Every salesperson who’s had even an inkling of training has heard the phrase, “enthusiasm sells.”  It’s true.  We’ve all been sold something by an enthusiastic salesperson and we want the people we buy from to be enthused about their product or service.  But there’s another caveat to “enthusiasm sells,” it sells you.

Enthusiasm for your life, the direction you believe you are headed, and the general activities you perform on a daily basis greatly enhances your life experience.  But I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.

The trick is keeping your enthusiasm at a level that keeps you motivated to stay in action and achieve your goals.  Enthusiastic people are happy people.  Here are my top 10 ways of increasing enthusiasm.

1. Get around like-minded people.  Whatever the subject is, there is likely someone out there who is already very passionate about that topic.  For example, when I want to get excited about designing my websites, I find an online forum of geeks who honestly believe, “code is poetry.”  After reading just a few entries, I’m excited about it, too.
2. Read a book about the subject.  When I want to get excited about a gardening project, I get out one of my books, or buy a new one, on that particular project.  Authors are very passionate people.
3. Visualize yourself being enthusiastic.  When I need to “make” myself exercise, I prefer to be “in the mood” to exercise – I just find it more fun.  So to become enthusiastic about it, while preparing for the event, I envision myself performing the activity, enjoying myself, having a good time, smiling, and being enthusiastic about my walk, hike, tennis game, etc.
4. Research the subject.  Collect facts about the topic wherever you can – books, magazine articles, Internet sources, professional groups, etc.  Who would have information about the subject you want to gain enthusiasm about?  In sales we teach this concept as “know your product inside and out,” but that idea can be applied to nearly any subject.
5. Answer this question:  “Why?” Why do you want to be enthusiastic about this particular subject?  I used to want to become an early riser – you know – someone who gets up every morning at 5 AM and goes for a jog.  I bought into the paradigm that I could get more done before 8 AM than other people get done in a full day.  I tried it for a while and it is true, but I could just never get fully enthused about the idea long enough to keep it up.  Then one day I asked myself, “Why?  Why do I want to get more done?  I accomplish more between Noon and 6 PM than most people do in a full day.  Why do I want to get up at 5 AM?”  If you can’t answer the question, perhaps you would be better served to focus your enthusiasm on some other subject.
6. Create a list of 20 positive aspects about the subject. Enthusiasm needs something solid behind it.  Sure, you can fake enthusiasm for a while, but genuine belief is much better and longer lasting.
7. Remember past successes. If you’ve been enthusiastic about this topic before, remember when and why.  If this subject is new for you, remember a similar topic that you were enthusiastic about and how it turned out.  How can you apply the same thinking and achieve a similar result?

Enthusiasm sells, and is worth definitely worth cultivating.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Related articles:
The Value of Enthusiasm
20 Ways to Raise Your Vibration
How I Raise My Vibes

Posted under Motivation