As a television producer over the past 10 years, I always sought out passionate people to appear as guests or to be interviewed on WITF’s programs. Passion comes through extremely well on TV. Knowledge of a particular topic and intelligence are fairly common traits of the people we’ve had on the air over the years. But give me someone who not only knows his or her topic and can articulate that knowledge, but who also cares and loves the subject at hand, and we’ll have a conversation that is compelling and the audience will enjoy or appreciate.

Vince Papale is one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met. You may know his story from the 2005 Disney film, “Invincible” – a movie I thoroughly enjoyed (disclosure: I have a passion for the Philadelphia Eagles). Papale was a 30 year old substitute teacher and part-time bartender when he tried out for the Eagles and their first-year head coach Dick Vermeil in 1976. Papale had played one year of high school football, but he was a good athlete, had some skills and could run fast.

But, what Papale had that set him apart from the hundreds of thousands of other aging football players who thought they could play in the NFL, was passion and heart. It’s almost cliché in sports movies, but Papale’s character wouldn’t let him give anything less than a 100% effort. As he told me in our interview, he wouldn’t walk away knowing he hadn’t tried as hard as he absolutely could to make the Eagles’ roster. Many say that, but few have the ability to go beyond what it takes to get by.

Passion is inspiring. Papale’s story certainly makes me want to be a better person and work harder to achieve my goals. It may be to be the best damned manager, producer, reporter, writer and observer I can be, because that’s my passion. And like Papale, I want to be able to look back years from now and say that I gave it everything I had to be successful.

The world needs more people like Vince Papale – people who see challenges and try to overcome them with enthusiasm and excitement; people who don’t let others do the heavy lifting for them or ignore the challenge because “someone else will do it.”

My goal is not to play the part of the motivational speaker with this column, but I will end by encouraging anyone who reads this to cultivate your passions and I think you’ll find yourself happier and more self fulfilled.

WATCH PAPALE INTERVIEW: