So the other day I put on a Jay Shetty podcast while I went for a walk. And after 1 minute I had to turn it off.
Because Jay was really excited.
And that made me excited.
And I was so eager to hear what he had to say and I knew it was going to be really transformative and I knew that I wanted to listen to it when I could really pay attention. Because I knew this podcast was going to give me some insight. Because Jay was so darn excited to tell me about.
So instead of listening to the podcast on my walk, I thought a bit about excitement.
About how, without even knowing the details of what he was going to say, I knew that I wanted to hear it.
Why was that?
Because excitement says "I love this".
And that tells me ...
... that I might love it too,
...that you are so into it that you have really done your research so your recommendation is worth listening to,
... that your motivation is joy not manipulation.
This idea made me think back to when I moved into my house in November and there was no heat. I needed a plumber. I didn't know anyone in the area so could not get a recommendation and I needed someone right away! So I called every plumber in the book and a few came by to look at my situation.
I hired Gary without even getting a price.
Because Gary was excited.
He loved the old pipes in the Victorian house. He might have actually whispered to the broken furnace. He looked at things. He asked questions. He smiled. He enthusiastically told me his plan and the options and the pitfalls.
Gary clearly loved plumbing.
He made me love it.
He made me confident that he knew about plumbing.
He made me feel like he wanted to do the job.
So I hired Gary.
I didn't hire the 5 other guys because none of them were excited.
They were mediocre.
Plumbing was just a job.
They were there to make money.
They were not excited and neither was I.
By the way, Gary not only did that plumbing job but pretty much re-piped our entire house.
His work was impeccable. He settled for nothing less because it was his art, his passion.
He came in the middle of the night. More than once.
I recommended him to all my friends and neighbors.
And when Gary passed on, I ended up with a mediocre plumber during a kitchen renovation (my contractor's choice, not mine) and his lack of excitement shows in the use of cheap pipes, the fact that my dishwasher leaks all over the floor on occasion, and the mess of pipe junctions all over my basement.
The moral of my story?
When someone is excited, PAY ATTENTION!
They have something amazing to share with you.
And then take it to the next step.
Find what makes YOU excited.
Be so in love with something.
Find something that makes you jump out of bed each day.
Be motivated by the pure joy of doing something.
Make people PAY ATTENTION!
Make people PAY ATTENTION!
Don't settle for mediocre!
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