November 2011
Party Professor
“Passion rebuilds the world for the youth. It makes all things alive and significant.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Recently, I was asked to give a presentation about passion. It was an interesting situation in that typically I have the opportunity to speak to folks who love to party so a passion presentation would be easy. Get a group of event planners together, and there’s a party waiting to happen!
However, this audience was a group of software engineers and a couple of sales people. I had only spoken with the owner of the company over the phone, and when I arrived on the scene he said, “I’m going to tear them down, and then I want you to go ahead and build them up!”
I can report to you that all went well and believe you might enjoy the basics of the presentation.
My very simple definition of passion is any intensely felt emotion that creates an enthusiastic or heartfelt response. I took “passion” letter by letter, and this is what I came up with:
Purpose: If you start with “why” you do anything and determine if it has purpose and meaning to you, then it’s easy to find the passion to do it with real commitment and zeal. I do feel that many times we are just going through motions. Simon Sinek has a presentation available on YouTube that does an excellent job helping you think about purpose and passion, and maintains that you must start with why. (Look up “Simon Senek How Great Leaders Inspire Action”).
Attitude: It is impossible to talk about passion without addressing attitude. Attitude is something that you must work on daily. There’s a decision to make minute by minute about how you feel. For me, taking time each day to be grateful is a really good way to manage and inspire my own passion. Attitude is a choice and deciding early in the day what your attitude is going to be can make a huge difference if you are going to live a passion-filled life.
Significance: When it comes to helping your team get passionate about your product and their work, it is important to understand that they must feel significant. They need to know that they make a difference. We all need to have some autonomy to feel like we make a valuable contribution to the job at hand. Create some systems for yourself and your team to help everyone know that they make a significant difference to you and your organization.
Signature: One question to the group was, “Does your signature show up in your work? Are there projects, products or ideas that have your mark?” Of course, the owner laughed and said, “Yes, I sign all the checks!” We put people in groups of two and asked each person to tell the other how the mark they make shows up for them. It was really cool. As the partner bragged on the other half of the pair, you could see that there were things that came up that reminded them of projects in the past or upcoming products that could not be if not for that individual. I think for the most part people want to make a difference, and when they can look back and say, “Wow, I had a hand in that,” it is meaningful.
Influence: When you are passionate about something, you are going to influence behavior. Yours and others. Passion moves people to action. The key words here are, “I want,” “I can,” “I will do.” Most of the time, a project or an idea lies dormant until someone gets passionate about making progress. The message of influence is internal and external. The big question is, how are you influencing yourself and others?
Outcome: Have you decided how you are going to live your life? A passion-filled life doesn’t even really worry about goals. Passion drives outcomes. The vision of what is to be is so firmly planted in the heart and mind of a passion-filled individual that the outcome is a foregone conclusion. This is so significant when it comes to building values and culture in your life and in your business. I encourage you to spend some time thinking about the outcome of each day and what you want your life to really look like and then live that.
Now: I’m borrowing from Nike and suggesting that “N” is for “Do It Now!” Why not? Living a life of passion is all about living life on purpose, being full of the right attitude, understanding that you have the opportunity to make a significant difference in everything you choose to do. You can leave your signature on all things you touch. It is greater to live a life out than just pass through, and now is the time to start!
I closed the session with a poster that had a child jumping with great enthusiasm. It read: “If you can’t put your heart into it, take yourself out if it.”
Beth Standlee is the CSO and founder of Trainertainment, a sales training company dedicated to great guest service, party development, and ultimately bringing more money to your bottom line. Beth can be reached by email at beth@trainertainment.net.
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