My Master Plan – Why We Created Passion Struck
Why we desperately need fundamental systems change

I want to be transparent with you; clearly, lay out the master plan for what we are doing with Passion Struck, why I created the Passion Struck Movement, and give you a behind-the-scenes look at our strategy enacting. 

I know from building other companies that it is arduous to undertake. That is why one of the most critical foundations to creating a great company is having an impactful mission. Here at Passion Struck, we have a very clear mission to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of intentionality. 

We aim to empower people to become the best possible version of themselves where they live better, be better, and positively impact the world. Our goal is to help people globally learn how to unlock a legendary life built around living life intentionally.

Why Is Passion Struck Needed?

You may wonder what the burning issue that caused me to take on such a bold and far-reaching mission. I believe that so much of the world around us today is built on a series of lies. We are told by popular culture that power, money, intellect, and material goods are the indicators of success, and we must live the hustle culture to attain them. Movies like Jet Li’s Fist of Legend, Tron, Inception, and The Matrix are great metaphors for this. In these movies, the directors show you that the world around you is artificial and based on a false reality.

And I believe that much of these false realities portrayed in movies are now becoming real life. We are being conditioned to the terrifying idea that we are not controlling our fates and that life is merely a simulated environment dictated by popular culture.  

Additionally, the second-leading cause of death among Americans ages 25–34 is suicide — that’s higher than any other age group. It is the third-leading cause of death for adolescents ages 15-19 globally. In the U.S., suicide rates have increased 25 percent since 1999. Veteran suicides also continue to rise, with over 150,000 occurring during the 20-year war on terror, and globally over 800,000 people take their lives yearly. 

In the eleven years after 2005, there were more mass shooting incidents and deaths than in the previous twenty-three years combined. The fact that depression and anxiety have become ubiquitous and belonging and acceptance are increasingly thwarted are likely to lead to both trends. 

I see so many millions of people disengaged in their own lives because they have no vision for their future and sadly believe there is no hope. I decided I wanted to teach people how to take control their lives just as I took back control of mine. But as I started looking around, all I could see were limited ways of addressing the issue.

Why Did I Found Passion Struck

Why has this become the driving obsession in my life? I founded Passion Struck to go after the root of the problem. That is why our company exists, and this movement is so important to me. I want to do my part to help end human suffering and increase joy in the world.

It started with me doing a close inspection of my own life. To be honest with you, I didn’t like the person I had become. I was living this artificial lie and pursuing a comfortable life but not one connected to my authentic self, the pursuit of self-actualization, and the passion for solving novel societal problems.

Before I started school striking I had no energy, no friends, and I didn’t speak to anyone. I just sat alone at home, with an eating disorder. All of that is gone now, since I have found a meaning, in a world that sometimes seems shallow and meaningless to so many people.

Greta Thurnberg, autistic climate change activist

I believe the vast majority of the global population is like the person I was. That person was living in mediocrity and in service of self-versus humanity. Like me, many today wear a shroud that disguises their true selves. They live a life conditioned by society consisting of self-limiting beliefs, a skewed identity, a fixed mindset, and an antagonistic orientation towards others. Millions worldwide are filled with apathy, consumed by suffering, and engulfed by ego. More people than ever live today with a fixed mindset and believe their potential is limited. 

What Does It Mean to be Passion Struck?

I get the question a lot, “what does it mean to be Passion Struck?”

Being passion-struck is about reaching one’s best and full potential. It is the willingness to risk social, financial, and physical safety to address the novel problems impacting society and to do so intentionally and in alignment with one’s values and what best brings fulfillment. We, as humans, require exploration, and that is what being Passion Struck is all about. It takes courage to grow coupled with a burning desire to seek out and make sense of challenging, uncertain, and novel experiences. We only become our authentic selves when we move in the direction of personal growth.

In his Theory of Human Motivation, Abraham Maslow wrote, “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves. What a person can be, they must be. They must be true to their own nature. This need we may call self-actualization. It refers to humanity’s desire for self-fulfillment, namely to their tendency to become actualized in what they are potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one idiosyncratically is, to become everything that is one is capable of becoming.” 

And that is what being passion-struck is all about: BEING EVERYTHING THAT ONE IS CAPABLE OF BECOMING. 

Backdrop Behind the Passion Struck Master Plan

There is a groundswell of people worldwide seeking higher wisdom and purpose in their lives. They are rich and poor, progressive and conservative, young and old – lonely, helpless, and disengaged. And what they share at this moment is deep concern about the direction in which society is headed, the assaults on our attention caused by the digital age, the rise of materialism, and the erosion of our human values. 

I believe the solution is to curate and facilitate a new breed of company that addresses these alarming trends by teaching people HOW to be their authentic selves and live their lives intentionally. We want to help people restore faith in humanity, humanism, and attain self-realization. We desperately need fundamental systems change in our value systems, human connections, and in ourselves if we are going to transform and save our planet. 

So, I started developing my theory about how do you get people from being stuck in their lives to becoming Passion Struck. I believe people’s mindset and beliefs are significantly influenced by their families, where they grew up, on which side of the poverty line they were born into, and by popular culture in society. We cannot change the first three, which are fixed, but we can alter their culture and positively impact their future. Given my background in scaling large organizations, I saw the need to build a company whose focus is to create systems change at scale. 

We desperately need fundamental systems change in our value systems, human connections, and in ourselves if we are going to transform and save our planet. 

