What Winning Taught Me About Passion

When people talk about finding their passion, they often imagine it as a lightning strike — a sudden moment of clarity that shows you exactly what you were meant to do.

Michael Thomas doesn't buy that.

In fact, he learned the opposite: You don’t always start out passionate. Sometimes passion grows from competence. Sometimes it shows up after the wins.

As he puts it: “If you’re good at something, if you're winning, it usually becomes enjoyable. And once it’s enjoyable, you do more of it. Then you get even better. It’s a loop.”

This wasn’t just theory. It was lived experience.
Michael had been training in the gym for over 15 years. He never missed a week. So when he took a part-time job working at a gym, it should’ve made sense, right? It was aligned with one of his greatest passions.

But it didn’t make sense.

He hated it.

Despite loving fitness, he hated the social small talk, the admin tasks, the constant initiating of conversations with members who just wanted to be left alone. It clashed with his introverted personality, and he felt drained by it.

“People think they’ll enjoy doing what they’re passionate about, but that’s not always true. I was passionate about training, not about working in a gym. That’s different.”

Finding the Right Fit

Ironically, it was the car industry — something he had no prior interest in — that fit him best.

Not because of the product.
Because of the process.

It let him express the parts of himself that felt most authentic. It was competitive. Results-driven. Fast-paced. It was a domain where being strategic, persistent, and numbers-focused paid off. That clicked for him.

Sales gave Michael a scoreboard. And for someone who thrives on performance and progress, that made all the difference.

“It allowed me to win,” he said. “And when I started winning, I started liking it.”

Winning Matters More Than You Think

Michael's insight goes deeper than personal preference — it touches on a broader truth about human motivation.

He references a study with rats: researchers found that when two rats wrestled, if one never won — if it didn’t win at least 30% of the time — it eventually stopped playing altogether. It just gave up.

Humans, he believes, are wired similarly, “If you turn up to work every day and just get kicked in the teeth, you won’t be able to do it forever. You need some wins.”

Not every day needs to be a gold medal moment. But there needs to be progress, positive reinforcement, and the feeling that your efforts are moving you forward.

This is why, he argues, people should choose roles or industries where their natural competencies can be expressed — even if they’re not obviously “passionate” about them from the outset.

“You have to compete in a field you’re capable in. Otherwise, the losses will erode your interest and your confidence.”

Performance, Passion, and Self-Awareness

Michael’s advice isn’t about chasing hype or abandoning your passions. It’s about being more nuanced and self-aware.

Sometimes, your “dream job” might actually drain you.
Sometimes, the job that looks boring on the surface might be the one that fits you best.

The key, he says, is understanding what parts of your personality get expressed in the role — not just what the industry looks like from the outside.

“It's not always about the theme of the work. It's about the actual work — the day-to-day tasks, the pace, the structure, the people. Do those things bring out your best self?”

That’s why a car wholesaler became a millionaire — not because he loved cars, but because he understood himself.