The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy

Foreword

In many of my seminars I begin by asking people to stand up and do two things. First, I ask them to greet other people as if they are unimportant. After an initial chuckle or two, there’s a dull hum as everyone walks around trying to ignore each other. Then I stop them and ask them to continue to greet people, but this time, to do it as if the people they are greeting are long-lost friends they’re glad to see. The room erupts with laughter and the volume rises as people run around, smiling, hugging, and chatting with each other.

When the people in the audience sit down, I ask them, “Why do you think I had you do those two things—besides the fact that I’m from California?”

After the audience laughs, I tell them that the answer is positive energy. “To run a successful organization,” I say, “you must learn to manage people’s energy, including your own. When was there more energy in the room—during the first activity or the second?”

Of course, everyone shouts out, “The second!”

“What did I do to change the energy in the room?” I ask. Then I answer: “All I did was change your focus from a negative thought to a positive thought, and the energy of the room increased tenfold.”

What I just described to you is why I’m excited about Jon Gordon and The Energy Bus. Every morning you have a choice. Are you going to be a positive thinker or a negative thinker? Positive thinking will energize you.

When you get to work, you have another choice. You can catch people doing things right, ...