Secrets to Success Deborah Cole Micek and John-Paul Micek

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Influence others with enthusiasm

As a young boy, Tom Sawyer had to paint the fence in his yard. Tom would much rather have been playing instead of working. But, instead of getting ticked off and becoming negative, he decided he was going to make the best of the task at hand.

Tom went out and started painting that fence with enthusiasm and excitement. He fully acted as if he was enjoying it. It wasn't long before that enthusiasm attracted his friends who saw how much fun he was having. They enviously asked, "Tom! Would you let us try painting that fence, too?"

But Tom didn't let them join in right away.

"Oh no," Tom answered. "This is my fence and it's my project. You couldn't possibly do what I'm doing."

The more fun he made it look, the more his friends wanted to join in. It wasn't long before Tom was sitting back watching his friends have a blast while they did all the work.

Whether it is influencing yourself, your employee team or your target audience to take action, you must have enthusiasm! Three hidden principles in Tom Sawyer's story make generating that enthusiasm a snap.

» Make it positive.

Whatever you're doing, whatever you're trying to sell or whatever you're trying to get other people to join in on, start by putting the Law of Decisive Control to work for you.

Find the positives and focus solely on those things. If it seems there are no positives in the action, focus on the end result.

If there are no positives in the end result, stop right there. You shouldn't be doing what you are doing anyway.

» Make it fun.

Employ the power of "act as if." When you act the way you want to feel, your behavior will create a new perception -- for yourself and others. That perception will inevitably become reality.

When you honestly act as if something is fun, engaging, or radically beneficial, it won't be long before it actually becomes those things.

» Make it contagious.

Use the law of scarcity to have people begging to work with you or buy from you.

It's human nature. Most people want what they can't have. Everyone wants to be part of something exclusive.

When you take ownership, limit access and set the rules for gaining access, people will be drawn to you.

Simplicity gets results. Simple? Yes! Powerful and effective? You bet!

The simple systems in business and life are the ones that work -- not because they're bigger and better than some complex management or marketing system, but because their simplicity causes them to actually be put into use.