Following Your Passion

What I like best about being a writer and publicist is the opportunities to talk to people about their passions.

Last week, I spoke with two men who are extremely passionate about what they do: Jayson Nielson of the SPPL and Toby Dagenhart of iPrayerworks.

Jayson, my business partner for RECON Magazine, took over the SPPL scenario paintball tournament league last year and has implemented a ton of changes for the 2008 season. The introduction of Divisional Play at three levels, a ranking system, and player ID cards will make the SPPL -- the premier woodsball tournament league in the sport -- more like the major paintball leagues, the PSP and NPPL.

For those unfamiliar with the sport, this will help turn woodsball players (long the invisible majority as far as marketing and sponsorships) into rock stars.

Nielson's enthusiasm is infectious. When he told me about the refinements to the league, I said, "This is the best thing to happen to scenario players since SpecOps!"

While I was still reeling in anticipation of covering the 2008 SPPL season in RECON, Paintball Sports, Paintball News and a host of other media outlets, I had a conversation with Toby Dagenhart, who designed Web-based prayer room management software.

The coolest thing about the program is not that it lets people pray for congregation members from their homes, anytime (although that IS cool.)

The software also manages the records of homebound and hospitalized members of the church. People can log in, track a congregatoin member's condition, see who visited last, and when. After a visit, a church volunteer can log in straight from their Blackberry, iPhone or any web-enabled device and post an update.

While the data is computerized, the ministry is 100 percent human. As Toby said to me: "It's less administration and a whole lot more ministry."

I could hear in Toby's voice how much it means to him to be able to offer the software.

That's what happiness is about: finding a way to make a living using your talents and following your passions.

Me?

I'm passionate about freelance writing. As much as I know about the field, I realize there's a lot more I have to learn, and many people out there who know more than I do.

I recently updated this blog to include more links to sites of interest to freelance writers. If, like me, you enjoy learning about the craft and business, or you're just looking for a few good markets, check back often.