Inexperienced and unknown, Hoffman struggled to find employment.

Acting gigs were not paying his bills, so he worked an assortment of odd jobs to stay afloat, including typing for the Yellow Pages, stringing together Hawaiian leis, and checking coats at a local theater.

Undaunted by sparse opportunities, Hoffman clung to his passion.

He took whatever acting jobs would come his way, always hoping to be discovered. Each time he acted, even in humble roles, he added to his experience and fanned the flame of his passion.

Hoffman’s passion stayed sharp because of the company he kept. Two of his best friends were fellow “starving artists”, also trying to make a break as actors.

Their names? Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall.

Together, Hoffman, Duvall and Hackman supported one another, validated each other’s dreams, and shared the ups and downs of life as aspiring actors.

Life’s fulfilment emanates from passion, and passion must be exercised and kept alive!

Dustin Hoffman found outlets for his passion to act.

Even when works was slow and pay was low, he attended open calls, worked commercials, and accepted parts in obscure dramas.

Hoffman also surrounded himself with friends like Robert and Gene who shared his passion for the stage and encouraged him to follow it.

People need to cultivate relationships with fellow journeyers who share a passion similar to their own. In doing so, they develop a network of supporters to spur them on while their vision is in its infancy or when their dreams face opposition.

Who is in your corner to cheer you on as you pursue your vision?

And whose passions are you helping to stoke?

— John Maxwell, Leadership Wired, Jan. 6, 2012

by Ajaero Tony Martins in: Successful Entrepreneurs

In the course of building a business; I have seen and learned a lot of things, and I am still in the learning process. Everyday, I come across tough, die hard entrepreneurs whose drive and achievements inspire me.

One of such inspiring entrepreneurs is Mark Zuckerberg; the youngest billionaire in the world. A lot have been said and written about this young billionaire entrepreneur but I am going to focus on his entrepreneurial achievements.

I saw how Mark Zuckerberg started from scratch and rose to become the youngest billionaire in the world all in a space of five years. Call him an accidental billionaire, a billionaire hacker or anything you like and you won’t be wrong but he definitely deserved his current status. Mark Zuckerberg is currently on our list of richest drop out billionaires but I don’t intend writing about his successes or fame.

Instead, I want to share with you lessons I picked up from the early years of Mark Zuckerberg; when he had nothing but a dream.  I think it’s worthwhile you quietly reflect on the entrepreneurial life of Mark Zuckerberg and learn from it.

Have you ever asked yourself how Mark Zuckerberg developed the idea for FaceBook.com? How did Mark Zuckerberg rise from nothing to become the youngest billionaires in the world? What lessons can be drawn from the start-up story of Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook Company? If you are interested in the answer to any of these questions, then read on.

“It’s not because of the amount of money. For me and my colleagues; the most important thing is that we create an open information flow for people. Having media corporations owned by conglomerates is not just an attractive idea to me.” –Mark Zuckerberg

In this article, I will be sharing with you the success lessons I learned from this young billionaire; Mark Zuckerberg. I am not sharing this with you to thrill you but to challenge you to stick it through the entrepreneurial process. If you are ready to learn, then below are the secrets to the success of Mark Zuckerberg; the youngest billionaire in the world.

Mark Zuckerberg: Success Secrets of the Youngest Billionaire in the World

1.            Have a Dream

Most people think that Mark Zuckerberg emerged from the blues to become a billionaire; they think he built Facebook with just a snap of fingers. The truth is they are wrong. Mark Zuckerberg was not an overnight success. His journey to fame and fortune began as a dream; a desire he was willing to sacrifice all for. That’s why Napoleon Hill said that “Desire is the starting point of all achievements.”

So if you want to replicate the success of Mark Zuckerberg; if you want to become rich and famous like him, it starts with your desire. What do you want from this life? Where do you want to be in the next ten years? What do you want to be remembered for after you bow your head to death? I know I can’t these questions for you but the articles below will be of help.

Why Do You Want to Become an Entrepreneur or Start a Business?

Discover your Purpose: What Do You Want to Be Remembered for after You Exit this World?

2.            Think big

Facebook was a project on Mark Zuckerberg’s computer and he would have opted to sell it off back then but he refused. Why? He refused to sell it off because he wasn’t looking for a payoff; he wasn’t interested in a paid job, he was more interested in changing the world. Facebook was a small project but Mark Zuckerberg’s dream wasn’t a small one.

His friends envisioned Facebook as a college project; Mark Zuckerberg envisioned Facebook as a worldwide project that will change the way people communicate and stay in touch. People initially analyzed Facebook as a million dollar project but Mark Zuckerberg envisioned a billion dollar company.

What do you see in that small business idea of yours? Where do you see your company in the nearest future? Are you aspiring to build a million dollar company or a billion dollar company? Remember that success doesn’t just happen; it begins with strategic planning.

3.            Start small

Mark Zuckerberg had big dreams and wonderful plans. He envisioned a worldwide project that will be worth billions of dollars. Yet, he started small. He wasn’t discouraged by his humble beginning; he didn’t despise the days of little beginning. Instead of waiting for the million dollar funding or startup capital; he started from his dormitory with little capital and sweat equity. But today; he’s among the youngest billionaires in the world.

Never be ashamed to start from the scratch because building a business from scratch is where the glory lies. I will suggest you read the article below; it will help you appreciate the need to start small.

How to Start a Business from Scratch: My Entrepreneurial Journey So Far

4.            Believe in yourself

Self belief is a prerequisite for successfully undertaking any venture and Mark Zuckerberg had lots of it. You can never build a successful business by thrusting responsibility to someone else. You have to believe that starting a business and growing such business can be done and you are the one to do it. Never look down on yourself; believe firmly in yourself and your God’s given ability and you will make it.

