Janet Bray Attwood: Discovering Your Life Purpose
Janet Bray Attwood is a recognized leader in the transformational industry and the New York Times best-selling author of The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose, co-written with her former husband, best friend, and business partner Chris Attwood.
Janet Bray Attwood is also the founder and creator of the Passion Test, which is the number one process being used worldwide to align people with their passions and purpose. In addition to presenting her programs on the same stage with the Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson, Stephen Covey, Jack Canfield, Lisa Nichols, and many others, Janet Bray Attwood has personally trained over 1,000 Passion Test Facilitators worldwide.
Interview with Janet Bray Attwood
Interview by Sandie Sedgbeer
If you would like to listen to the full interview with Janet Bray Atwood and Sandie Sedgbeer on OMTimes Radio’s What Is Going OM, click the player below:
Sandie Sedgbeer: So, Janet, it’s a human trait to want to live a life that has meaning and purpose. I mean, we all want to be passionate about what we’re doing, be excited about how we spend our days, love our life, and feel we’re making some valuable contributions. But, how do we create all this if we don’t know what our real passion is?
Janet Bray Attwood: I love that question; the very first step is that you have to have clarity. I mean, you know, not knowing what it is, is unclear. And, most people don’t take the time to stop and step out of their busy life and ask the simple question which is: What do I love? What do I care about? What turns me on? You know, what are the things that other people say I do well? What do I do naturally? And start to, you know, inquire from within because everything is first created from within and then manifests without.
Sandie Sedgbeer: What does it mean to you to live a passionate life?
Janet Bray Attwood: Well, it means that I wake up like I do because when I get up in the morning, I am like, “Yeah! I can’t wait to get going.” But, we’re talking about how I live my life in every area: my health, my spirituality, my fun, my play. I mean, it’s all the best of the best of the best. And I’ve really gotten clear on what is it that I care about and what is it that I love so that that is what I created for my life. You know, all of us are capable of having that. And so, it takes great courage for each and every one of us to stop and say, “No. This is what I care about. This is what turns me on. This is what lights my fire.”
Sandie Sedgbeer: So, what was the actual inspiration behind the passion test?
Janet Bray Attwood: I was working in a recruiting firm; I was recruiting disk drive engineers. I’m a right brain creative. And, to recruit disk drive engineers, you really had to dive into the technical, very left brain. And so, I was terrible at this job, and I mean, terrible. I was dying inside. One night, when I went to the local meditation center to do my meditation, I see this sign on the wall. “Yes to Success Seminar.” And it was a success seminar being held in San Francisco. And so, I called into work. I lied. “I can’t come. I’m so sick.” I drove to there, and I walk in, and this woman who is giving this seminar is on fire. And she looks good. She feels good. She’s–everything she says is, she’s talking about things that matter, about living in your integrity and doing the things you love. And then, she starts talking about a survey that had been given to the hundred most successful people in the United States. And what the survey found was that each and every one of these hundred most successful people was all living what they considered being their top five passions. And that was it. That was it for me; one of those moments that my life stood still.
Sandie Sedgbeer: So, tell me about the Passion Test formula. What is it?
Janet Bray Attwood: Yeah. The Passion Test formula is, this is great for anyone listening because, if you just start with this, you’ll be on the path immediately. And it’s just simply intention, attention, no tension. You know, everything starts with intention. It’s the starting point of any dream. And so, the intention is all about getting clear. Passion Test is when you are clear, what you choose to have shown up in your life will and only to the extent that you’re clear. I was reading this quote. It’s in the classic Vedic text called the Upanishads.
And it says, “You are what your deepest desire is. As your desire is, so is your intention. As your intention is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. And as your deed is, so is your destiny.” So, for each and every one of us, the very first step–for any of us who want to live a passionate life–is to get clear on what is it that we choose to create. It’s one exercise after the other after the other after the other that helps you get so crystal clear that you can actually see the world you choose to create from within. So the intention is the very first step to getting that level of clarity so that you can see your world from inside yourself because whatever you input has to manifest from without. So intention. The second step, attention. All of us are powerful. You know, I’ve been giving the Passion Test to men and women in homeless shelters, to kids in lockdown detention centers, to people like, you know, Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul, you know, and people in all walks of life. And what I found is that all of us are powerful. We’re all powerful.
If you want to know how powerful you are, look at your life because your life is just a reflection of the thoughts that you continue to think over and over and over again.
Sandie Sedgbeer: So, you and Chris created a step by step program of action, which is designed to help people learn to align their lives with their priorities. So, once we’ve created our passion list, which is our priorities in life, how do we then start moving to align things, because sometimes it’s easier said than done?
Janet Bray Attwood: Oh yeah. You know, as a matter of fact, that’s what I was sitting there in that seminar trying to figure out. Okay, Step one: Make a list of things that I’m passionate about. Step two: How do I congeal this list so that it’s manageable? And in the Passion Test, we have what’s called the “Elimination Process.” And the “Elimination Process” is just simply some questions that we tell people to ask themselves. So, the first question would be “What’s more important? What’s more important in your life? And you want to congeal them down to a manageable five, so your mind doesn’t have so many things going on all at one time and never get anything done. And we flipped it instead to, “Which feels better?” So we tell people, “Just make a list and start asking yourself, from one to two, which feels better? Passion number one or passion number two?” Whatever one they say, you go from that passion to the next one. If you get stuck, then we tell them to ask another question. So, say you’re stuck between one and two, and you hesitate for a minute. Then you say, “If you could have this–if you could have passion number one but never passion number two or if you could have passion number two but never have passion number one, which feels better?” So, in the Passion Test, we have people come up with their top five passions so that they can focus on those easily. And we say, “Do the job. See the job. And stay out of the misery. And live that passionate life full out.”
