Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!
Welcome to Lead with Fire, A Soulful Series for Real Estate Game-Changers. This is more than business advice — “Lead with Fire” is a transformative series created for the soulful, visionary humans in the real estate industry who are done with the old playbook and ready to redefine success on their own terms.
Passion fuels the fire; purpose keeps it burning.
If you’ve ever felt wildly excited about something one minute, only to feel totally drained or directionless the next, you’re not alone. Passion alone isn’t enough to sustain you through the long game of building your real estate business or pursuing leadership roles.
That’s where purpose comes in.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR MAY
Passion: The spark
Passion is that electric, can’t-stop-talking-about-it energy. It lights you up, gets your creative juices flowing and inspires you to start something bold. Passion feels fun, expansive and thrilling. Make no mistake here, passion can also flicker. It can burn hot and fast and then fade if it isn’t rooted in something deeper.
Think of passion like the kindling in a fire. It gets things going, but it burns out quickly unless there’s something solid underneath to sustain it.
Purpose: The flame that lasts
Purpose is the steady, grounding force that gives your work meaning. It’s the why behind what you do. It’s what gets you out of bed on the days when motivation is nowhere to be found. When passion wavers (and it will), purpose is what keeps you going.
Where passion is emotional and energetic, purpose is soulful and strategic. And when they’re working together? That’s when you become unstoppable.
Why both matter
We live in a culture that glorifies hustle and idolizes excitement. However, chasing passion without purpose can lead to burnout, disappointment and the phenomenon known as “shiny-object syndrome.” On the flip side, leading with purpose but ignoring what excites you can leave you feeling dry, robotic or uninspired.
Your most powerful path? Passion and purpose in partnership.
That’s when your fire becomes sustainable, sacred and scalable.
Passion asks: “What lights me up?”
Purpose asks: “How can I serve through this light?”
My journey from spark to sacred work
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been passionate about gathering women. I love creating beautiful, meaningful spaces where we can show up fully, be seen, and support each other without judgment or competition. That passion lit me up in grade school playgrounds, dorm rooms, living rooms, and boardrooms. It felt more like a passion project for a long time — something I did for love, not a livelihood.
The shift happened when I gave myself permission to go deeper. I took a sacred pause. I listened to that internal whisper. I realized that my passion wasn’t random; it was pointing me toward my purpose.
That purpose? To guide women back to themselves, their truth, their intuition, their creative fire — and to cultivate a community where they could rise in business and life without sacrificing their soul. That purpose now lives and breathes inside the work I do as an intuitive guide and the founder of Red Threads Collective.
The Collective isn’t a “brand”; it’s the living embodiment of my passion and purpose, working together. It’s where I get to channel the energy that excites me into experiences that elevate others.
When I aligned those two forces, everything changed. My work became lighter, my message clearer, and my results more impactful. And best of all? It felt like me.
Reflective journal prompts
Let’s bring this to life. Take a few moments to reflect and journal on the following:
- What lights you up lately? What activities, conversations, or ideas have been energizing you?
- What impact do you feel called to make? Who are you drawn to serve, and how might your passions help them?
- Where can you blend passion and purpose in your current work or leadership? Look for one opportunity this week to align both.
Mantra to Lead With Fire:
“My passion fuels me. My purpose grounds me. Together, they light my way.”
Next up in the Lead with Fire Series: How to lead with confidence and clarity (even when your voice shakes)
Now that you’ve tapped into your inner fire, it’s time to lead from that place with clarity and confidence. In the next post, we’ll bust the biggest leadership myths and show you how to build real confidence — even in uncertain times. You don’t have to be perfect to be powerful.
Debra Trappen is the founder of the Red Threads Collective, a sacred community for women entrepreneurs. Connect with her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