“You are nuts and you should be proud of it. Stick with what you believe in.” – Trip Hawkins

5.            Follow your passion

What are you passionate about? Are you prepared to stick to your passion? Are you willing to make sacrifices for your passion? These are the questions you must answer if you want to replicate the success of Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg was a programming enthusiast from childhood and he stuck to that passion; despite the fact that it led him to break the rules, he stuck to it. Everyone loves the success story of Mark Zuckerberg but only few will ever give a thought to the fact that Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of college; just to make sure his passion never dies. That singular sacrifice alone enabled him make the list of the richest drop out billionaires in the world. Undying resolve is a key to building a billion dollar business from scratch.

6.            Be prepared for criticism

“I just wish nobody made a film about me while I am still alive.” – Mark Zuckerberg

Just like every successful entrepreneur; Mark Zuckerberg has gotten his share of criticism. But he refused to be cowed by it. Criticism is a necessity on the road to the top so you must be prepared not only to accept it but also to leverage on it. Don’t let criticism hold you back; instead, use it as a stepping stone to greater heights.

7.            Be diligent

“I guess we could. If you look at how much of our page is taken up with ads compared to the average search query. The average for us is a little less than 10% of the pages and the average for search is about 20% taken up with ads. That’s the simplest thing we could do but we aren’t like that; we make enough money. Right, I mean we are keeping things running; we are growing at the rate we want to.” – Mark Zuckerberg

“See thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before vain men.” – Proverbs 22: 29

The message above is clear. Before the sweetness of success comes sweat. No man gets to the top with both hands in his pocket. All successful entrepreneurs and drop out billionaires earned their place through hard work; they toiled while others slept and that’s why they became successful.

8.            Don’t be afraid to dare the giants

Mark Zuckerberg wanted Facebook to be the heart of the internet but he had an obstacle; an unmovable well established giant and that giant is Google. Was Mark afraid to take Google head on? The answer is no. Sometimes, success can be found at the feet of the giants; in the den of lions and only the brave can go for it. That’s why courage is one of the characteristics possessed by successful entrepreneurs. Without courage, there will be no risk taking.

9.            Be focused

“The thing I really care about is the mission; making the world open.” – Mark Zuckerberg

Do you know the reason why Facebook was able to withstand Google? The answer is because Mark Zuckerberg focused on fulfilling Facebook’s mission. That’s why successful entrepreneurs such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Andrew Carnegie repeatedly emphasized the need to concentrate. Diversified effort yield’s minimal results; concentrated effort yields maximum result. So concentrate.

“Concentrate your energy, your thoughts and your capital.” – Andrew Carnegie

10.          Learn to take risk

“Without the element of uncertainty, the bringing off of even, the greatest business triumph would be dull, routine and eminently unsatisfying.” – J. Paul Getty

“In today’s rapidly changing world, the people who are not taking risk are the risk takers.” – Robert Kiyosaki

No entrepreneur ever became successful without undertaking an atom of risk. Mark Zuckerberg also had his fair share of risk. When Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of college to focus on building Facebook; he took risk. By confronting Google; he took risk. Facebook itself was a risky venture that paid off immensely. Entrepreneurship is all about risk taking. Without risk, the world will remain stagnant.

“Risk — If one has to jump a stream and knows how wide it is, he will not jump. If he doesn’t know how wide it is, he’ll jump and six times out of ten, he’ll make it.” – Anonymous

“You must take risks, both with your own money or with borrowed money. Risk taking is essential to business growth.” – J. Paul Getty

11.          Stick to the process

“In the game of entrepreneurship, the process is more important than the goal. When you start building a business, you begin a journey, a process. This process has a beginning and an ending and between the beginning and end lays a lot of challenges. You will win only if you remain faithful to the process.” -  Rich Dad

Starting the entrepreneurial process is one thing; sticking to the process is another. Facebook was not an overnight success; its success was achieved on installments. Mark Zuckerberg did not become a billionaire overnight; he worked it out for years and he is still working it out. That’s the spirit of entrepreneurship; the spirit of continuity.

“Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Ray Kroc

In conclusion; there’s nothing extraordinary about Mark Zuckerberg’s success. There’s nothing abnormal about his emergence as the youngest billionaire in the world. He deserves the position because he dreamed it, planned it and worked it out. He stuck to his passion and focused on fulfilling the Facebook mission; that was why he became the youngest billionaire in the world. His success has nothing to do with luck.

http://www.strategicbusinessteam.com/successful-entrepreneurs/mark-zuckerberg-success-secrets-of-the-youngest-billionaire-in-the-world/

On May 10^th, Microsoft announced its whopping $8.5 billion-dollar purchase of Skype. Why would the software giant pay such a princely sum for a company that had suffered $689 million dollars worth of losses in the previous year? Put simply, because Skype has lived up to its stated purpose: “to break down barriers in communication.” For eight years, the VOIP provider has been on the leading edge of harnessing Internet technology to allow people to connect with one another across the globe.

Let’s look at three communication barriers Skype’s innovations have helped to break down and how leaders must learn to overcome similar communication challenges.

Distance

When phone customers dial to a destination outside of their network, rates skyrocket due to the connection fees required to route to the originating call to its intended recipient. Also, as anyone who has ever been billed roaming charges can attest, making calls when travelling across international borders incurs substantial costs. By translating voice waves into data packets and transferring them across the World Wide Web, Skype circumvented pricey dimensions of international calling.

Distance acts as a barrier to communication for leaders who face the challenge of casting vision to a network of middle managers, front line workers, customers, and partners. The farther the vision must travel, the weaker it becomes. When the leader at the top is the only one who can express the vision, he or she has little to no chance of seeing it spread throughout the organization. However, by equipping and empowering leaders at all levels to articulate the vision in a compelling way, the best communicators overcome the distance separating them from their audience.

Cost

Not only does Skype reduce surcharges associated with long-distance calls across international boundaries, it allows any customers to get in touch with anyone, anywhere for no cost whatsoever. Skype decided to keep its basic communication service and software free for users. As a result, people can chat with one another, for free, from anyplace on the globe as long as they are connected to the Internet. By making its basic product free, Skype attracted millions of users. Then, Skype marketed extra services like ringtones, voicemail, and group video calling to earn its revenues.

Obviously, a product has far greater appeal when its manufacturers have figured out how to remove costs so that customers can access the product with little to no expense. Communication works much the same way. An audience will only invest a certain amount of energy to understand a message. The more time and attention people must pay to absorb what you say, the fewer people will connect with your message. As a communicator, you must eliminate the costs upfront by investing your time and energy to make the message simple, to put it in context, and to share it in a creative and entertaining way.

Diverse Audiences

People use a variety of electronic devices to communicate with one another, thus any application designed for widespread usage must function across a variety of platforms. Skype has been engineered to work well on a wide range of gadgets. Thanks to its flexibility, Microsoft can employ Skype to help its customers connect across several platforms: personal computers, smart phones, email clients, gaming consoles, etc. With Skype, people no longer are limited to calling one another on a phone, but they can talk together while playing video games or surfing the Internet, too.

Just as Skype has learned to tailor its product to appeal to customers using a variety of communication channels so leaders must broadcast their messages in several different ways to connect with diverse audiences. Not everyone loves to read books; some people obtain and retain information better by watching videos or participating in learning exercises. Leaders who communicate the most effectively deliver their messages in numerous formats and share those messages across a wide assortment of platforms. By communicating through outlets familiar to their audience, leaders “speak their language,” and influence the greatest possible number of people.

http://www.johnmaxwell.com/products-resources/leadership-on-demand/articles/overcoming-barriers-to-communication/

by John C. Maxwell

Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “Criticism is something you can avoid easily—by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” Obviously, that isn’t an option for anyone who wants to be successful as a leader.

Good leaders are active, and their actions often put them out front. That often draws criticism. When spectators watch a race, where do they focus their attention? On the front-runners! People watch their every action—and often criticize.

Since criticism is a part of leadership, you need to learn how to handle it constructively.  The following has helped me to deal with criticism, so I pass it on to you.

Know yourself.

Do you really know yourself? Are you aware of your weaknesses as well as your strengths? Where do you fall short as a person and leader? Not sure what your weaknesses are? Ask five trustworthy people close to you. They’ll be able to tell you where you come up short.

Know the criticism – and the critics.

When you receive criticism, how do you tell if it’s constructive or destructive? (Some say constructive criticism is when I criticize you, but destructive criticism is when you criticize me!) Here are the questions I ask to get to determine what kind of criticism it is:

• Who criticized me? Adverse criticism from a wise person is more to be desired than the enthusiastic approval of a fool. The source often matters.
• How was it given? I try to discern whether the person was being judgmental or whether he gave me the benefit of the doubt and spoke with kindness.
• Why was it given? Was it given out of a personal hurt or for my benefit? Hurting people hurt people; they lash out or criticize to try to make themselves feel better, not to help the other person.

Stay open to change.

Let’s assume you now know yourself pretty well. You can tell when a criticism is way off-base; maybe it’s directed more at your position than at you. And you know when a criticism is 100% legitimate because it’s about a weakness that you’ve already discovered.

But what about the gray areas? The criticisms that might hold a grain of truth? A good leader stays open to improvement by:

• Not being defensive,
• Looking for the helpful grain of truth,
• Making the necessary changes, and
• Taking the high road.

Accept yourself.

Jonas Salk, developer of the Salk polio vaccine, had many critics in spite of his incredible contribution to medicine. Of criticism, he observed, “First people will tell you that you are wrong. Then they will tell you that you are right, but what you’re doing really isn’t important. Finally, they will admit that you are right and that what you are doing is very important; but after all, they knew it all the time.”

How do leaders who are out front handle this kind of fickle response from others?

The Serenity Prayer, made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, gives direction in this area:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

If you have endeavored to know yourself, and have worked hard to change yourself, then what more can you do?

Forget yourself.

The final step in the process of effectively handling criticism is to stop focusing on yourself. Secure people forget about themselves so they can focus on others. By doing this, they can face nearly any kind of criticism—and even serve the critic.

I try to live out a sentiment expressed by Parkenham Beatty, who advised, “By your own soul learn to live. And if men thwart you, take no heed. If men hate you, have no care: Sing your song, dream your dream, hope your hope and pray your prayer.”

As leaders, we must always be serious about our responsibilities, but it isn’t healthy for us to take ourselves too seriously. A Chinese proverb says, “Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves. They shall never cease to be entertained.”

As a college junior, Harrison Ford decided to take a drama course in the hopes of meeting girls. Sure enough, a love affair ensued, only not of the variety Ford had envisioned. Rather than falling for a beautiful woman, he fell in love with acting.

Like so many aspiring actors before and after him, Ford travelled to Los Angeles in the hopes of launching a career in Hollywood. However, he found the industry difficult to enter. While he was hired for acting jobs, he appeared only in small, often unaccredited roles and seldom received a speaking part.

After five or six years, Harrison Ford was tired of performing in obscurity and in need of more steady income to support his family. Having ability as a craftsman, he took up carpentry. He worked as a stagehand for rock group, The Doors, and did odd jobs for many of the people he had met while acting in Los Angeles. One day, a man named George hired him to build cabinets. While making the cabinets Ford became acquainted with his customer who turned out to be movie director, George Lucas. Upon learning that Ford was an actor, Lucas gave him the opportunity to audition for a role in his upcoming film American Graffiti. Ford won the part, a prominent supporting role and his biggest performance to date.

After acting in American Graffiti, Ford parlayed his carpentry skill into more on-screen opportunities. Francis Ford Coppola (director of The Godfather) cast Harrison Ford in a minor role in his 1974 film, The Conversation, after Ford had helped him with an office expansion project. However, it was Ford’s relationship with George Lucas that opened the door to stardom. In 1975, Lucas hired him to read lines for a space adventure screenplay. Impressed by Ford’s talent Lucas cast him as major character Han Solo in Star Wars (1977). The movie, one of the highest grossing films of all-time, was a smashing success and Harrison Ford’s performance was a big reason why.

Collaboration between Ford and Lucas continued in future years with the production of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Return of the Jedi (1983). The duo also worked together on three instalments of the widely popular Indiana Jones movies in the 1980s. Amazingly, what had begun as an arrangement to build cabinets turned into one of the most lucrative partnerships in American film history!

