I remember about 35 years ago I read two books by Frank Bettger, a baseball player, about how enthusiasm changed his life. His books changed my life then and are still worth reading and re-reading.
Probably the most famous of his books is "How I went from failure to success in sales". Frank died in 1981, but his books and invaluable ideas live on.
In 1907 he played baseball for Johnstown, Pennsylvania for $175 a month. He was young and ambitious but was fired for being lazy. He wasn't lazy, but he tried to control his nervousness by being relaxed.
His manager told him, "Whatever you do when you leave here, for God's sake, wake up and put some life and enthusiasm into your work."
Frank went to Chester, Pennsylvania, where he played baseball for only $25 a month. Frank commented, "Well, I couldn't feel very excited about that kind of money, but I started acting excited."
After a few days, he was arraigned in New Haven, Connecticut. No one knew him in that league, so he decided to build a reputation as a go-getter. Once installed, he will be forced to live up to his reputation:
"From the moment I appeared on the field, I acted like an electrified man. I acted like I was alive with a million batteries."
Frank threw the ball hard and fast around the diamond and ran like crazy to score for his team. All this was on a hot day when the thermometer was 100 degrees. The act he performed worked like a charm.
His nervousness was now working for him by giving him energy. His enthusiasm rubbed off on the other players on the field and they were also enthusiastic. During and after the game, he felt better than ever.
The next day, the New Haven newspaper wrote: "This new player, Bettger, has a barrel of enthusiasm. He inspired our boys. Not only did they win the game, but they looked better than at any time this season."
The newspapers started calling him "Pep" Bettger, the life of the team. Enthusiasm increased his income in ten days from $25 a month to $185 a month. That was a 700% increase.
Bettger insists that he earned not because of his skills, which were the same as before, but only because of his enthusiasm. He couldn't catch or hit any better than before. Two years later he was playing 3rd base for the St Louis Cardinals.
Two years later, he injured his hand and was forced to retire from baseball. Two years later, he quit selling life insurance. He failed until he took a public speaking course taught by the great Dale Carnegie. Carnegie, like his first manager, told him to be more enthusiastic.
Carnegie then went on to lecture his class about enthusiasm. He was so excited that he threw a chair against the wall and broke one of its legs. All of this reminded Frank of his early experiences in the baseball world.
"That night I decided to stay in the insurance business and put the same passion into sales that I put into baseball."
During his first sales meeting after this decision, he was so excited that he pumped his fist. He could hardly believe it as his customer listened intently and then bought the policy. He doesn't equate excitement with fist-pumping, but “if fist-pumping is what you need to get excited inside, then I'm overwhelmingly in favor. I know this: If I force myself to act enthusiastic, I will soon feel enthusiastic.”
Frank became a great businessman and a man who inspired many other businessmen and ordinary citizens to live their lives with passion.
An enthusiastic trader can outperform a trader who is not enthusiastic, who is much more knowledgeable. An enthusiastic person is like a magnet. It attracts and inspires others to do what they thought was beyond them.
You can get excited easily and quickly by forcing yourself to act enthusiastically. It also helps to re-read your favorite inspirational passages daily.
Frank himself was inspired by a great quote from Walter Chrysler. When asked to reveal the secret to success, Chrysler cited qualities such as 'capability, capacity, and energy, but added that the real secret was 'enthusiasm'.
"Yes, more than excited," Chrysler said, "I'd say 'thrilled.' I love seeing men excited. When they get excited, they get the customers excited and we get the business.”
Enthusiasm can make a huge difference. We could all benefit from getting excited about something that seems boring at the moment. We might be amazed at how passionate and resourceful we are. We could also notice that the fire of our enthusiasm will soon spread to other people.
We could end up in the "major league" of anything that excites us and we could have more friends, more fun, and more money!
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