What are the qualities that cause a person to follow another? What is the one trait about a particular person that makes people listen, while others receive little attention? What could possibly be so powerful of an attribute that others will follow you even if they do not fully agree with you? And once you know what this skill is can it be duplicated? If so, how?
So what is this secret? It is a thing called "Passion". Truthfully, it is a bigger secret than is should be as it seems not many people have it. Just exactly what is passion? As defined by the dictionary: a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire. That definition only explains half of the story. The passion I am referring to means you believe in something bigger than yourself. Being so passionate about what you believe in that your belief level will overwhelm any opposition. In other words, when your belief level is bigger than someone else's disbelief level, they will want to follow you. Now they may not, but they will want to. And therein lies the key to its power.
As I have noted the attributes of the most successful people I have come to know, the one common and overreaching attribute they seem to have acquired is the ability to be passionate about the things they find important to themselves and the people they care about. So how do you acquire this trait? Can it be learned? Yes it can, if you are willing to commit yourself to accomplishing the needed requirements. So is it important enough to you to make a commitment to do what it takes to live with passion? Then make the commitment to do what it takes and read on.
There are really six solid steps that, if followed, are your keys to unlocking the doors of passion, and therefore success, for yourself. They are:
1. Learn to develop a clear sense of direction.
Many people might call this your goal. However it is something more. You need to define what the ultimate results are going to give you. Who, what and where will benefit? Will it be financial independence for you and your family so you can spend more time at home? Is it time you are looking for to spend traveling or serving others? Maybe it is just the security of knowing you are the master of your destiny. Whatever the results you are looking for, write it down. Write it as if it is currently a part of your life. Write in "I am" statements instead of "I will be". This can become your personal mission statement of sorts. Now put it someplace you can review it often so you can remember what direction you are heading for everyday. This will help you develop a clear sense of direction.
2. Learn to love what you do.
We learn to love what we do by picking something we love to do. Now the tricky part is to know what it is you love. This will entail some effort and honest evaluation on your part, but for the most part it is usually the thing that gives us our sense of importance, our sense of being valued. Commonly this is measured by many in the amount of income they make and the degree of status they achieve. Be cautious here as you need to be honest with your evaluation of what "turns your crank" as my Dad used to say. Once you find what you love, it is easy to work hard at it because it does not always seem like work...notice I said "not always" because everything will have times and things that are not very pleasurable to do but the love of the work will keep you engaged and happy.
3. Commit to learning all you can about it.
The glory of God is intelligence. The more intelligent you become on a subject the more power you will bring to your work. Learn everything you can about it, all the time. When I say that I mean learn from books, the internet, courses, trainings, conference calls, but most of all learn from mentors. Who are your mentors? You want those who are looking out for the greater good of others and not just their own selfish interest. Find these mentors and watch their examples. Pick out the things you find positive and emulate them. Listen to successful people in your desired project and use what they teach in your endeavor. Always be aware of learning opportunities every day. Become a lifetime student.
4. Give others your testimonial of why it is true for you and tell them often.
This is important as it is the blood of the passion process. You must develop your own story but you can borrow another person's story or testimonial while you are building yours. Start telling your story as to why you believe what you believe. Tell it often. The more you tell it the better you will get at it. The more you tell it the stronger your belief will become. A word of caution, make sure you have based this belief on something true for you or you could end up having some real tragic ethic problems down the road.
5. Never allow failure as an option.
I love the Winston Churchill quote "Never ever, ever give up". It is true, the only failure you have is when you decide to quit. Now that does not mean you will not fail. Every successful person I know embraces the failing process. Failing is feedback. Use it as such. Do not let it define who you are. I know some experiences can cause us to feel hopeless and faithless. But you must make the decision to NOT let those experiences define you. You must NOT. You are more, much more; getting back up and starting again is proof that you are. I had the owner of the major accounting firm I use tell me once that he liked me coming to his office. I asked him why. What he said was one of the proudest moments of my life. He said "I like being around people who will pick themselves up after getting knocked down." He continued "I know a lot of business people but the ones I enjoy the most and respect the most, usually the ones that have the longest sustained success, are those like you." Wow, I was just blown away. I am grateful to him as that reaffirmed my belief about this amazing practice of not letting failure be an option.
6. Be an example, at all times and in all places.
Gandhi is one of my famous modern day heroes. He lived with power because he lived by example. He lived for a cause greater than himself. He lived it every day and everywhere. That does not mean he did not make any mistakes, as he readily admitted he did. But he strived earnestly to be all he could, all the time. We too must do the same. Forget and forgive your past experiences and mistakes. Move forward today to be the example others need. Be the example you need. Commit today to do all you can everywhere and at all times...and live each day as a new day where you can begin with a fresh start.
Remember you can be passionate full time but work your business part time. Passion is a state of mind and a level of belief and focus. It does not mean that you are obnoxious about what you are doing to the point of trying to manipulate others to your point of view. Quite the opposite actually, it means you have so much passion about what you believe that it matters not if others choose not to believe in your cause, it is true for you and that is what matters most. That is passion, when your belief level is greater than somebody else's disbelief level.
May you live with passion and let yourself be the beacon for others to follow. And you can rest assured, they will follow.
Eric Glenn is the successful owner of many global businesses and regularly coaches clients and customers on nutrition, achieving success and creating their own global business. Eric strongly suggests the use of natural supplements to improve well-being. To learn more about success tools and supplements to improve your health visit http://www.ericglenn.com or his Synergy Worldwide supplements site http://www.synergyteamglobal.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment