The Energy Bus | Jon Gordon

The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon is a short book that you can easily read and get some inspiration and question the way you live your life.

Positive people and positive teams produce positive results, and the essential ingredient is positive energy.

Everything happens for a reason. Don’t forget that. Every person we meet. Every event in our life. Every flat tire happens for a reason. You can choose to ignore it or ask what that reason is and try to learn from it. Every problem has a gift for you in its hands as my man Richard Bach says. You can choose to see the curse or the gift. And this one choice will determine if your life is a success story or one big soap opera.

We don’t talk this game, we play it.

Rule #1

 You’re the Driver of Your Bus.

Always remember that you are the driver of your bus. It’s the most important of the rules because if you don’t take responsibility for your life and control of your bus then you can’t take it where you want to go. If you’re not the driver, then you’ll always be at the whim of everyone else’s travel plans.

Of course you can seek directions and advice along the way, but remember it’s your bus and your trip. We are all driving on each other’s bus but each one of us has our own bus.

MORE PEOPLE DIE MONDAY MORNING AT 9 A.M. THAN ANY OTHER TIME

People would rather die than go to work.

People feel like they don’t have a choice. So they give up. But I am here to tell you today that you do have a choice.

You can take the wheel and choose to create your life, one thought, one belief, one action, one choice at a time. It’s your bus and you’re the driver and you choose where you are going and the kind of ride it’s going to be.

Because every journey and ride begins with a desire to go somewhere and do something and if you have a desire then you also have the power to make it happen.

Sometimes we have to see what we don’t want, to know what we do want.

Every crisis offers an opportunity to grow stronger and wiser; to reach deep within and discover a better you that will create a better outcome.

Rule #2

 Desire, Vision, and Focus Move Your Bus in the Right Direction.

Thoughts are magnetic. What we think about, we attract. What we think about expands and grows. What we put our energy and attention on starts to show up more in our life. And the energy we project through our thoughts is the energy we receive.

There is an energy to thought. So it’s important that you spend your time thinking about what  you do want rather than what you don’t want. You’ve got to focus.

We’re Winners, Not Whiners.

E + P = O

“The E stands for events in your life,” Danny explained. “The P stands for perception and the O stands for outcome. We can’t control the events in our life but we can control how we perceive them and our perception and response to the events determine our outcome.”

Rule #3

 Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy.

Rule #4

 Invite People on Your Bus and Share Your Vision for the Road Ahead.

If you don’t clearly communicate your vision of the road ahead no one will want to travel with you.

Rule #5

 Don’t Waste Your Energy on Those Who Don’t Get on Your Bus.

Plus, the more energy you spend worrying about the people who didn’t get on your bus, the less you will have for the people who are on your bus. And if you are worrying about the people who didn’t get on your bus you won’t have the energy to keep on asking new people to get on.

Rule #6

 Post a Sign That Says NO ENERGY VAMPIRES ALLOWED on Your Bus.

You got to say this is where we are going and to get there we need a positive and supportive team and whoever is negative will be kicked off the bus or left at the station.

Your positive energy and vision must be greater than anyone’s and everyone’s negativity. Your certainty must be greater than everyone’s doubt.

The goal is not to be better than anyone else but rather be better than you were yesterday.

God keeps breaking your heart until it opens.

Every struggle, every challenge, every adversity brings you closer to your heart, to your true self, to who you really are. Sometimes you got to be broken down to the point where you feel powerless to discover your ultimate and true power.

Rule #7

 Enthusiasm Attracts More Passengers and Energizes Them During the Ride.

When you feel good, others around you feel good.

People are always buying you and your energy. The simple truth is that when you are excited people get excited about where your bus is going and this makes them want to get on and stay on your bus.

Focus on getting excited and enthusiastic yourself and let your energy do the talking.

LOVE IS THE ANSWER.—GOD.

Rule #8

 Love Your Passengers.

People do business with people they like and who love them. The more love you put out the more that comes back to you. And when your team knows you love them and feel the love from you they will want to stay on your bus wherever it goes. So enthusiasm gets them excited about being on your bus, but love is what keeps them on the bus.

FIVE WAYS TO LOVE YOUR PASSENGERS

1. Make Time for Them—When you love someone or something, you spend time with them. You nurture your relationship with them. You can’t nurture business relationships sitting at your desk, just as you can’t spend quality time with your spouse if you are watching television. So the key is to come out of your office and get to know your team. Spend time with them. Meet with them individually. Get to know them as people, not numbers. Just as you would tend to a garden, you need to cultivate your team with love. And while you are with them it is important to be present with them. Be engaged in the present moment. Don’t be thinking about 10 things you have to do that day or the 10 other people you need to meet with. Really be with that person and focus your energy on them. They will feel the difference. 

2. Listen to Them—One of the most important factors that determines a high management approval rating is whether the manager listens to the employee. Does the manager hear what the employee has to say? Does the manager listen to the ideas and needs of the employee? Your employees and customers just want to be heard, so listen to them and hear them. We’re not talking about some active listening class technique, either. We’re talking about really sitting down and listening with your heart and caring about what they have today.

Empathy is the key. When employees feel seen and heard, there is a moistening in the eyes. Yet researchers estimate that in more than 95 percent of daily interactions there is no moistening in the eyes, according to High Energy Living, by Robert K. Cooper (New American Library, 2002). For instance when you ask someone how they are doing, an easy way to show you are listening is to actually wait for the answer and make eye contact. 

3. Recognize Them—We don’t mean trophies or some awards dinner. We want you to make it real personal. Honor them for who they are and what they do. Recognize them as a person as much as a business professional. One leader we know sends each employee a personal birthday card with a handwritten note, not some electronic fake signature but a real note. While it’s not possible to do this in every company, every manager can do this with their team. Another company allows employees to choose the UPC codes for their new products. Employees choose codes that feature their birth dates, anniversaries, kids’ birthdays, and so on. This makes it very personal. Another very powerful way to recognize them is to praise them when they are doing things right.  The more you recognize them for doing things right the more they will do things right. Feed the positive dog inside them and watch it grow. 

4. Serve Them—A great leader once said, the higher you get in an organization the more it is your duty to serve the people below you rather than having the people below serve you. The key is to serve their growth, their future, their career, and their spirits so they enjoy work, life, and being on your bus. The more you serve their growth the more they will help you grow. 

5. Bring Out the Best in Them—We saved this one for last because it’s the most important. When you love someone you want the best for them. You want them to be successful and happy. You want to bring out the best in them. Thus the best way any leader can demonstrate their love for their team is to help each person discover their strengths and provide an opportunity for that person to utilize them. When you create a system that provides a way for your people to shine you not only bring out the best in them but in the rest of the team and company as well. If you really want to love your team, help them do what they do best. It’s that simple.

I’m not going to live with fear and let fear get in my way, he thought. After all, they don’t call it “a leap of fear.” They call it “a leap of faith” for a reason. If I can trust in God, in myself, and in my team, then they can trust in each other and in me, he said to himself, as the fear he had felt earlier had turned into faith and faith had turned into resolve. George then stepped into the elevator, and now he was truly ready to take the leap of his life.

Rule #9

 Drive with Purpose.

Purpose keeps it fresh.

The goal in life is to live young, have fun, and arrive at your final destination as late as possible, with a smile on your face.

Rule #10

 Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride.

The day you die you will still have 30 or 40 e-mails in your in-box that will not be answered. You’ll never get it all done so you might as well relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the ride.

Every adversity helps us grow. Negative events and people teach us what we don’t want so we can focus our energy on what we do want.