In today's edition of his weekly newsletter. Atomic Habits author James Clear wrote"

People can help you in many ways throughout life, but there are two things nobody can give you: curiosity and drive. They must be self-supplied.

If you are not interested and curious, all the information in the world can be at your fingertips, but it will be relatively useless. If you are not motivated and driven, whatever connections or opportunities are available to you will be rendered inert.

Now, you won't feel curious and driven about every area of life, and that's fine. But it really pays to find something that lights you up. This is one of the primary quests of life: to find the thing that ignites your curiosity and drive.

There are many recipes for success. There is no single way to win. But nearly all recipes include two ingredients: curiosity and drive.

Clear's statement got me thinking about how to help kids find their passion. And that question led me to the article How to help your kids find their calling in life: 4 secrets from research by Eric Barker. He is the author of Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong. In his article, Barker contends that with limitless options, today's kids have no idea what they want to do in life.

While Clear speaks of finding the thing that ignites your curiosity and drive, Barker speaks of finding your passion. He defines passion as an intent to accomplish something that is meaningful to you and important to the world beyond yourself. Acknowledging that passions do not need to be big, Barker writes:

No, every kid does not have to devote their lives to preventing the spread of malaria. We don’t all need to make it our destiny to cure cancer. Purpose can come from things simple and familiar to us — like raising great kids. And one’s purpose can change over time. You can have more than one. It doesn’t have to be some monolithic myth of epic conquest. It’s an organizing, energizing, uniting principle for life that gives us meaning and motivation. Purpose does not need to be at the level of returning The One Ring to Mordor and saving the world — it just has to mean that much to you.

So how can parents help their kids identify their passion? Barker's answer surprised me:

You’re not the leader. You’re the follower. You don’t create passion in your kids as a parent. You expose them to new stuff. You notice where the Venn diagram of what they respond to and what you approve of overlaps. And then you feed that.

Barker says that every kid has interests. He advises:

Start noticing. Be open-minded and supportive. Listen. Be a sounding board. Don’t judge. Encourage. Fan the flame.

He suggests that parents start slowly and, over time, home in on four questions:

Barker recommends that parents lead by example, conveying to their children the meaning they derive from their own work, rather than complaining about the aspects of their jobs they dislike. He writes:

Talk to your kids about the purpose and meaning you get from your job. Children need to understand what it is you do and that it fulfills a personal sense of purpose — not just pays the bills. What makes you feel good about your job? What gives you pride in what you do? Again, you don’t have to be curing cancer. How does what you do in some very small way make the world a better place, contribute to the common good or just make someone else happy?

The next step for parents, according to Barker, is to introduce their kids to mentors—people who can help them to explore their passions and realize their goals. He says:

Once kids have an inkling of what they’re passionate about, they need your help in navigating the world to learn more about it and seeing how to get from here to there. And, very likely, their area of interest is not necessarily something you’re an expert in. But you can still offer practical support by connecting them with mentors.

Finally, Barker recommends that parents help their kids develop an entrepreneurial attitude. This means encouraging children to "Go do it and see what happens. Learn from the results. Iterate. Try again." Barker maintains that this teaches kids to solve problems and thrive on challenges rather than to run from them.

Though they've chosen different words—Clear speaking of curiosity and drive, and Barker, of passion—they express similar ideas. I appreciate Barker's going beyond describing the need for passion and giving parents concrete suggestions as to how to cultivate it in children.