got into a great conversation. The man with the car to sell turned out to be a top attorney. And his firm ended up hiring the young lawyer, the car dealer's daughter, at first as an intern, and then as a full time member of the firm where she is now truly living her own passion, thanks to her dad, who has been living his.

And that's the way it works. What do you do with your free time? What do you love? How can you integrate that more into your business life? Or, are you one of the lucky ones who are already there? Wherever you may be in life, living your passion will benefit not only you, but many others as well - as the stories of Peter Stas and the young attorney's father demonstrate.

Live your passion, indeed.

After writing the blog post, I happened to come across this simple but elegant design, which is now my horological object of desire. To see more FC watches available in the US, go to www.JomasShop.com. Peter and Aletta make lots of beautiful designs - I think, some of the most elegant watches in the world, and much more affordable than most of their competitors' creations. And I believe that this is because their passion is not just to make but to share, which is as it should be.