The "Encore Effect"

The "Encore Effect"

Part One

This Series Came From Dr. Dallas Lummis of Chiro One Wellness Center

As Written By Mark Sanborn

Remarkable performance isn't just about what we do; it's also about how we do it.  Passion is the fuel that let's us "set ourselves on fire."  If you are going to get the marketplace excited about your brand - about you - you have to get people excited about who you are and what you do.  Remember, no one will be more passionate about your performance than you are in yourself.  The good news is passion can be created and stroked.  It's up to you to do so.

Cultivating Passion - I believe passion can be developed and cultivated.  Here are five things you can do to increase your passion over time:

1-     Study and Learn:
          You can go a long way toward becoming a passionate performer by buying the best books, subscribing to the best magazines, and going to free university lectures through Apple's iTunes U (podcasts from MIT, Stanford, Duke, Berkeley, and other top universities.)  There is no shortage of ways to become an expert in your field - and grow more passionate in the process.

2-     Use Small Achievements or Successes to Fuel Larger Ones:
          Remarkable performances are like losing weight.  Which goal sounds more achievable - losing one pound per week or losing 52 pounds?  The result may be the same, but psychologically, these goals are as different as night and day.  Focus on achieving a remarkable performance today, then another one tomorrow.

3-     Look to Other Passionate People as Role Models:
          Reach out to people you respect for thier passion and performance.  Start a group of like-minded people with similar goals.  Avoid the people who act as "Blockers".  Remember, passion begets passion.

4-     Plug the Leaks:
          Examine those areas in your life where your resources (your time, talent and skills)  are not being put to the best use.  A student once asked Albert Einstein how many feet were in a mile and he replied that he didn't know.  Seeing the student's amazement, Einstein replied, "I make it a rule not to clutter my mind with simple information that I can find in a book in five minutes."  Don't spend time on things that diffuse your focus and don't advance your goals.

5-     Make Passion Part of Your Life:
          Where the head goes, the heart will follow.  You may not feel passionate, but when you decide you are going to become a passionate person, you will become one.  If you act the part and succeed in the part, one day you will discover that you have become the part!  If you deliberately and consciously act with passion, your heart will follow.

Reprinted from "The Encore Effect:  How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do.

Copyright (c) 2008 by Mark Sanborn

Published by Broadway Business, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Randon House Inc.