Posts Tagged ‘Enthusiasm’

‘There is a king in every job.’ Chinese Saying.

I was served today by a young girl at the supermarket who failed to understand that ‘there is a king in every job’. Her face was sour, her attitude was ordinary, and her communication unenthusiastic. All in all, her interaction with both my wife and I was distasteful. In fact, we couldn’t wait to give her the money and leave. She obviously hated her job, and everything about her revealed the truth of her inner thoughts.

And then just before this, while we were both having a coffee in a local cafe, we overheard one of the management asking a staff member to sweep the floor area of the restaurant. The task was done swiftly and briefly. And in looking at what had just been done, it was hard to define what had and what hadn’t been cleaned. Yet again another demonstration of someone who had not found the ‘king in every job’.

I have to confess, and if you talk to any of my family about me, you will hear the same report, that I am what could be termed, a ‘clean freak’. Whether it is cleaning the toilet, washing the car, vacuuming the floors, tidying the yard, chopping the wood, planting the vegetables in my garden, or whatever task I assign for myself, or are assigned by others, it is my mission to always discover the ‘king in every job’.

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Be your own super-hero today by taking action.

Don’t be a spectator in the game of life. Be a participator.

Surround yourself with a team who will stand with you, fight for you, and believe in you. And discard the loser’s strategy – of  ‘Ready. Aim. Fire.’ That in most cases leads only to ineptitude and inaction.

Join the ranks of the achievers and believers who live their lives by the ‘Fire. Aim. Ready.’ philosophy.

With your manual  in one hand and your sword in the other, attack the enemy of your life – procrastination – and engage in mortal combat as you learn from the wealth of experience you are gaining whilst in full flight and full fight.

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‘Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm.’ R. W. Emerson

Throughout my life I know for a fact that the only thing that allowed me to succeed at times was that I attached to my limited talent, my minuscule knowledge, and my defective abilities my secret winning ingredient – and that was enthusiasm.

The day I started a cleaning business after being retrenched, vowing that I would never again work for another man for the rest of my days, I printed some leaflets and walked the streets with my young family putting them into the local neighborhood’s mailboxes. Within a very short time I was earning more part-time in my own business than I was earning working full-time for someone else. Three years later I sold that business at a profit.

I then published my first book ‘Memories, Thoughts & Photographs’ and spent $70 to fix my typewriter so that I could type the manuscript. My first sale of that self-published book netted me over $100,000. Not a bad return on an investment that had been coupled with enthusiasm.

Then when I started my web design business with no design or technical experience, with the assistance of my 14 year old son who was the only one in the business technically inclined, again I printed some leaflets and this time walked alone into some industrial areas. On the very first day of canvassing I returned home having sold five websites.

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To walk in humility is not to be used as a doormat. Stand tall in the knowledge that you have been created for greatness. Know this. You have been born for a time such as this.  So be proud of who you are, of what you know and for what you can do.

When God created you He knew that He was creating something unique, something extremely precious and special.

You have a gift upon your life that no other human has been given. So be yourself. And take that gift and unwrap it so that we, as the recipients of the gift of your life that you offer, can receive it with great joy.

If your gift is to write, then write. If it is to paint, then paint. To speak, then speak. To build, then build. To compose, then compose. To support, then support. To create, then create.

But whatever you do, don’t do it half-heartedly. Do it with passion, and with a conviction that you have something of incredible value to offer the world.

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A few years ago I sent my 16 year old daughter on a mission. The mission was this: to purchase a new vehicle for our family at auction.

Now after our research, we had discovered that we were able to purchase a top of the range vehicle with all the latest gadgets and gizmos, for thousands of dollars less than the current market value if we were simply willing to step outside the norm and do something different.

So for a whole month before the event we researched. We scanned the papers, we contacted dealers, we checked out some auction websites and the websites of companies and government departments that auctioned vehicles.

Then we turned up at an auction with no intention of bidding, but to simply get a feel for the auction, to gather information and to get an idea as to what people were paying.

We then outlined the exact make and colour of the vehicle that we would purchase. The following week we decided which auction we would attend and then got a hold of the current catalogue. We then narrowed down our list of possible vehicles, based on features and mileage, and we came up with four.

The week previous we had established contact with a local mechanic who lived near the auction site. And the day before the auction we met with him on site and through his inspection we were able to narrow the four vehicles down to just one.

Then came the day of the auction, and lo and behold I had double booked myself and neither my wife or I could be there. What would we do? So here we were with every bit of research done and the vehicle chosen and we couldn’t be at the event.

That’s when my 16 year old daughter piped up and said, ‘I’ll go’.

So at 7.00am on Friday morning I delivered my eldest daughter with her younger sister on a train that would take over an hour and a half trip to get to the auction site.

The plan was this. Armed with a mobile phone, Sarah would contact me on my mobile phone and I would guide her through the bidding process until we won. Was there ever a doubt that we wouldn’t get the vehicle? Never.

Why?

Because we had done all the necessary research, had gained expert insight into the product we were purchasing by hiring a mechanic, had settled on a price that we would pay and were walking into the auction with a plan in place.

Add to all those ingredients, the 110% factor – enthusiasm, and we knew that we would win.

And so the time finally came. It just so happened that the vehicle we were to bid for was the very first vehicle of the morning session. So from the very beginning it was go, go, go.

From within the crowd of over fifty people at the auction there was only one other bidder and as I guided Sarah with her bids I could sense the excitement and the enthusiasm in her voice. I could imagine here jumping up and into the face of the auctioneer to make sure that she was noticed as she held the mobile phone firmly to her ear.

The event was short, swift and before we knew it we had placed our last and final bid to hear ‘Going once, going twice’ and then the auctioneer’s hammer hit hard as he yelled, ‘Sold.’

The vehicle was ours. The work had paid off. The research had won. The mechanic had revealed to us some inside information and we were now the owner’s of a new vehicle at a bargain price.

But what was the major ingredient behind such a successful venture? Enthusiasm.

ENTHUSIASM IS THE FIRE THAT IGNITES SUCCESS

Yes, enthusiasm always makes the difference. It is the 110% that gets results time and time again.

Henry Ford had a burning enthusiasm for the motor vehicle and the object of his enthusiasm took shape and reshaped history. Thomas Edison was enthusiastic about electric light and the machine that talked and many other inventions and  it was because of his enthusaism that they became a reality. The Wright brothers were enthusiastic about creating a machine that could fly and they flew. And all throughout the ages it is enthusiasm that has time and time again been the driving force that has created the world as we know it today.

It is the 110%.

It is the factor that separates winners from losers and overachievers from underachievers. It enables individuals to face risk and conquer it. It turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. It transforms the impossible into the possible.

COMMITMENT TO A GOAL BRINGS EXCITEMENT

So what did Norman Vincent Peale say about how to get enthusiasm and keep it? He said this: ‘Set yourself a goal that you’ve just got to reach. Then build under it the fire of anticipation and keep it burning – you will acquire enthusiasm and never lose it…..New goals, fresh objectives – these are the self-perpetuating motivators of enthusiasm.’

Motivational Quote: Enthusiasm is the essential ingredient if greatness is ever to be achieved.