Passion
Passion is about having strong feelings.
I am love… I am desire… I make you toss and turn at night,
Keeping you from sleep and yet – not tired.
I am fear… I am anger… I can be rage!
You can experience me in Love, Laughter, and Happiness…and at any age.
I was there in Auschwitz, I was there in Rome,
I was at the Sistine chapel, I am in too few a home.
It was I that sent a man to the moon. It was I that freed the slaves.
It was I who fought the two World Wars and buried many men in their graves!
It was because of me that Christ went to Jerusalem - it was because of me that women finally got to vote.
It was because of me that our founding fathers wrote the constitution, and we have defended it since – fighting battles from coast to coast.
With or without me… things will get done.
If I am not there, life can lose meaning, substance, and purpose and be of little fun.
If you are lucky enough to possess me, then you shall be rewarded…
For you have found PASSION – and the difference you make will be forever recorded!
— Scott V. Black
The Empower U Leadership Team
Passion is about having strong feelings. The Greek meaning for the word is emotion. Emotions are the indispensable fuel that propels us to greatness. Everything important that happens to us arouses emotions. Too often in this country we suppress our emotions, we hide them and pretend they don’t exist… ahhhh, what a terrible existence. Passion makes us feel alive, it is that life energy that stirs us, that makes us WANT IT, whatever "IT" is.
Passion comes from the heart. We should all strive to have passion and emotion; not just at home, but with those that matter most and also in the workplace. A powerful leader has emotions and, more importantly, Emotional Intelligence.
Passion comes from the heart. We should all strive to have passion and emotion; not just at home, but with those that matter most and also in the workplace. A powerful leader has emotions and, more importantly, Emotional Intelligence. In his book Executive EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership & Organizations, Dr. Robert Cooper defines Emotional Intelligence as "the ability to sense, understand, and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions as a source of human energy, information, connection and influence. It is not enough to have feelings. Emotional Intelligence requires that we learn to acknowledge and value these feelings - in ourselves and others - and that we appropriately respond to them, effectively applying the information and energy in our daily life and work."
Of the many things I have learned over the past many years, becoming a Human Behavioral Specialist, is that most people have to get mad or angry to tap into any Passion. When thought of in that way, Passion becomes a negative force. Yes, Passion was present in Kosovo, it was in the Nazi death camps and it was in Germany during Hitler’s reign. We also see it often behind closed doors. Because of this many people think that Passion is what goes on in an intimate setting between two human beings. Yes, Passion can be present in those situations, but Passion is so much more than the physical connection of two people, so much more than the tyrannical destruction of things and people that are different than we are. Passion is emotion, intense emotion! When we learn that emotions are neither good nor bad - it is what we do with them that puts value on them - then we can tap into an energy source that has as much power, in a positive way, as the splitting of atoms. The more we learn to understand and direct these emotions, the better we are able to serve this world and truly make a difference.
So many people believe that emotions have no place in the workplace and then, when these same emotions are absent at home, wonder why …wonder what’s wrong. This false paradigm that emotions and business do not mix is archaic and detrimental to the life force of the organization - as well as to the people that make up the organization. When many people think of emotions they think of somebody sitting around crying - that is not the emotion I am talking about. Enthusiasm, inspiration, empathy, caring, compassion, excitement, love…these are emotions, these are powerful words! But they are just words without the energy to back them up. Words are just letters put together without the energy needed to bring those words to life.
In the study of communication we have learned that words are only 7% of communication. 93% is everything else. When you have energy, from the human heart, to propel those words - that is power! Everyone seems to be searching for the latest trend or technology to better their lives and better their careers…the search is over. In the words of Robert Cooper, Ph.D., author of Executive EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations:
By and large, what we are searching for in business and in life isn’t out there, in the latest trends or technology; it’s in here, inside ourselves. It has been there all along, but we have not valued it, or respected it, or used it as brilliantly as we are capable of. At its essence, a meaningful and successful life requires being attuned to what is on the inside, beneath the mental analyses, the appearances and control, beneath the rhetoric and skin. In the human heart.
No, the heart isn’t just a pump, as cardiologists describe it. It is more. Scientists can measure its energy from five feet away. It radiates. It activates our deepest values, transforming them from something we think about to what we live. It knows things our mind does not, and cannot. The heart is the place of courage and spirit, integrity and commitment. It is a source of energy and deep feelings that calls us to learn, cooperate, lead and serve.
While excessive emotions can temporarily disrupt reasoning or analysis, new studies suggest that, in most cases, too little emotion can be even more devastating to a career or organization. According to Josh Hammond, President of the American Quality Foundation, emotions have a high-performance definition which is present at the heart of every leading enterprise but is little recognized or valued in most of today’s other organizations…yet!
The greatest asset of any company is the hearts and minds of its people. The only asset any family truly has is the emotional connection between family members. Emotional connection is the basis for most relationships, both business and personal.
