Living and working with passion: why it matters so much …

Passionate individuals Achieve.

Passionate individuals Perform.

Passionate individuals Inspire.

Imagine tapping into your extraordinary talent and energy each working day. Picture the growth, the rewards and the results.

Sadly, not many people are passionate about their work. Think what are you passionate about? Yet, if business is to thrive in the 21st century, leaders must create an “extra-ordinary” level of commitment from their people. A commitment based not only on the mental – but one that also involves the emotional – passion.

Whilst Mind to Mind helps you to harness your extraordinary mental capabilities, we need the energy source of passion to capitalize on these capabilities.

In the late 20th century, information became the new business nightmare. Managers were surrounded, inundated – and often drowned – in information, much of it useless. So much so that electronic overload threatened. This is another reason why ZOX Pro Training is so relevant and important.

The “Knowledge Age” is passing as we rapidly head into what I refer to as the “Passion Age”. This new era will see the mastering of the difficult part of business – people issues. Physical resources are the easy part. That is why so few organizations successfully access the knowledge and wisdom and passion of their people: it’s just too hard.

Passionate performers make no distinction between labor and leisure, education and recreation. They simply pursue their vision with a commitment and energy sustained by their passion. Do you know what does it mean to have passion!

Effective leaders and performers understand the principles of motivation, that’s a given, but motivation and passion are not quite the same. One is a reactive process, the other a proactive one. Managers, coaches or corporate mentors all motivate, certainly, but this is achieved externally. One can encourage a person to be motivated, one can even teach them how to be motivated, but passion comes from the soul.

The Pain-Pleasure Equation

Leaders who want to access the passion and knowledge of their people must first understand the major drivers of human behavior, the pain-pleasure equation. It’s simple to define: how much pain is an individual willing to accept for a future pleasure?

Consider sportspeople and musicians: they are willing to undertake years of what is at times painful training because of the promise of pleasure that inspires them. Now translate that level of passion to your own life and to your organization:

1. What benefit will employees derive from contributing their passion and knowledge to the business?

2. What pain or disadvantage will employees reduce in their own lives by doing so?

3. What is the present pain that blocks employees from contributing their passion and their knowledge?

4. Can employees clearly see the pleasure they will gain from contributing the passion and knowledge and facing, or experiencing, the pain of doing so?

5. Is the pain of contributing passion and knowledge greater than the pain of being “safe” in a low performance environment?

The successful builders and leaders of tomorrow’s world-class businesses and lives will be those with a strong empathy-based style, who create a passionate, results-driven, working environment. Tell me examples of passions in life.

Charles B Kovess