So what are you passionate about?

What are you good at?

Apparently, there are souls out there who don't know the answers to those seemingly easy and seemingly hooked together questions.

Then again, there was this tall guy standing at my desk, and I said, "I just don't see how those could not be connected" - and then I said, "Oh, well, I guess you're passionate about golf but that doesn't mean you're necessarily good."

I spent an hour at the dentist's office last week and the hardest part - well, aside from not being able to talk - was having my head below gravity. The hygienist said she and her cousin were in school at the same time, and her cousin studied nursing while she was in the dental hygiene program.

Now, as a young mom, her cousin wishes she had chosen the hygiene program, with its office environment and no nights, weekends or on-call hours.

Does it mean you are completely naive - or just absolutely completely lucky - if you are doing the only thing you ever wanted to do?

The "what do I want to be when I grow up?" question doesn't haunt me. In fact, it never did.

Oh sure, it has evolved somewhat. How could I ever have imagined that Fritz the Dad's dream for me to one day write a book would actually come true - thanks to my job - in the form of a cookbook?

How could I ever have imagined that I could raise two kids - including their teen years as a single parent - keep my job at the newspaper and not work until midnight every night in the sports department?

How could I ever have imagined that my passions of family and friends, football and food, would continue to sustain me?

We said goodbye to a wonderful coworker last week, a very talented young woman who has decided to travel while life's circumstances make it possible.

I think it's tragic when folks don't have a chance to take action on their passion. For someone to say, "they lived a full, happy life," is the ultimate compliment at life's end.

When last we were in Laramie, we enjoyed the annual College of Agriculture luncheon, and of course, had to buy two more T-shirts. But these are brown, instead of the now seemingly dozen gold the friend and I each possess.

The shirt has a UW branding symbol, with the simple suggestion, "Ride for the Brand."

Executive life coach Julie Overholt, a visionary when she began coaching 13 years ago, describes brand as simply, "What do people think about you when they think of you?"

She engaged women in a large conversation this weekend at the Wyoming Women's Expo. If you weren't able to attend, you can read about her work - and her passion - at julieoverholt.com.

You don't have to work for a giant corporation to put what she says to use. In fact, ridin' for yourself is the most important brand there is.

Reach community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@trib.com