The greatest asset of any company is the hearts and minds of its people. The only asset any family truly has is the emotional connection between family members. Emotional connection is the basis for most relationships, both business and personal. The best sales people are usually the best because they have an enthusiasm or passion for their product. When that enthusiasm or passion is transferred to the client a sale is usually made. When I train people in sales I always tell them that "if you are not excited about your product, how do you expect anybody else to be excited?" Enthusiasm sells! Enthusiasm is a Greek word meaning ‘of the spirit’, it is emotion!
Emotions come from the heart. Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline and Director of Organizational learning at MIT, stated it best when he said:
People with high levels of personal mastery…cannot afford to choose between reason and intuition, or the head and the heart, any more than they would choose to walk on one leg or see with one eye.
We have all heard how important it is to have a mission statement. All successful companies and individuals have a mission statement; they know their purpose. One of the main reasons the mission statement is so powerful is because it gets people emotionally involved with what they do! When people in your organization are emotionally involved with what they do they become passionate and excited. When they become excited about what they are doing, when they are passionate about their purpose, they become committed to the companies cause. As Margaret Mead once said:
Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has!
Dr. Antonio R. Damasio, head of Neurology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine realized the power of emotion:
In truth, reasoning/decision-making and emotion/feeling intersect in the brain…There is a collection of systems in the brain dedicated to the goal-oriented thinking process we call reasoning, and to the response selection we call decision making. This same collection of brain systems is also involved in emotion and feeling. Feelings and emotion have a powerful influence on reasoning. I see feelings as having a truly privileged status. They retain a primacy that pervades our mental life. Feelings have a say about how the rest of the brain and cognition go about their business. Their influence is immense.
Emotional Intelligence emerges not from the musings of rarefied intellect, but from the workings of the human heart. It is Emotional Intelligence that motivates us to pursue our unique potential and purpose, and activates our innermost values and aspirations, transforming them from things we think about to what we live. Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is a better barometer for success among 4th grade children than is IQ. Emotional Intelligence was best described by Aristotle when he said
Anyone can become angry, that’s easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – this is not easy.
It is the power of directing your emotional energy - this powerful information - for a positive use. It is not pretending that you are not mad, it is not acting like you have no emotions, it is not suppressing your emotions until you explode. Emotional Intelligence is the intelligent use of this information, these emotions. It is using the right emotion, with the right intensity, at the right time, with the right person, for the right reason.
If you had a word processor would you have your employees use a typewriter to do letters and memos?
If you had a power drill would you have your employees use a hand drill? If you had two phone lines to do business would you only use one? If Steve Young was your quarterback and you were in the Super Bowl would you sit him on the bench and use a rookie? If the answer to these questions is no, then why would you not inspire and encourage your team to use the power of their emotions in accomplishing their purpose?
Passion is one of the greatest qualities a leader can have. People want to be around passionate people; they are looking for passion in their lives. We all have internal flames of passion burning within.
Leadership is action, not position. Being a leader is about being a role model. You cannot expect your team members to be excited and emotionally involved with your mission and purpose if you, the leader, are not. Enthusiasm and Passion are contagious. When you are enthusiastic and passionate about what you are doing, people around you become enthusiastic and passionate about what they are doing with you.
Passion is one of the greatest qualities a leader can have. People want to be around passionate people; they are looking for passion in their lives. We all have internal flames of passion burning within. Sometimes we let circumstances or situations douse that flame. To re-ignite that flame or to make it burn brighter ask yourself these questions. In what ways do I make a difference? Why am I here? In what activities do I feel most fulfilled? What is my unique purpose in life? As you answer these questions dig down deep and feel the flames getting hotter.
In closing, remember that people want to be a part of something bigger than they are. People want to feel that they are important, that they are needed. When you can help them get emotionally involved with what they do, then you have served your team well. To quote Clarence Francis,
You can buy a person’s time; you can buy his/her physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm…you cannot buy loyalty. You cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds or souls. You must earn these.
I have had a majority of this article written in many different places and many different pieces. It really came together for me on June 30, 1999, when I witnessed the birth of my second child, Christian Scott V. Black - Mr. Black, Jr.
We had our entire team present and all supporting my wife, Kim. The plethora of emotions that I experienced knocked me for a loop for 2 days. I was humbled, happy, scared, passionate, excited, frustrated… I was alive!!! When I held my newborn son, I got lost in time and I felt a passion I have never felt before. It wasn’t a projecting or high-energy passion, it wasn’t a sexual passion, it wasn’t an angry passion, and it wasn’t a "I am making the world a better place" passion. It was something new and unique. It was then that I realized the true power of Emotions and Emotional Intelligence!
I remain...
Enthusiastically yours,
Scott V. Black
The Empower U Leadership Team
July 1999
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