Be Excited...Be VERY Excited

"Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas." - Henry Ford

EXCITEMENT: 
- a feeling of eager enthusiasm and interest: the state of being excited 
- exciting activity
- a quality that causes feelings of eager enthusiasm: an exciting quality
- something that excites or rouses
- the action of exciting: the state of being excited

I know a lot of people who look back on the days when their children were young and all they talk about is how hard it was to deal with them. They complain that it was a struggle, a trial, it was so difficult, with all the 3 a.m. feedings, the diaper changes, the non stop crying, never knowing what their child wanted because the child couldn't tell you what they wanted; all they could do was cry, etc. Most of their talk about those days centered around what a trial it was to have children, it was so hard, blah, blah, blah...

Maybe I'm different, but I enjoyed all that time I spent with my kids. Yes they made noise at times, yes they didn't go to sleep when I wanted them to (especially my son; it took a long time to get him to sleep at night, now there isn't a pillow his head doesn't like... LOL) and their energy seemed boundless. Whenever I was ready to call it a night they were just getting warmed up, it seemed. But still I enjoyed engaging with my kids, even at such a young age.

I did a lot of fun things with my kids when they were little, but my favorite thing to do with them happened just before they went to sleep: I read them bedtime stories. Usually it was Dr. Seuss (my personal favorite), or Curious George, or Amelia Bedelia, Little House on the Prairie, or any other book I could read to them, but what made it so enjoyable was the fact that I could improvise with the characters and do a whole bunch of different voices to entertain them and make them laugh. It was as much fun for me as it was for them. So much fun in fact, that when I read to my daughter at bedtime my son (who was a teenager by this time) would sit in the room with us and listen to those stories too, even though he'd heard them many times before my daughter was born. And he'd enjoy them just as much as she did, as if hearing them for the very first time.

I wondered what it was that made those moments with my kids so special. After giving it some thought I realized something that wasn't hard to figure out. Whenever I took my kids out on the weekends, my daughter would ask, "Daddy, are we going to do something fun?" She always knew the answer, but I guess she just wanted to hear me say it. (Yes, she had me wrapped around her little finger, but hey, that's part of being a dad, nothing wrong with that) Whatever I did with my kids, especially when I read bedtime stories to them, was special for one simple reason:

I was as excited about being with them as they were about being with me. I brought enthusiasm to my times with my children, and it was returned to me many times over. They were my mirror; everything I brought to them was reflected back to me. Excitement is contagious, and excitement is fun. When you are excited you draw people to you like moths to a flame. I found this to be true, and even years later my kids smile when they ask me, "Dad do you remember when..?" Doesn't matter if it was the movies, bowling, the bookstore, the library, the amusement park, the soccer field, the mini golf, even the bedtime stories, they still talk about that because it was fun and enjoyable for them...just like it was for me.

If I could share anything with you from this story with regard to any relationships you have, whether personal or business, it would be this: make the time you spend with the people who matter the most to you, matter most. If you want exciting things to happen in your life and on your team, be excited, be very excited. Life is like a mirror, it reflects whatever you project. I learned that from my children because I projected excitement to them in whatever I shared with them, and they reflected it back to me. They are just as excited and still as enthusiastic today as they were as little kids. It worked for me with my kids, and I can promise you, it will work for you and your kids...or even you and your team. Long story short, nothing happens until somebody gets excited...that somebody might as well be you:

"Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto." - Dale Carnegie

"If you have zest and enthusiasm you attract zest and enthusiasm. Life does give back in kind." - Norman Vincent Peale

That's all for now, gotta run.  Until we meet again, remember...

Keep it simple.... See ya!