We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
—Winston Churchill
You will really enjoy motivating others if you start thinking of your life as a mathematical equation. We first saw the fun and benefit of this when our good friend and company CEO Duane Black solved the equation on two flipcharts in front of a grateful gathering of managers.
Here it is: When you are positive (picturing the math sign: +) you add something to any conversation or meeting you are part of. That’s what being positive does, it adds.
When you are negative (–), you subtract something from the conversation, the meeting, or the relationship you are part of. If you are negative enough times, you subtract so much from the relationship that there is no more relationship left. It’s simple math. It’s the law of the universe up there on the flip chart of life: positive adds, negative subtracts.
As in math, when you add a negative, it diminishes the total. Add a negative person to the team, and the morale and spirit (and, therefore, productivity and profit) of the team is diminished.
When you are a positive leader with positive thoughts about the future and the people you lead, you add something to every person you talk to. You bring something of value to every communication. Even every e-mail and voice mail that’s positive adds something to the life of the person who receives it. Because positive (+) always adds something.
It runs even deeper than that. If you think positive thoughts throughout the day, you are adding to your own deep inner experience of living. You are bringing a plus to your own spirit and energy with each positive thought. Your negative thoughts take away from the experience of being alive. They rob you of your energy.
Say this to yourself: I like this math. I like its simplicity. I can now do this math throughout my day. When I am experiencing negative thoughts about my team or my to-do list, I know it’s time to take a break and regroup and refresh. It’s time to call a time-out, close my eyes, and relax into my purpose and my mission. It’s time to slow down and breathe into it. I take a lot of quick breaks like that during the day, and this practice is changing my life for the better. It is making me stronger and more energetic than ever before.
Your own strength and energy motivates others. Or, as Car-los Castaneda said, “We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”
100 Ways to
Motivate Others: How Great Leaders Can Produce Insane Results without Driving
People Crazy, Third Editionby Steve
Chandler and Scott Richardson
