Hello and good day!
One day about 20 years ago, my brother was a 30 something bar tender who had quit his corporate job to try and start a business. The next day, he was an international business man flying to Peru to do business with the world's largest gold mine.
Which one of those descriptions do you think played better at dinner parties? Of course, he is now one of the world's foremost experts on processing cacao and he owns a chocolate company.
20 years ago, my dad visited Peru for the first time. He came back with a crazy scheme for selling mining equipment to a gold mine.
Instead of telling my dad that his idea was crazy, after all they had no experience doing business in Peru, and no experience whatsoever in mining, Brian decided to get on an airplane and try to figure out how to make it happen. In the exact moment when he decided to give it a shot, his identity was transformed.
Isn't it interesting how quickly that can happen?
Prior to that moment, if you would have asked Brian what was new in the world, he probably would have told you something about the weather.The very next moment, he'd tell you he was going to Peru on a business trip.
In the first example, you'd probably nod and pretend you were listening, but you'd really be thinking about something else.Who wants to talk about the weather again? In the second example, you'd probably have a whole bunch of follow up questions.
What part of Peru?
What business?
How did you get into that?
We have a customer who comes into our shop frequently who started a children's acting group. He is such an interesting person. I wanted to hear his whole story the first time I met him.
He had a daughter who was really into acting, but there wasn't a good troop nearby. He figured there were probably other families who had the same issue, so he started a little acting company for kids. The organization has been around for 10 years now and it is flourishing.
This gentleman is one of the most magnetic people, you just want him to keep talking and telling his story. The theatre company chooses the show as a group, they hold auditions, rehearse, lock down venues, sell tickets, and put on shows. the kids are involved every step of the way.
I find his story so admirable. I'm sure he went though a transformation similar to Brian's.
One day he wasn't doing the theatre thing and if somebody would have asked him about his life, it probably would have been some typical answer.cThe very next day, he would be on fire telling you all about his new project.
There is a lesson in this.Finding something to be passionate about creates a magnetism.And honestly, I don't think it matters what you are fired up about, as long as you are fired up.
I've been riveted by a customer telling me about her quilting hobby. I know nothing about quilting and it definitely isn't something I'd imagine myself being interested in. asked the customer what was new and she told me that she was about to go to a quilting convention. She was taking some chocolate with her.
She was so excited and passionate about it, that I got drawn in. I wanted to know all about quilting and the culture of a quilting convention. What do you do all day?
How long have you been attending?
Are there many different quilting conventions? How many people go? What do you do at night?
We have an excellent homeless customer who comes in frequently for free hot chocolate.I saw him not too long ago and I asked him how things were going. He launched in to a long explanation about how he was getting clean and getting his life together. He was on medication to kick the addiction. He was staying in a shelter instead of on the street.
He laid out the whole thing for me. Of course, I was drawn in and had a million questions. Prior to that interaction, he'd usually only mumble a couple of words, take his hot chocolate, and head out.
Anyhow, I think that one of the biggest blessings in life is to have things you are truly passionate and fired up about. And if you don't have anything, I strongly believe that it is worth going out and finding something.
You'll know you are on the right path when people start peppering you with a bunch of questions when you tell them what you're up to.
I hope that you have a truly blessed day!