John R. Miles

It is an aspirational brand that makes people see the world the way it could be, not how it is. At Passion Struck, we ask ourselves this question all the time – how do we create the most intentional place on earth? 

I studied companies like Netflix, Kickstarter, Oprah, Disney, Disney Reddit, and Peloton. And a lightbulb went off. I can achieve systems change through storytelling and changing people’s emotional narratives. I could do this by building a disruptive education and entertainment company that consistently tells one type of story repeatedly through the lens of living life intentionally. By doing so, we will give people a larger self of meaning and of their role in positively impacting society.

I took a step back and began creating an influencer map and embracing the philosophy shared by Jeffrey C. Walker of locally driven and network-supported organizations. A strategy that would allow Passion Struck to impact change locally and globally. As part of our master plan, we started to look at ways to partner with people and actively seek partners who will help us accelerate our goal of ending worldwide suffering. 

An example of this is our partnership with the Warrior Angels Foundation, whose mission is to return proven leaders to life by delivering brain injury prevention, PTSD treatment, and care. They do this through proven nutraceuticals, personalized treatment protocols for U.S. Military Service Members and Veterans, Traumatic Brain Injury education, and research for all who are affected.

Master Plan – Bringing a Voice to Everyday Heroes

I want to use Passion Struck to bring a voice to the everyday heroes who walk among all of us—the creation of emotional stories that talk about intentionality at their core. We want to tell the same story repeatedly, using all of the products and mediums we will produce that tell the story. We want to show the masses that you can become your best authentic self and live your life with no regrets in pursuit of becoming the best version of you that you can become.

We want to build a great and engaging mission-based media (education and entertainment) company that uses storytelling to teach the tactics and philosophy to IGNITE Passion and UNLEASH Creativity. We imagine a world in which the vast majority of people feel purposeful in who they are, live in harmony with their true selves, and positively impact society. 

We aspire to be a company that prioritizes positive outcomes for society as much as our shareholders. Passion Struck’s operations will reflect its core belief system, which you can find on our website. We are putting these values into our operations. We will promote creativity, advocate for veterans, fight social inequality, and help people learn to be in control of their lives.

Man’s search for meaning is a primary force in his life….There are some authors who contend that meanings and values are “nothing but defense mechanisms, reaction formations, and sublimations.” But as for myself, I would not be willing to live merely for the sake of my “defense mechanisms,” nor would I be ready to die merely for the sake of my “reaction formations.” Man, however, is able to live and even to die for the sake of his ideals and values!

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

The Passion Struck Master Plan Phase 1(A) – Creating Inspiring Content

The first phase of this journey launched in January 2021 when we created Passion Struck’s brand. We started by curating content that is unique and done through the lens of intentionality. We wanted to clarify what we are about, make it memorable and important.

To that end, we created the Passion Struck podcast to be a show focused on exploring the mindset and philosophy of the world’s highest achievers to learn their lessons to living intentionally. A show that aspires to speak to the humanity of people in a way that makes them want to live better, be better and impact the world by providing inspiring enjoyable, energetic, positive, and hyper-useful content—a show where we highlight the stories of everyday heroes.

We wanted to use the podcast to sample our theories, methodologies, ideas, and overall strategy to see if it would resonate and scale. The response has been overwhelming as we near 800,000 downloads between YouTube and the podcast in the first year. 

Using this information, I updated and validated many of the core concepts of my upcoming book, which will go live this summer. I feature guests from the podcast throughout the book and well-known leaders, athletes, creators, and academics whose stories could help amplify the techniques I lay out in the book. 

In the future, we will continue to create a deep stable of content that will cover a broader range of topics all tied to living intentionally in pursuit of becoming everything that one is capable of becoming. Content that will be immediately actionable for people ready to choose to take action.

The Passion Struck Master Plan Phase 1 (B) – Building Community

At the same time, we were launching on this phase; we also began creating the Passion Struck community. We wanted to build brand awareness and establish/grow the movement. Our goal is to build authentic human connections, and we believe that passions and interests, not individuals, connect us. We want to create a community that brings belonging to everyone in the world.

The primary way we initially plan to build the community is by creating world-class free content that will help people become the best version of themselves and make clear what our ideology is all about. We want people to be obsessed with the idea: 

“I want to be passion struck.” 

“I want to live a no regrets life.”

“I want to be my best authentic self.”

Ultimately, we want to develop a passionate community that drives action around intentionality. It is a community where members come to be informed by stories and conversations they trust and spend more time here than almost anywhere else.

The brand has started with me as the front person, but we will be bringing more and different expertise into the company over time. You will also see me being more unguarded in my public speaking, on social media, and in future podcast episodes. We want to change people’s lives with transformative content, and I can only do that by being really authentic in my delivery. We will continue to offer free content and build our base of sponsors to help us to that end. 

If you are supportive of this mission, we would love you to subscribe to the podcast, our newsletter, and our YouTube channel. I am really excited about the upcoming book where I will show you how to build your ultimate self through the twelve stages of unleashing an intentional life. I hope that this book and company will help you see your life differently and what it can be if you live intentionally. 

There it is. There is the master plan in detail.

There are more phases of the master plan to come, but I will save those for a later time. I hope you now know why we are doing this and why our mission is so important. You don’t know how much it influences me when people reach out to me on social channels, emails, or their reviews and let me see the impact that Passion Struck is making in their lives. 

Until next time, live life Passion Struck.