The world stands awestruck at the name of the little country shaped like a lady's foot. It is because of the simple reason that the people of the land have set the benchmark for the world to follow in terms of almost everything we term "desirable". The most desirable in food, wonderful architecture, classic art, music, fashion, cars, motorcycles and many more, all come from Italy. Some of the greatest people the world has ever known in these areas, also originate from this little corner of Europe. So what is it that makes this place and its people so special and why are we discussing this here?
Passion. A quality they seem to have in oodles. This omnipresent, overpowering desire to create something that describes to be called a labor of love. Beginning from the way they cook their lasagne to the emotions experienced when we see a bright red sports car with a prancing horse logo, or a bright yellow one with raging bull logo scream by at over a hundred miles an hour, the exquisite, flowing lines of anything designed by an Italian, symbolize the very essence of design and excellence. An inherent care for the end result that ensures even the complex modern-day engineering marvel looks "crafted". Put together with a humming finality that makes it seem almost impossible to improve upon until they go and do it all over again with almost disdainful aplomb.
The beauty of it is that they've been at it for as long as any of us can remember and even today, things have not changed. It is a quality that bought to inspire us and permeate anything we do. Something so wondrous and rare that it can not be ignored. The capacity of seeing an inanimate entity, as an object of beauty in every minuscule aspect beginning from itsception to its execution. The capacity of taking up the challenge of ignoring the easy, mechanical way out and give an object its lease of life – an "identity". That does not mean describing it as a bag, or a box, or a car. It means suffusing it with the ability to evoke human emotion to a point where that inanimate object looks "alive". Turning it into a living, breathing entity that becomes a necessary part of every day it happens to be, in the vicinity of the person who owns it, and in the envious eyes of those who wish they could have it for themselves.
So what is the point being made here? The world has nearly Seven Billion people across a hundred and ninety-three accepted countries. Millions of businesses and countless fields of work each of which were pioneered by someone dedicated to a cause. But why is it that their dedication got diluted along the way? And how is it that a little corner of the globe with about sixty million people is setting the standards the world follows? What are they doing differently?
The answer to that again, is passion. It's not about whether or not one thinks he is passionate. It's about being passionate enough not to care what the world has to think and simply make something you know can only be bettered by you once you've completed a first iteration. It's the single-minded dedication to being aacon to the top echelons of the industry you have chosen for yourself. It is about being chosen by the work you do for the passion with which you do it. The affection with which you build the potential to change the way you work , to the way you craft. It is about having the heart and conviction to turn your 9-5 employment into an "Italian" job.