On Enthusiasm and the Power of the Girly Jump Up-and-Down Thing
I'm starting to realize how important enthusiasm is. At the recommendation of a friend, I'm currently reading How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by famous insurance salesman Frank Bettger. Even though my work is pretty far from the world of life insurance, this book is a bit of a legend in being useful to any entrepreneur- and Bettger starts the book with a discussion of enthusiasm.
He says, “Enthusiasm is by far the highest paid quality on earth, probably because it is one of the rarest; yet it is one of the most contagious.”
So with this in my mind, I had some epic news this week that was cause for enthusiasm - my cousin (aka little sister) Ashley got engaged! I got a text that she had something sparkly to share and was on her way over to my place. In the rush of putting the pieces quickly together, I started to feel that incredible gratitude that I can share this moment with her.
Ashley was my Maid of Honor at my wedding, and I basically asked her to be within minutes of getting engaged. She was a rock throughout the whole process and then proceeded to hit it out of the ballpark with the best Maid of Honor speech I've ever heard and ever seen given.
So when she came to my door, I was thinking about how to greet her. I was thinking about the book and the power of enthusiasm. I realized that the moments that really matter exceed enthusiasm - they call for the girly jump up-and-down thing.
Oh, you know, when you grab hands with someone (generally a girl, but hey whoever) and you jump up and down and scream ridiculously with happiness. That's the girly jump-up-and-down thing. And that's exactly what we did.
It was silly, but it made me feel alive. And grateful. And in the moment. And I realized then that enthusiasm is a piece, but it's that genuine excitement that you show and don't hide inside yourself that really matters. Getting up off the couch, being brave enough to be silly, and that's what it means to show up for life.
Congratulations Ash (and Justin)! I love you, and I am so crazy excited to be here, just down the street for you and can't wait til our next excuse to jump up-and-down.
Photography | Brett & Jessica