Personal Growth Lessons from the Life Story of Harrison Ford

1) Be Open to Acquiring New Skills

When Harrison Ford wasn’t going anywhere as an actor, he found another avenue to exercise his talents-carpentry. Although he didn’t have formal training as a carpenter, Ford diligently worked to gain competence at his new craft. His success in acquiring a new skill not only helped him provide for his family, it positioned him to meet George Lucas.

2) Keep Growing Because You Never Know When Your Opportunity Will Appear

One would assume that Harrison Ford battled feelings of failure when he put his acting career on hold to make cabinets. His dream wasn’t to be woodworking in the shop; it was to be performing on stage. Yet despite his disappointment, Ford kept hope alive and stayed sharp as an actor. When George Lucas gave him the opportunity to audition for American Graffiti, Ford was ready, and he won the part.

3) Honing Your People Skills Can Reap Big Dividends

Something about Harrison Ford caught the eye for George Lucas. I’m not sure if it was Ford’s charisma, his passion for acting, or his skill as a craftsman. Whatever the reason, the key lesson is that Harrison Ford forged a relational connection with George Lucas. He conducted himself in such a way that George Lucas wanted to see him succeed and decided to give him a shot. Whether you’re on the doorstep of your dream or a million miles off course from where you’d hoped to be, improving your people skills is a wise move that will attract opportunities to you.

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I seem to spend a disproportionate amount of my time in Starbucks so I purchased the book ‘Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time’ by this mystery man … Howard Schultz

Here is an article I found that in a brief amount of time gives you some amazing facts …

Why Howard Schultz?

Once you know who this man is and what he has accomplished in a relatively short period of time, I would think you’d automatically want to know more about him, how he did what he did, and what he may be capable of in the future.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Starbucks, but how much do you really know about them?

• Starbucks is a dominant multinational coffeehouse chain based in the U.S.
• Named after the first mate in the novel Moby-Dick, Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world!
• Boasting 7,521 company-owned and 5,647 licensed stores in 41 countries, worldwide locations total 13,168.
• Industry experts predict a future of 50,000 stores, trumping even McDonalds.
• In 2006 they registered revenues of $7.786 BILLION!
• They are currently opening coffee shops at the rate of 3½ a day worldwide and that figure is expected to increase soon!
• They currently employ over 147,436 employees!
• They are currently hiring 250 people a day!
• Their subsidiaries include Starbucks Coffee Company, Tazo Tea Co., Seattle’s Best Coffee, Torrefazione Italia, Hear Music, and Ethos Water.
• Starbucks brand ice cream and coffee are also sold in grocery stores, and they have ventured beyond refreshments into books, music, and film.
• Here’s the most amazing fact. At a time when the USA is facing financially challenging times, this company bases its success on the fact that they are selling a product that averages $12.88 a gallon while consumers are complaining about $3.00 a gallon gasoline!! More power to them.

Hopefully, I’ve answered the question of “Why Howard Schultz?” This man is the Wizard behind the Coffee Curtain.

Now let’s tackle “Who is Howard Schultz?”

He’s an American businessman and entrepreneur most widely known as the Chairman and Chief Global Strategist of Starbucks and former owner of the Seattle Supersonics.

Howard was born in 1952 and grew up in a subsidized public housing project in Brooklyn, New York as the eldest of three children. A football scholarship to faraway Northern Michigan University was his ticket out of the projects, and he became the first in his family to earn a degree.

After graduating, Howard worked at a variety of jobs for six years before becoming the manager of U.S. operations for Hammarplast, a Swedish maker of stylish kitchen equipment and house-wares.

In 1981, he travelled from New York to Seattle to check out a popular coffee bean store called Starbucks that had been buying many of the Hammarplast drip coffeemakers he was selling. He immediately fell in love with not only that great smell but with the care the Starbucks owners put into choosing and roasting the beans. He was also very impressed with the owners’ dedication to educating the public about the wonders of coffee connoisseurship.

He walked away from that visit saying, “God, what a great company, what a great city. I’d love to be a part of that!” The rest is history. What a fantastic story! What serendipity! What inspiration! This is a perfect example of why we chose to share these stories!

Determined as he was to become part of this organization, it took Howard a year to convince Starbucks owners to hire him. As their Director of Marketing, he travelled to Italy in 1982 where he had still another epiphany. He couldn’t help but notice that coffee bars appeared on almost every block. After investigating this phenomenon, Howard discovered that there were over 200,000 coffee houses in Italy, and they did much more than serve espresso. They served as meeting places or public squares … they were a critical piece of the Italian culture.

Inspired by what he had witnessed, he hurried back to the U.S., resolved to create a similar experience. Shocking long story short. Starbucks leadership said they simply weren’t interested in getting into the restaurant business. Schultz responded by quitting to start his own company, ll Giornale. It was a small, friendly café which soon became a popular gathering place for Seattle sophisticates. As it grew more popular, Schultz planned to expand his chain. That’s when he heard a rumor that the Starbucks leadership team had decided to focus on Peet’s Coffee & Tea. In 1987, he bought out the Starbucks partners for $3.8 million and hasn’t looked back since.

Taking great pride in his knack for “Thinking Outside the Cup,” Schultz developed a series of practices that were unprecedented in retail. He insisted that all employees working at least 20 hours a week get comprehensive health coverage, including coverage for unmarried spouses. Then he introduced an employee stock-option plan. These moves boosted employee loyalty and led to extremely low employee turnover, even though salaries were fairly low. To this day, leaders in every industry claim these benefits simply aren’t feasible.

Quick reminder:

• 13,168 stores!
• 3½ new stores daily!
• 147,436 employees!
• 250 new employees per day!
• Revenues of almost $8 billion!

Starbucks has managed to blossom without national advertising.

In 2006, Forbes Magazine ranked Schultz as the 354th richest person in the U.S., with a net worth of $1.1 billion!

