Enthusiasm – Loosen Up

Go time!

After months of planning, the day was finally here – producing my first radio show.

I found myself sitting in the 5th-floor studio control room looking out over downtown Dallas as the engineer prepared the board and handed me the first set of promotional segments.  I quickly read through each one and waited while he reviewed his final pre-recording checklist.

Wow, did I have a lot to learn!  For the next few minutes, Ed helped me practice my lines and pointed out ways to raise and lower my voice to bring better meaning to my words.  Over and over, he told me to smile as I spoke.  Finally, he took my script away and said, “Now you’re ready to do this.”

“Do what?” I asked

“Speak with the passion you really have for helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses”

Ed was right.  This time when he counted me down, I knew exactly what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.  He had helped me understand how to make my enthusiasm come through over the airwaves.   Turns out, creating a great radio show is really hard work.

As Ed continued to coach me, I realized that I sometimes discount how difficult it is to model real enthusiasm in our lives. While we may feel comfortable sharing our ideas and passions with other business owners and managers in person on the phone or via email, some situations required a very different approach.  What about at home with our families; in church or in the community?  Simply having enthusiasm is not enough – it’s very important that we keep on learning new ways to communicate it.

When I was finished recording my spots, I drove back to my home in the North Texas county side west of Fort Worth.  I was so jazzed by what I had just done that I could hardly sit still.  Noticing that the land around our house was looking a little overgrown I decided that a few hours on my tractor would be the perfect end to this wonderful day.

My tractor is a fully restored 1957 Ford 601 that has a mind and schedule all its own.  As I turned the key, and nothing happened, it became instantly apparent that mowing our back lot today was simply not a part of its agenda.  Not to be denied, I went to disconnect the battery cables to give it a boost only to find that the terminal bolts were rusted solid.  So, out came the WD-40 as I drowned each one in the hope of salvaging my project before darkness fell.

Thirty minutes later, the penetrating lubricant had done its job and I was able to get the old girl running again.  Bumping along across our field for the next several hours, I replayed the day’s events and lessons learned in my mind. 

Here is what I came up with:

1. As entrepreneurs, we often take ourselves and our business so seriously that the real joy and passion for growing it gets locked up inside us.  If others can’t see that we are having fun, why would they want to associate with us?
2. Nobody will ever understand our business as we do – after all, it’s our baby!  It is our job to educate and motivate others to see it as favorably as we do.
3. Employees, customers, and even vendors are continually forming opinions about us as owners/managers and about our company.  Realizing that every interaction is an opportunity to reinforce a positive image is critical to gaining their support of our mutual efforts to help it grow.
4. The well of emotion from which we draw our enthusiasm has a finite amount of “living water” within it.  To live a healthy and balanced life, we must reserve an appropriate amount of this precious resource to share with our family, friends, outside interests, and ourselves.
5. Enthusiasm is a two-way street.  We must take a proactive interest in the lives and businesses of others if we expect them to reciprocate.  Being enthusiastic about the success of others is an open invitation for them to help us reach our goals.

There have been many times in my life when I discovered that my enthusiasm had become like the stubborn bolts on that old tractor – rusted in place. Often during those times friends, family members, employees, and even strangers have come into my life and sprayed me down with WD-40 (encouragement) to free up my passions again.  

Growing forward:

Being rusted in place is no way to live (remember the Tin-Man in the Wizard of Oz?).  If you find yourself there today or in the future, consider some of the lessons I learned and then purpose to loosen up and let the world see your passion and enthusiasm again.  Go to a trusted friend or family member and ask them to reflect on some of the areas of your life that may need a little lubrication.  

Treasure this:

“Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it, nothing great was ever achieved.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Success consists of bounding from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill

“If you are not fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.” - Vince Lombardi

“A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.” - Mary Kay Ash

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