That's motivation

In my leadership training work, there are always questions that keep coming up over and over again. One of these questions concerns motivation and enthusiasm. It comes from business executives, teachers, elected officials, government staff, church volunteers ... that is to say, from virtually everyone. "How can I maintain my enthusiasm and motivation, day in and day out, when I keep running into obstacles and problems?"

It is a serious question. But my response is always the same. "Look to a successful model," I suggest. Having a good role model can be incredibly helpful. I add that we need to see how some people manage to maintain their motivation and enthusiasm every day without letting obstacles and setbacks drain their joy. And this is what I tell them:

Let me start by telling you that I know of one group of people who consistently show incredible enthusiasm every single day of the year. They wake up with smiles on their faces. They're ready to go from the moment they open their eyes. They take on the day as if it were a race. They want to get started where they left off the night before.

If you try to distract them from their goals for the day, it can irritate them, but not for long. They bounce back from setbacks with incredible resiliency. And they do it with a smile.

You don't believe that there's anyone like that? Let me assure you there is.
These people don't know the meaning of the word "no." They believe in "now." No door can remain closed to them for very long, if at all.

They celebrate everything. And they celebrate everything every day! When they succeed, their celebrations can make the Super Bowl look like a tea party.
Although they are dynamos individually, they are a virtual hurricane when they join as a team. They can overwhelm any office they might walk into.

If you thought Ronald Reagan was "the Great Communicator" or Barack Obama drew cameras like a magnet, you haven't seen this group show off their networking skills. If one of them were to walk into your morning staff meeting, all attention would be focused on her instantly. They have a way with words and can talk to anyone as if they were life-long friends. They ask any question that comes to mind and answer your questions with brutal honesty.

Unlike most of us, they have no real need to play phone tag or carry cell phones. They live for the face-to-face contact. They thrive on it.

At the end of the day, they fall asleep knowing they have done their absolute best. They never fret over unfinished lists of things-to-do. They never look to the end of the quarter. They measure success in very different terms than you and I.

I would urge you to go find them and study them. Given an opportunity to study the great leaders – Roosevelt, Churchill, Zapata, Gandhi, Caesar – you would probably want to just stand and watch them, hoping to catch a glimpse of what drove them, listening to their ideas, examining their sheer determination to overcome all challenges.

And so it is with the people I am telling you about. Given a chance, you should listen to them and study them. You will never find a better, clearer model of enthusiasm.

Yes, they do exist. The secret is finding them.

But it really isn't a secret. They meet in the same room every single day. But, I warn you, they will suck you right into their tornado of a world. No one walks into their meetings and leaves the same. Prepare to be taken by the hand, literally, and forced to find your own enthusiasm. It is a challenge some people are not up to. If you really want to learn to maintain your enthusiasm and motivation, go there ... if you dare.

Go look for them.

They're in kindergarten.