Despite their tremendous success, they have less than 6% market share of coffee consumption. They are in the infant stages of growth in this business! Maybe more leaders should be “Thinking Outside the Cup.”

Asked the secret of his success, Schultz shared his four major principles:

• Don’t be threatened by people smarter than you.
• Compromise anything but your core values.
• Seek to renew yourself even when you are hitting home runs.
• Everything matters!

Thank you. I’m honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. Truth be told, I never graduated from college and this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation.

Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months but then stayed around as a drop-in for another eighteen months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife, except that when I popped out, they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking, “We’ve got an unexpected baby boy. Do you want him?” They said, “Of course.” My biological mother found out later that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would go to college.

This was the start in my life. And seventeen years later, I did go to college, but I naïvely chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and no idea of how college was going to help me figure it out, and here I was, spending all the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out, I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me and begin dropping in on the ones that looked far more interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms. I returned Coke bottles for the five-cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example.

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer was beautifully hand-calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and sans-serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me, and we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts, and since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them.

If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class and personals computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.

Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something–your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever–because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was twenty. We worked hard and in ten years, Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. We’d just released our finest creation, the Macintosh, a year earlier, and I’d just turned thirty, and then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew, we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so, things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge, and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our board of directors sided with him, and so at thirty, I was out, and very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down, that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure and I even thought about running away from the Valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me. I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I’d been rejected but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods in my life. During the next five years I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer-animated feature film, “Toy Story,” and is now the most successful animation studio in the world.

In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT and I returned to Apple and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance, and Lorene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting medicine but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life’s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17 I read a quote that went something like “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “no” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important thing I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life, because almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctors’ code for “prepare to die.” It means to try and tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next ten years to tell them, in just a few months. It means to make sure that everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope, the doctor started crying, because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and, thankfully, I am fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept. No one wants to die, even people who want to go to Heaven don’t want to die to get there, and yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. right now, the new is you. But someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it’s quite true. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalogue, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stuart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late Sixties, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. it was sort of like Google in paperback form thirty-five years before Google came along. I was idealistic, overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stuart and his team put out several issues of the The Whole Earth Catalogue, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-Seventies and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath were the words, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” And I have always wished that for myself, and now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Thank you all, very much.

Steve Jobs

It’s hard to imagine a time when Samuel L. Jackson wasn’t an A-List celebrity, but twenty years ago he was a frustrated, little-known actor who couldn’t seem to breakthrough. Despite his prodigious talents, as of his 41st birthday Jackson could claim nothing more notable than a few minor cameos. Intensely discouraged, he turned to cocaine and quickly developed a dependency on the drug. Within a year, he hit rock bottom. When his wife and eight-year old daughter discovered him passed out on the kitchen floor, there was no denying that he had lost control.

fter finding Jackson unconscious, his wife LaTanya immediately checked him into a rehabilitation clinic. For the first time, Samuel L. Jackson was forced to face up to his anger and discouragement, and he began to make life changes. To his credit, Jackson submitted himself to the recovery process, and with the encouragement of his family, he was able to break his addiction. Less than twelve months later, he finally achieved stardom for his supporting role in Jungle Fever. From then on, his reputation grew steadily, and his career flourished. Today, he is regarded as one of Hollywood’s finest and hardest-working actors.

What can we learn from Samuel L. Jackson’s journey?

No one is immune to discouragement.

Regardless of your personality, potential, or position you will encounter discouragement at some point in life.

Our response to discouragement holds the key to our future.

I’ve noted two types of people in the world: splatters and bouncers. When splatters hit the bottom they land with a thud and stick like glue. No matter what you try to say and do, there’s no use trying to pick up a splatter who has fallen flat. Bouncers on the other hand, pull themselves together and rebound after hitting the bottom. Give them a little bit of encouragement, and they will ride it back up to the top.

Everyone who falters has a choice: are you going to get up or give up? The difference between the splatters and bouncers lies in their attitude. Splatters bemoan their fate and blame others for their problems. Bouncers learn from their failures and find supporters to help them recover.

Our influence can be pivotal in rescuing others from self-destructive discouragement.
Imagine if Samuel L. Jackson had not been married, or if the people who cared about him had not intervened on his behalf. He might never have checked into rehab, he might never have beaten his drug addiction, and the world might never have been entertained by his acting. Thankfully for Jackson, he was surrounded by people who loved him and encouraged him as he recovered from substance abuse.
In leadership, inevitably you will cross paths with someone who is downtrodden. When you do, your encouragement can be a lifeline to save them from spiralling into self-destructive despair. Here’s how you can counteract discouragement:

1) Guide Them to the Right Perspective
People who are discouraged oftentimes seem trapped under a black raincloud. Everywhere they turn appears to be dark, and they cannot see rays of light anywhere. As a leader, you can point to the positives and help them to keep hope alive. In additional, you can assist the discouraged person in properly interpreting setbacks. Remind them that just because they experienced failure doesn’t mean they are a failure.

2) Connect Them to the Right People
You may encounter people whom you have limited ability to encourage because you can’t relate to their area of discouragement. For instance, if you’ve never been in sales, it can be hard to cheer up a dispirited salesperson. However, within your network, you may know someone who has undergone similar frustrations in sales and would be glad to share some encouragement from his or her experience.
Also, the depth of someone’s discouragement may necessitate professional assistance. In the middle of his drug addiction, Samuel L. Jackson didn’t need a pep talk from a buddy as much as he needed medical care and attention from a licensed counsellor. Sometimes the best service you can do for someone who has hit rock bottom is to persuade him or her to get help.

3) Restore Them with the Right Words
Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, at one time the greatest heart surgeon in England, says this in his excellent work, Spiritual Depression, It’s Cause and Cure: “Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself.” Think about it. When you’re discouraged, you wake up in the morning and right away, there are streams of thought coming into your mind. You haven’t invited them; you didn’t ask for them; you are not consciously doing anything to produce them; they just come! They start talking to you.

