No matter what you do in life, you've got to be excited about it. Whether its career or kids, you have got to make it part of your being, your all, it should consume you, in all that you do. Take Seth Godin the marketing genius in my opinion, as an example. For 7 straight years, without hardly ever missing a day, he has written an article, a thought, a whatever. His theory on some CD I was listening to the other day is really summarized as follows: If you can't get up and have something to say, have something to write about, be excited about what you're doing, then, quite frankly, find something else to do.
I guess I learned all this as a kid. My Mom was the typical Mom of the baby boomers. While Dad was self-employed and certainly Mom helped out in the business, Mom handled the discipline. It might have been as threatening as "wait till your father gets home" but it had its effects. Then Dad would come home and calm the waters so to speak. My parents didn't brag a lot about us as the proof was always in the pudding as the saying goes and they were never the arm-chair coaches at the local little league but when we as kids did do something of note, the accomplishment was CELEBRATED!
That had several effects on me as I've acquired less hair and more wrinkles over the years and while it only takes a minute for the most part, rewarding behavior, rewarding accomplishments, it all creates a sense of ENTHUSIASM and in very short order, that enthusiasm becomes CONTAGIOUS. It overflows to behavior patterns with your kids, your students, perhaps those you coach along and there certainly are many example of coaching, be it work or play. As a matter of fact, the founder of an amazing internet based company says and this is pretty close to being a quote, repeat behavior, when rewarded, will continue. Think about that!
I recently got a new puppy and at my age too, go figure. But OH what he is teaching me. We walk, I take a break about every hour or so and as result of that not only is he getting with the program, that little break is making me more productive. No longer do I get the brain freeze and my productivity is such, that most days I'm getting more done in less hours, than I've ever done before. Why, because behavior, when rewarded, will continue. Whether it's me getting refreshed every 60 to 90 minutes or the puppy gets a treat for doing his business outside, it's all the same. And get this, we are on day 10 of this new beast and there was no bathroom mistake today or last night or the night before, as his behavior is rewarded, every time he does something right and guess what, yup, it continues, just like me.
Back when I had the hotel & restaurants we not only had an award for the employee of the month (which usually is someone who is in the front of the house, the one the customers see and acknowledge) but we also had a back of house employee of the month (voted on by their peers), the ones the customer never sees but you can't live without (i.e. the dishwasher). But I'll tell you, the one that made it all work, and the one that got celebrated and created all the enthusiasm, is what we called the schmoozer of the month. That person was the customer service hero, the one who would do the most outlandish thing to WOW a guest and trust me; it became a competition of who could out do the other guy or gal. We celebrated this behavior pattern so strongly, heck, forget the plaque that hangs somewhere and collects dust, we gave them like the world's biggest name tag (so everyone knew what they accomplished), they may have even gotten their own parking space. But the thing that created the most magic was, we gave them a hundred bucks, like a day's pay back then and we didn't add it to their check or give them a gift card, we paid it in cash, at a luncheon, in five dollar bills and we counted it out loud, in front of everyone! Yes, we CELEBRATED!
Talk about CONTAGIOUS. Talk about getting behavior to repeat and repeat and repeat. From the desk clerk who took a guest's shirt home at lunch and wash it & starched it (cause he spilled something at breakfast on it and had an important meeting that evening and it was too late for valet service that day), to the housekeeper who came back after work with cookies and ginger ale for a guy who was sick in his room with the flu and here is another, the maintenance kid who would always say he won the little stuffed animals in one of those machines and magically they would show up in the little girls room who was getting treated at the Children's Hospital. If I sat down and really thought about it, I probably have a hundred or more stories.
It all started with my folks celebrating our accomplishments', to my college mentor who said and demonstrated in his own restaurant (if you WOW and CELEBRATE the customers arrival, each and every day, cold eggs will always seem just a little bit warmer) to now, the organization I'm affiliated with, who believes and preaches due to their founder, that behavior --- when rewarded --- will continue.
My new puppy is certainly not any different, than you or I when it comes to rewarding behavior. So go out there and be ENTHUSIAST about everything you do. You'll soon find out that what you're doing will become CONTAGIOUS and everyone will be celebrating your behavior. As John C. Maxwell has said, people teach what they know but do what they see.
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