Last week, we posed the arguable question: “Are rainmakers born or made?” I said, for the answer, all you have to do is look at the American Idol contestants and watch their tremendous improvements. You have to start with some kind of aptitude, but, ultimately, becoming a rainmaker in any profession is about continuous improvement in performance. Becoming the best of the best is all about regularly assessing your efforts (perhaps even on a daily basis) and making the changes that it takes to get better. It also means actively seeking out feedback from others and being thick-skinned enough to accept it as constructive coaching rather than simply criticism.

I asked the question while speaking at a recent commercial real estate conference, and my Point about it last week sparked some conversation with readers. So for the next three weeks, let’s explore parts of my presentation, The Five Characteristics of a Rainmaker Today (and in the Future). You can catch this same presentation at our Summer Sales Conference on Wednesday, August 25 in Birmingham. (Click here for details.) This presentation also works as a powerful, motivating seminar for sales groups of all sizes, especially during their mid-year meetings.

We’ll talk later about how rainmaker characteristics are changing for the future, but today, let’s discuss the importance of passion. I’ve found that rainmakers in any industry love what they do, and they share the characteristic of being passionate about their work. You know these people—they are the ones who are excited about what they do. And when you’re with them, you can feel the positive energy, too. These people work hard, but they don’t necessarily find the work to be “hard work.” Thomas Edison put it best when he said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

Passionate rainmakers think a lot about work, and they continuously look for ways to get better. This comes naturally because they love the work they do; logically, they care enough to want to do what they do better.

That degree of passion can come with a price. These folks tend to work too much. Their personal relationships can suffer unless they focus on those relationships. That, too, is part of doing what you do better. A whole-life approach is necessary; without it, you’ll never really seem satisfied—no matter how successful you are at work.

So, if you want to be the best of the best in your profession, be passionate about what you do. And reserve some of that passion for life outside the office, too.

Wanna be the very best at something? Do something that you are passionate about. There is an old adage that says, “People who are passionate about their work will never have to work another day in their life.” If you happen to love being a rainmaker at your job, you’ll possess what is perhaps the most important characteristic that it takes to be successful—passion. People who are passionate about their work make it look easy. They enjoy (better yet, they love) investing their time, talents and resources to doing what they do better. Next week, we’ll discuss another important rainmaker characteristic, and then we’ll look to the future and see what it’s going to take to be a rainmaker then.