As a leader, you can help people filter unfounded fears and unwarranted worries from their inner dialogue. After doing so, you have the opportunity to speak affirming and encouraging words that can take the place of negative thoughts. Once people change their thinking, their attitudes and actions eventually follow.

We all get discouraged at some point in our lives. We reach a point when we wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to just give up. We begin to doubt our own abilities and lose faith in others. The “thrill of victory” is no longer so sweet, and the “agony of defeat” doesn’t seem so bad. Our energy is drained, and we’ve stopped having fun. This is when you need to dig deep inside yourself and find that well of determination and inner strength that will help you face your fears, counter the ensuing complacency, and keep you committed to reaching your goals.

Having this sheer determination is one of Hillary’s keys to success. Never being a quitter was wired into her DNA early on and was reinforced while she was still in college. When she first arrived at Wellesley, she struggled academically. She called her parents, hoping that they would tell her to come home. She told them that she didn’t feel that she was bright enough or up for the academic challenge. Dorothy Rodham, her mother, told her that she had not raised a quitter and that dropping out of Wellesley would be a catastrophic mistake. Hillary stayed in school and, with her incredible work ethic, keen organizational skills, and sheer determination, stayed on top of her grades. In fact, she gained enough confidence in her scholastic abilities to take on political leadership roles and was elected president of the Young Republicans. Pretty impressive for someone who wanted to drop out of school!

And if you followed the 2008 presidential campaign, you know that Hillary stayed in the race to the very end. She never stopped trying to win votes and secure delegates until it was evident that she was not going to win the nomination. She never gave up on what she was truly committed to doing, even when the odds were against her and the effort to move forward must have been very difficult.

And yet this particular defeat is perhaps the greatest example of her being resilient. While Hillary failed to get the nomination, she showed up at the 2008 Democratic National Convention with a sense of inner confidence and strength and gave an inspirational speech in which she declared her support for the nomination of Barack Obama. She said, “I am here as a proud mother, as a proud Democrat, a proud Senator, a proud American, and a proud supporter of Barack Obama.” She followed with, “Whether you voted for me or for Obama, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose.” Toward the end of her speech, she shared with the audience that even in the darkest moments, Americans are known for their ability to keep going. She said, “We’re Americans, we’re not big on quitting. . . . In America, there is no chasm too deep, no ceiling too high, for all who work hard, have faith in God and our country, and each other.”

Those words soared through the convention hall, with people rising from their chairs and waving their hands, validating Hillary’s words that evening. In some ways, I believe they were acknowledging her ability to come back, be resilient, and gracefully embrace the new reality that she would not be the next Democratic nominee for the president of the United States.

Hillary’s words expressed her true intention, which was to serve the country she loved. She even mentioned to some people that she loved her job as a senator and that she could still make a difference by being a senator again, which told everyone that she was not going to just throw in the towel. She knew that her overall desire and purpose was to serve her country, and she made it known that she would do that in whatever capacity the president thought she could do best. Hillary’s ability to be flexible and open to other possibilities was instrumental in her not only being resilient but also ending up having the secretary of state role offered to her. Those who can see beyond the horizon and do not stay in the valley and play the victim are those who not only are resilient but also open the door to other possibilities and sometimes great opportunities.

Hillary’s resiliency — her unique ability to face adversity and bounce back, as she did in this recent presidential campaign — has won her the respect and admiration of people from all political parties in the United States. And her decision to continue to make a difference by taking on a global leadership role in lieu of being president has impressed people around the world. Truly there are many leadership lessons to be learned from this outstanding woman.

How Resilient Are You?
If you are wondering just how likely you are to be resilient at this point in your life, here are a few easy questions to ask yourself. The more times you answer yes, the more likely you are to tap into your resiliency factor.

1. I’m usually optimistic. I see difficulties as temporary, expect to overcome them, and believe that things will turn out well.
2. I can tolerate high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity.
3. I’m able to recover emotionally from setbacks. I can express my feelings to friends and ask them for help.
4. I feel self-confident and have a healthy concept of who I am.
5. I hold up well during tough times. I have an independent spirit underneath my cooperative way of working with others.
6. I’ve been made stronger and better by difficult experiences.
7. I’ve converted misfortune into good luck and found benefits in bad experiences.
8. I demonstrate the courage to stand up for what I believe in or feel is important, and I am not afraid of taking prudent risks.
9. I don’t give up easily. I stay the course even when I get discouraged.
10. I am comfortable with change. I look for opportunities to learn new things and visibly support the change efforts.

Love is a four-letter word in the business world. It makes us uncomfortable. It seems inappropriate or even taboo. It can also make you and your work irresistible. Let me explain:

Some years ago I wrote a book about an extraordinary individual who loves his work. My editor at the time deleted the word love every place I used it. Instead, he suggested using the phrase “generosity of spirit.”

“Why not love?” I inquired.

“Because the word love freaks out businesspeople,” he responded.

In my estimation, he was half-right. I think the word love freaks out most people, especially when applied to work. That’s because more often than not it is associated with sugary sweet emotion or sentimentality. “I love my colleagues.” “I love my customers.” “I love the daily grind.” Hollow. Superficial. Cliché.

Nobody I know loves every aspect of her or his job. I don’t know of any perfect jobs in this imperfect world. I wish they existed. But I know that it is possible to love the work we perform, love the people we work with, and love the people we ultimately serve. We can do it without going over the top or becoming saccharine.

What does love look like when it shows up for work? If you pay attention, you’ll notice it more often than you think.

A few months ago, I spent time at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta. Everyone you’ll meet at the Ritz is typically on top of his or her game. The staff refers to you by name and exhibits the attitude of “ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” Their unique brand of service will ruin you for all other hotel chains. But it also makes it challenging for a Ritz-Carlton employee to truly stand out.

After a night’s rest, I entered the hotel restaurant and took my place in line at the breakfast buffet. A chef named Jeremy staffed the omelet station. “What can I prepare for you, sir?” he asked.

I ordered an egg-white omelet with lots of vegetables, ham, and a little cheese. “You’ve got to add a little cheese to an egg-white omelet;” I shared with Jeremy, “otherwise it’s just too boring.”