Sandie Sedgbeer: You know, it’s interesting because I would think that many people when you first ask them about their passions, they will say, things that they love to do, things that they enjoy, but also, the things that they want to achieve. “I want to become wealthy,” or something like that. But, in fact, often, there’s another motivation underneath that. It’s about “taking care of my family” or “creating security for those I love.” And it’s easy to get confused, isn’t it?
Janet Bray Attwood: Yeah. It’s really easy to get confused. And that’s why we have people take the Passion Test not just one time. But when you first take the Passion Test, you’re what I call “my passion baby.” And that means that this is your very first time. And when you take it the first time, you know, that’s when you just start to oil your, you know, your heart, I say, because your passions live in your heart. “Take the Passion Test two, three, four times in the very, very beginning,” so that they start to get really super clear. What is it that I truly, truly love and care about? It’s such a huge multitude of things in the world to do that it’s really easy for people when they do and follow the formula, to come up with those things that they care about the most.
Sandie Sedgbeer: You say that ritual is really an important part of living a passionate life. Tell me more about how rituals can help us?
Janet Bray Attwood: Yeah. So, you know, we wrote a book all about it, as you know, called Your Hidden Riches. And it was all about rituals. And what Chris and I realized was that, our whole life we had been using a lot of different things to help us to open up and expand our awareness and tapping into the unconscious aspects of ourselves.
And what were those rituals? And rituals are just those things that we do on a repetitive basis that give a deeper meaning and purpose to our life. And so, one of the rituals I mentioned earlier is meditation. I’ve been meditating since I was 20 years old. And this is something that I do on a regular basis because it gives a deeper meaning and purpose to my life. And it unfolds myself to myself. That’s one ritual. Another ritual I have, when I’m in the shower, is to “What am I thankful for?”
And this is a real ritual that I do and practice every single day because what you put your attention on grows stronger in your life. So, if you’re always putting your attention on what you’re thankful for–and I consciously do it to keep me into that flow of, you know, “What do I love, and what do I appreciate?” Then, what you find is that what you appreciate appreciates. “From abundance comes abundance. And abundance remains,” is a beautiful saying in the Vedas. And so, that’s another ritual.
Sandie Sedgbeer: You know, I love everything you’re saying because I’ve always believed that we’re here for a purpose and that our passions, give us the direction for that purpose. What’s interesting about the Passion Test and the work that you’re doing, the certifying of practitioners, is that you’re actually certifying them to work in businesses and organizations, which I think is badly needed because employees need more satisfaction. They need more passion about their work. And the businesses need to be more passionate. But, you’re also certifying practitioners to work with kids as well.
Janet Bray Attwood: I’m so happy you mentioned this. Our first program, “Passion Test for Business,” here’s what we do. We’re going to go into a company, We’re going to find out what was your original passion, and we figure out, what are the employees passionate about. “And then, can you imagine what it’s like if you, as a business owner, could say to your employee; ‘We want to help you live that passion that you’ve got even more in your job.’” So, if you want to take your employee engagement and just blow it out of the universe, then give you employees the Passion Test and then start to see if one of their passions is, “I want to be more of a leader,” oh, “Hey, we’ve got a leadership role here for you. “We want to give this to you.” Do you think that they might want to stay in that job longer? Yeah because it says, “I care.”
And it’s the same with the kids. You mentioned that only six percent of the people in Japan were living a passionate life. You know, Japan has the number one country on teen suicide in the world. I’m doing a lot of work in Japan. And the Passion Test for kids is there, coming to Japan next month. And I’m so excited because the kids program. When you start the Passion Test–when you give them the Passion Test, because it’s not about you, it’s about them–and help them to realize, “Hey, you can live your dreams. You can have what you want.
“People are out there that can support you to do and be and have everything you want.” It builds such a bridge between you and them. And so, parents, if you’re having a hard time with your kids, find out what they’re passionate about and start to say to them, “Honey. Let’s figure out together how you can live more of your passions. I want to do everything I can so that you can have what you want in your life.” It just likes bonds them together so fast, Sandie. So, thank you so much more mentioning those two programs.
Sandie Sedgbeer: If we can teach our kids to indulge their passion and build their confidence and accept what they love, I think we’re doing them a great service. The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose. You can find out more at thepassiontest.com.
About the Author
Sandie Sedgbeer: Veteran broadcaster, author, and media consultant, Sandie Sedgbeer brings her incisive interviewing style to a brand new series of radio programs showcasing the world’s leading thinkers, scientists, authors, educators and parenting experts whose ideas are at the cutting edge.
A professional journalist who cut her teeth in the ultra-competitive world of British newspapers and magazines, Sandie has interviewed a wide range of personalities from authors, scientists, celebrities, spiritual teachers, and politicians. sandiesedgbeer.com
Listen to Sandie Sedgbeer on OMTimes Radio’s What Is Going OM, Thursdays at 7 PM ET.
