Want to make a memorable experience for your customers, your employees, and increase your bottom line?
Let me start with a quick story....When I was in middle school, Def Leppard came to town. One of my best friends was going and I wanted so badly to go with her. I begged my mom. "No." I pleaded. "NO." I even tried reasoning with her. "NO!" I'm pretty sure I moped around for days afterwards.
When Christmas rolled around a few months later, my mom excitedly gave me a small present she was sure I would be thrilled to have. I opened it up to find a Led Zeppelin CD. Having never listened to Led Zeppelin before, I expressed my confusion with her gift choice. "Well, I knew you liked their music since you wanted to go to their concert a few months ago." I love my mom! Even by pure accident, she always exposed me to the finer things in life! Anyway, on with my story....
=====
Several years ago, I was in D.C. visiting a friend and went to see a Led Zeppelin cover band. Thanks to my mom's blunder so many years ago, I knew the songs well and looked forward to a great concert. There were two things about this concert that I did not expect.
#1 The cover band was an all female band. A super hot, sexy, talented 100% female band. The whole time they performed, I kept distinctly hearing the narrator from Austin Powers in my head saying, "Men want them and women want to BE them." The songs took on a whole new level of PASSION as I watched these women perform. Watching them, every person in that audience became engulfed in how much the band loved the music they were singing, how much they loved performing together, and how much they loved sharing that PASSION with the audience. It overtook the audience and made the entire performance an experience no one could forget. (See for yourself. Note: You may want to watch when you are not at work. Just saying....)
#2 As it turns out, the concert was a benefit to support Patch Adams' Gesundheit Project. Yes, the real guy played by Robin Williams' 1998 semi-biography comedy drama about a medical doctor who incorporates humor in the healing process for his patients. I was shocked to learn that 1. he is still alive and 2. he is endlessly working on making his dream - The Gesundheit Project - a reality. And he was there at the concert right in front of the stage enjoying the celebration!
I kept a watchful eye over this very curious character as he happily threw himself into the music provided by Lez Zeppelin. He danced like no one was watching. He interacted with everyone around him with care and compassion. His whole being was positive and seemingly authentic. It mattered nothing that a popular movie was made about him, his mission was clear. It's all about loving life, all those in it, and dedicating himself to something he believes in with a voracious and unstoppable PASSION. (Check out his TEDx talk below.)
If you want to make a memorable experience, PASSION is key. Be passionate about what you are doing, passionate about who you are with, and passionate about making the world better. It's within you. Me. All of us. And we owe it to each other to bring it.
Williamvads