“Not my omelets!” he boomed. “They’re never boring. That’s because I add a special ingredient. He paused for effect. “I make my omelets with loooovvvveeee!”

His unorthodox pronouncement got my attention, but I smiled politely and took the plate. With one bite, I could tell that Jeremy had created an extraordinary dish for me. A few moments later, he came by the table to see how I liked it. I told him it was terrific, probably because it was made with love. Jeremy got serious for a moment and said, “If you can’t do it with love, why do it at all?”

Chef Jeremy gets it. He understands that when we allow love to define who we are as we work, we become irresistible leaders with a contagious passion for what we do.

Defining the Irresistible Ingredient

To begin, we must reorient our conventional understanding of the term love, defining it as finding a deep-seated passion for what we do, the people we do it with, and the people we do it for. Regardless of the type of work we do, we can find fulfillment and meaning in at least one of these areas.

Take Sam, for instance.

One hot South African afternoon, a stranger photographed him carrying a frail 75-year-old man down the side of a busy road. The rescued man had missed his bus home and collapsed outside the Pick n’ Pay where Sam Tsukudu has worked for twenty-plus years.

Sam’s heroic act of kindness is just part of who he is. He walks a blind man home from the store every week and helps him unpack his bags. Over a decade of friendship, Tsukudu decodes what groceries Chandler needs, using bits and pieces of empty cartons and labels.

According to one of Sam’s customers, “We can’t imagine Pick n’ Pay without him. He always comes to our rescue and says, “Don’t fear; Sam is near.”

I don’t know Sam, obviously, but I’d be willing to wager he loves his work and his customers. When I first read the story, I was reminded of Duke Ellington. He used to end his performances with “Love you madly!”

Can you say-or at least think-something like that at the end of your “performance” each day? Do you find satisfaction or fulfillment in your daily responsibilities? Do you enjoy working with your colleagues on specific projects or for a common cause? Do you desire to see your business or company have an impact on your town, city, or country? And if no, why not?

Our lives and work are marked by love when we seek to give instead of receive, focus on how we do something rather than just doing it, see a task as a privilege rather than an obligation, make relationships a priority, and move beyond simple action to the accompanying emotions.

Adding the Irresistible Ingredient

Kahil Gibran famously said, “Work is love made visible.” That probably sounded exotic when back in seventh grade when we didn’t have a job . . . but after a few years of employment, I wonder how many of us could quote him with a straight face?

But there are those who love-whether it be what they do, who they do it with, who they do it for, or all three-and they “make love visible” in variety of ways.

For love to make any difference it needs to be demonstrated and not simply felt; it needs to be both attitude and action. To remember what can be done to infuse the irresistible ingredient into any type of work, I use the acronym “P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E-S.” If you can understand the powerful upside of adding love to your work, here’s a way to do it regardless of your job or title or lack thereof:

Patience

I don’t think Mother Theresa woke up in the morning and mourned, “Oh Lord, not more lepers!” She did some of the hardest work on the planet, and she seemed to be far more fulfilled and content than we who sit comfortably in our air-conditioned offices. How could that be?

Love is choosing to accept someone-imperfections, weaknesses, demands, and all-no matter his or her circumstances or needs. We need to meet our coworkers and customers where they are, not where we want them to be. Patience requires us to set our own expectations aside without indulging in frustration or negativity.

Recognition

According to Mary Kay Ash, founder of the eponymous multi-million dollar cosmetics company, “There are two things people want more than sex and money-recognition and praise.”

Love is paying attention. We don’t ignore that which we love, whether a person or an activity. Focus equals fondness.

Recognition motivated by love moves beyond the casual acknowledgment of existence; it does more than focus on what is. It focuses on what could be. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” Not surprisingly, the recognition of another’s potential often starts him or her toward its achievement.

We have to recognize the specific needs and desires of those with whom we work and those whom we serve. Applying the irresistible ingredient requires us to move beyond small talk to the deeper issues in people’s lives. It’s far too easy to judge a coworker or customer by how he or she looks or acts rather than doing the hard work of understanding why. Challenging ourselves to really know people is unusual in our culture, but the relationships we build will measure our success in the long run.

Appreciation

Friends of mine just launched an Internet company called Propadoo (www.propadoo.com). The idea is insanely simple: use the web to make it easy for people to give and receive “props” online. Want to give a service provider a recommendation? Do it instantly at Propadoo. Want your clients to know about the rave reviews others give you? Use Propadoo. Yes, there is a monetary payoff-referrals, buzz ,and increased search engine optimization-but the social driver is more interesting to me. Propadoo is about recognition and appreciation. Propadoo lets people use technology to send a message that says, “You matter. Your work matters. I appreciate you.”

Appreciation comes from looking for what’s right rather than being hypersensitive to what’s wrong. It is about choosing to focus on the positive even when you can’t ignore the negative.

Too often we forget to stop and express our appreciation to the people who serve alongside us and the people who serve us. From the smallest gesture-a smile or a quick internet “prop”-to the largest bonus or award, people need to know that their work matters to us. Our customers and coworkers will respond positively every time we offer genuine appreciation . . . guaranteed.

Counsel

Don’t tell people what they want to hear. Tell them what they need to hear. Just make sure you tell them in a way that they will listen!

I recall being put off by a highly incentivized sales professional in an electronics store until he confided in me that the DVD player I was about to purchase was inexpensive but laden with problems. He would have made a commission had I bought the unit, and yet he demonstrated his concern for me by sharing that insight instead. His interest in helping me make a good buying decision instantly changed my attitude about him.

Love is offering wise and insightful advice that is in the best interest of the receiver rather than the giver. When asked, it is easy to criticize or suggest the first thought that comes to mind, no matter its validity. A thoughtful input or response shows that we value the individual and care about his or her need.

Time

Love is taking time to address another’s needs. In our lightning-fast world where the average attention span is less than two minutes, time is a valuable commodity and should be handled as such. By giving the gift of time to a coworker or customer, we show that we value them above all of the other things that cry out for our attention.

