When you have passion for something it will get you over every brick wall, help you weather every storm, and even when you’ve been knocked down for the hundredth time, compel you to get back up and try again. You can’t build a successful business without it.

No one can be a little bit passionate. You either have passion for something, or you don’t. The American Heritage Dictionary defines passion as “boundless enthusiasm”—nothing half-ass about that!

Me, I’m clear about my passion: empowering people to express their authentic self via entrepreneurship. But if you’re not sure what you’re passionate about, here’s a quick list of clues to help you zero in on it:

1. You can’t shut up about it – When your friends roll their eyes because they can’t stand to hear one more word about roller derby, or fabric mills, or your latest improvement on the Chinese takeout container, it’s a sure sign you’ve got passion for it.

2. You’re freakishly obsessed with it – Take a look at what you watch on TV, the magazines and books you read, and the events you frequent. If you’ve got to watch, read, and learn everything about cruise ships, or architecture, or organic gardening, you’ve got passion for it.

3. You’d do it for free. . . and give up your free time – When you love something so much you’d happily do it for no pay, that’s passion, baby. (Duh.) And if you’d happily give up all of your free time to take photographs, coach volleyball, or make pimped-out birdhouses, that’s a sure sign you’ve got passion for it.

If you’re still not sure what you’re passion about, make two lists; one with all of the low points in your life, and one highlighting the highs. When you give up or ignore your passion, you’ll end up feel pretty crappy, and when you are following your passion, you’re going to feel pretty effin happy. See how that works? (What? I never said it was rocket science.)

Passion is usually a blend of things, like a good Margarita. You like to watch Bones, you love kids, and a high point of your life was when you helped your neighbor find his dog. Maybe you should be a Pet Detective, helping children find Muffy, Fido, and Tweety.

Some people hit on what their passion is right out of the gate and carry the torch for it their entire lives. Just because you haven’t hit on it yet, doesn’t mean you don’t have any passion. Your passion may be new, or just hiding, but it’s there.

So, have you figured it out yet? What’s your passion? I mean, besides reading my blog.