Enthusiasm – The Key fertilizer to Unlocking your potential

By Jared Oundo 

If you have to pinpoint any attribute, or what emotion could possibly be the driving force of ANY successful story, enthusiasm would have to be right at the top of the list. Enthusiasm – or the lack thereof – determines your success. Doing anything that you are doing with   enthusiasm drives you into another level of greatness compared to everyone else. You are happier, you smile more, you are positive, and most importantly, you LIKE what you are doing. This is what enthusiasm brings to the table. With these attributes in your pocket, the question is no longer if you will realize your God given dream, but when you will.

Enthusiasm makes you work harder and strive more to realize your dream. Not because you have to, but because you DESIRE to. That’s much more powerful, and thus why the level of success skyrockets when you add enthusiasm to your “success arsenal”. For   example, let’s say you have two employees in the same office, doing the same work. One is going by the motion, doing just what he has to and not more, has a monotone unexciting, and neutral way about him that just doesn’t bring any excitement to the clients or his peers. This person isn’t doing anything WRONG, but they aren’t doing everything they COULD. On the other hand, you have this one    person that smiles, that is clearly happy to be there, that goes the   extra mile to make clients and co-workers feel contented and satisfied. This person is full of enthusiasm and brings a ray of sunshine wherever they go. Who do you think will be promoted? Who do you think sells more or accomplishes more with clients? Who do you think is the best example to follow? There you have, enthusiasm is the key.

As I mentioned above, the first person wasn’t doing anything wrong per say. However, realizing your God given dream is not always determined by right or wrong elements. That’s up to perceptions. Realizing your God given dream is about being 100% dedicated to putting in and investing the very best out of yourself into what you are doing. Enthusiasm opens a multitude of doors that bring the best not only out of you, but out of everyone around you. It’s about being emotionally invested into what you are doing, which then transforms into passion. You’ve heard I’m sure that passion is crucial to success; well enthusiasm paves the way to passion.

Incorporate this pivotal, magnetic force into whatever it is that you are doing, and watch the results. Ralph Waldo Emerson once supposed that nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm. If you approach any task without enthusiasm, the task will be laborious and backbreaking. You will find yourself watching the clock waiting for the day to end.  But, with enthusiasm, any task becomes so much easier, you will find yourself desiring to finish the task not finish the day.

Enthusiasm is transmittable. When you work with enthusiastic people, you can’t help but be enthusiastic yourself. Enthusiasm spreads like wild fire in a dry bamboo forest. Think of people you have worked with. Usually, those who show enthusiasm are fun to work with. And, those who have little enthusiasm usually bring you down. This is true not just at work but also in your personal life.

There are a lot of attitudes among workers that can lead to a better workplace and these can be as simple as respect for others, laughter, understanding, and compromise. As you might understand, enthusiasm by itself can only do so much but when enthusiasm is also coupled with respect for others, or the ability to compromise in the workplace, mountains can be moved.

Enthusiasm isn’t just about work either. Enthusiasm for everything you do will not only put you ahead in dealing with whatever comes your way, but you are also showing yourself to be an example of what constitutes a person of value, a person of merit, and a person to emulate.

The question for some people is “how do I actually show enthusiasm, and how does this translate to model a behavior for others to follow?” To show enthusiasm means that you openly do what others may be reluctant to do. You take on any task with a positive attitude. For example, if you are faced with a problem, you do not start talking about the problem as if it is something that stops you dead in your tracks. Instead, you talk about the problem only as a beginning to find a solution. The problem is only seen as a starting point to move forward and not as a place to stay stuck and complain, or feel defeated.

Be the most enthusiastic and positive person you know. Much has been said about enthusiasm. Consider the wisdom of Samuel Smiles, “Enthusiasm…the sustaining power of all great action.”
If you have enthusiasm you will find challenges you may be facing will be easier because of your attitude. You will find a solution.  Ponder on the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”  Looking at super achievers we can see these words are true. Look at great inventions or works of art for example, the really great ones had a person who was thrilled and    enthused about their work.

Vince Lombardi whose words may make you smile, but there is true wisdom in them, “If you are not fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”  Those who come to work full of energy and enthusiasm are usually the ones who are kept on. And the reason for this is that they are the ones who will take the initiative, they willingly help out when needed, and they contribute more than others. How enthusiastic are you?

Life Insurance sales people are known to be the most enthusiastic folks. Life Insurance is the most difficult “product” to sell. People   often think that salespeople are simply born to be a salesperson. While this may be true, you don’t necessarily have to have the ‘gift of the gab’. I believe that great Life Insurance salespeople are simply more enthusiastic than mediocre salespeople. They have an unblemished purpose and enjoy probing into a potential client’s problem, collaborating with others to provide insights to the client, and then providing a solution that will solve the client’s problem. It has been proposed that people, who feel they aren’t necessarily good at sales, approach sales in this way: Challenge, enthusiasm, action and finally success. Super achievers aren’t enthusiastic because they solved a problem; they solve a problem because they are enthusiastic.

Fortunately, enthusiasm can be developed by combining four simple elements that we all have:

1. Interest: It is difficult to be enthusiastic about something you’re not interested in.
2. Knowledge: Ignorance is ecstasy, particularly when you don’t care or have no desire to be enthusiastic. But when you do learn something new, you begin to understand its importance and your enthusiasm gathers momentum.
3. Belief: You must believe what you are saying.
4. Motivation: Motivation and enthusiasm come from within.

Despite this simplistic appearance, success doesn’t just come on a silver platter. It involves many tasks that many people find highly stressful. From prospecting, networking, delivering presentations and proposals, and ‘closing’, just to name a few. Realizing your God given dream requires a huge amount of mental, emotional and    physical energy and huge amounts of enthusiasm are required to get these things done.

Enthusiasm should not be mistaken for extroversion. Quiet people who are attentive but enthusiastic can be just as successful in sales roles. The most deadly combination for a salesperson is enthusiasm, mixed with the ability to build rapport quickly with total strangers. This is a unique and    enviable skill set that is very rare.