One of the most powerful love practices at work is the pause, making time to be fully present with another person. We ask each other “How are you doing?” all the time and never really mean it. How tragic!

Take the time.

Instruction

Teacher Tom Lewis started The Fishing School decades ago in downtown Washington, D.C., hoping to give children from a disadvantaged background a chance to succeed as adults. Recently, the team from ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition stumbled across Tom’s school while working in the area. The camera showed shot after shot of bright-eyed children studying, working with their teachers, and playing in a broken-down building with heavy bars every window and door.

Interviewers asked the kids where they thought they might be if they didn’t have the Fishing School. “On the street. . . . In jail with my brothers. . . . Maybe dead like my dad.” Next, they asked what the kids wanted to be when they grew up. “Mr. Lewis said I can be a doctor someday if I study hard.” “I want to be a pilot.” “I’m gonna be the president!”

Best of all were the comments, “I want to be Mr. Lewis. I asked him to be my daddy because I never had one. I want to build my own school and teach kids just like he does.”

One of my favorite teachers from high school taught a subject for which I initially had little regard. However, it soon became clear that he was as interested in his students as he was his subject, and he taught it in such a way that they would truly benefit from his instruction.

Love is teaching someone else with gentleness, discernment, and selflessness. By offering up our experience and hard-won knowledge, we can help others to avoid mistakes that we’ve made, achieve results that we’ve been able to achieve, and improve beyond what we’ve been able to accomplish. The most effective teachers walk alongside their students as they learn, appreciating their accomplishments rather than emphasizing their shortcomings.

Compassion

Of course we can all go through the motions-do the right things, implement the right practices and believe in the right ways-but how we do our work makes all the difference. Acting with passion and out of compassion is the difference between mundane and memorable.

Over thirty years ago I heard a highly successful entrepreneur speak. The only point I can remember is his comment, “Everybody hurts.” As professionals, we carefully cultivate a slick, confident veneer with our Armani suits. But in truth, we are all broken, hurting, wounded people. That’s life. My pal author and speaker Ken Davis encapsulated our situation well: “I’m not okay, you’re not okay, and that’s okay.”

Acknowledging our weaknesses, mourning our losses, and comforting each other through difficult times will strengthen our relationships like nothing else can. True compassion requires us to be vulnerable and to admit our own struggles even as we offer empathy and support to others.

Encouragement

Love is offering heartfelt words of affirmation, inspiration, and motivation to our customers and coworkers. We all need someone-not something-to root us on from the sidelines of our lives. We should seek to notice when others do well and hold them up when they fail. Often neglected, encouragement is probably the easiest way to incorporate the irresistible ingredient into our lives and relationships. If we just look around, opportunities to encourage others are everywhere.

Service

Love is serving others without expecting anything in return. Service is part of nearly every job description, but the concept goes far beyond making sure that a customer’s questions are answered or requests are fulfilled. Irresistible service happens when we anticipate needs and respond with insight and excellence.

Becky Rand owns a small short-order diner on the wharf in Portland, Maine. The tony area held several upscale restaurants-all of whom charged high prices and didn’t want a blue collar crowd. Nearly twenty years ago, Becky scraped together her savings and opened a democratic little place where lobstermen and captains of industry, cops on the beat and paranoid schizophrenics, university professors and cab drivers rub shoulders at the counter.

All of her meals are backed by a no-strings-attached guarantee: If you don’t like it, you don’t pay. Better yet, every customer quickly becomes a regular . . . and a treasured friend. Many folks in the area eat at Becky’s daily. When regulars don’t show, they call in beforehand. Otherwise, Becky or one of her staff is on the way with a bowl of homemade soup and a muffin straight from the oven.

Her outstanding service has inspired countless publicity offers, franchise opportunities, and more. But there is only one Becky, and she’s motivated by one thing: love. She loves what she does, the staff she does it with, and the customers she does it for.

The Offspring of Love at Work

Ernest Dimnet in The Art of Thinking wrote, “Love, whether it be the attraction of Truth, or pure, simple, elemental love, always opens up the intellect and gives it freedom of genius.”

We all work. Whether we cook omelets, prepare taxes, sell cars, or lead corporations, we spend more than one-third of our lives in the workplace. We can choose to blend in, putting in our time with one eye on the clock, or we can take part in something bigger than ourselves. We can find satisfaction and meaning in our jobs every single day, but perhaps even that is aiming too low. Maybe we ought to be pursuing and living out genius.

When we add the irresistible ingredient of love into every element of our work, a job becomes an occupation, then becomes a career, and then becomes a successful career. We will build meaningful relationships with our colleagues. We will cultivate solid, trustworthy business relationships with our clients. And we will develop a very real, satisfying connection with the actual tasks at hand.

A positive cycle develops quickly, greatly impacting the effectiveness of our business. When we deliver them with love, our products and services become more attractive, leading to better customer response, greater employee retention, and more. Best of all, the results will invariably lead to a sense of personal fulfillment and renewed motivation.

Anyone can add love to his or her work, but nobody has to. The imperative benefits as much the individual-the lover-as it does the object of its practice. Yet while the irresistible ingredient is there for the taking, not everyone partakes.

According to an article in USA Today, a Dutch psychologist investigated the differences between chess masters and grand chess masters. He found no difference in IQ, memory, or spatial reasoning. The only difference he could identify: the grand masters simply loved chess more. He concluded that they had more passion about and commitment to the game.

I’ve observed that you don’t have to love what you do to be very good at it. I know very competent and successful individuals who have developed the skills to succeed at their work. By their own admission, they see what they do as a means to an end. They don’t love their work, nor are they passionate about it. They are, however, good at it.

But when it comes to greatness, I intuitively concur with the Dutch researcher. The inspired performers, the über-achievers and the grand masters of life seem to share a common denominator.

Love is the difference. This four-letter word will make you and what you do quite irresistible.

About

Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE, is the president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc. An internationally recognized speaker and bestselling author, Mark is widely known as an expert on leadership and customer service. For more information, visit www.marksanborn.com.