By Coach Jimmy Hays Nelson
I bet in your life you are probably asked to wear quite a few hats. Each one requires a different skill set to best accommodate the audience that has assigned that hat to you.
Have I lost you already?
Just bear with me for a moment. For me, a few of the hats I am required to wear on a daily basis are those of Dad, CEO, Husband, and Friend. You may have less hats to wear, you may have so many that the thought of just writing a list of them seem daunting!
Do you ever feel as though you are asked to wear so many hats that none of them really have that perfectly fitted feel a hat is supposed to have? I have! That slight tinge of panic that can creep in when life has you so scattered that you feel like you aren’t fulfilling any of your responsibilities particularly well.
When I told my wife the title of this article before I sat down to write it, she said something very interesting I hadn’t thought of. She told me she had seen growth in me in all those areas of my life as the result of becoming a better LISTENER! My first thought was, “What does listening have to do with telling someone how I live my life with heart and passion?” When people think of heart and passion don’t they think of the loud leader? The football coach giving his players a BraveHeart type speech at halftime? The pastor banging the pulpit as makes his point. If you have ever stopped by my blog and seen my videos you know that I wouldn’t be described as a quiet character either. But my ‘gift of gab’ really isn’t what allows me to live my life- and all of my many hats – with heart and passion.
My wife was right! (Shhhhhh…… don’t tell her I said that! I will NEVER hear the end of it.)
There was a good chunk of my life that she likes to describe as “The Jimmy Show”. And this program had its own channel that ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! When I started my business I didn’t know anything about leading a group of people. In my social interactions with others, most of my conversations were dominated by my endless yapping … usually about my 3 favorite topics at the time: Me, Myself, and I. I can only imagine what it was like for my wife to accompany me to events only to maybe get 1 or 2 words in edgewise.
There was also a lot more drama in my life on a daily basis in those days. Why? Because everything I did revolved around me, my wants, my dreams, my accomplishments etc.
True heart and passion don’t come from someone telling you more about themselves and their accomplishments. Heart and passion are rooted in genuinely caring about others. Regardless of which of life’s hats you are wearing, when you take the time to honestly listen to those around you, and understand their needs…. that is when heart and passion have an opportunity to shine.
To have Heart is defined as a generous disposition: compassion, love, and affection. Passion: a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.
2012 was a big shift for me as a Dad, CEO, Husband, and Friend. And it all stemmed from one simple shift in my mindset. Instead of most thoughts in my head being a version of: “Why can’t they just do this for me?” They shifted to: “What can I do to make their situation better?”
That seems so elementary and cliche. I’m sure you’ve heard a version of that 1000 times. I get it! So had I. But let me tell you, the difference between knowing it and actually doing it is a life changing adjustment.
When our focus is constantly on our needs, wants, problems, and shortcomings it leads to a life that is constantly filled with stress, drama, and usually guilt or remorse. I tell my team – THE CREW- one thing all the time that if they are having a hard time with their own business, fitness or nutrition. When you start feeling bad or stressed because you are having a bad day, week, month or year – immediately find someone else to encourage and listen to. Go search Twitter, Facebook, the office, your home, your school – anywhere people are! Someone just wants someone to listen to them!
At the end of the day my business is not about health or fitness. Its not about biceps and killer abs. My job is to deliver HOPE to a world that desperately needs it! In fact, I believe that regardless of how many hats you are asked to wear in your life, that should ultimately be your job as well!
Heart and Passion stem from listening, caring and encouraging! So go lift someone up today. It could start with a compliment to a stranger. It truly will change your life. Test me on this! I dare you!
In this thing together– Coach Jimmy