Jean Pierre Rives, was a remarkable exponent of the wonderful art of rugby and especially French rugby. That rugby we see again and again in reruns of an amazing try scored at Eden Park in 1994 when a team that was expected to fail went away successful.
He was asked what it was that gave the French the flair and panache they brought to the game.
He paused a while and though about this. His answer puzzled some, amused many but it captures a truth that we would all do well to learn from:
We play this game with a clown in ze head and a love in ze heart.
We see so many people, teams and organisations fail because they do the job they do, with perfunctory application. They do what they have to do. They play as if this was just a job. Without realising that life is simply too short to do things that occupy most of our days without panache, love and exuberance.
I want to talk about this spirit and how it should influence and effect every action that occurs in your day to day lives.
You have a choice ? to be yet another ordinary worker ? or to become legendary for the special things you do.
But first let me talk about last things first.
When youngsters leave school and start looking for jobs ? or, more likely, evaluating different job offers- they ought to be told the emotional facts of life, which go far beyond the economic facts.
Perhaps one per cent will get rich by accident, by inheritance or by some rare and special combination of skills. For most of us, a decent comfort is all we can expect. This being the case, the most appealing factor about a job opportunity ought to be the kind and depth of pleasure it affords. To go into a field because it offers more money can be the most fatal of illusions. Money is necessary, but it is never sufficient. If it were, the richest people would be the happiest, and quite obviously they are not.
This is not a plea to ignore the economic appetite, which is strong and important. But it is a suggestion that, beyond a decent minimum level, money fails to bring us what we think it will. Only pleasure in the performance of our craft can do that.
Knowledge, the Healer. I was in a strange restaurant recently, waiting for my luncheon, order, when the waitress came over and said smilingly, ?There?s a mix-up in the kitchen. One of the cooks was taken ill this morning. Can I get you a newspaper to read??
With these rare and wonderful words, she won me for life ? as I am sure she has won hundreds of friends for her employer over the years. For she understands that impatience thrives on ignorance. Most of us don?t mind waiting (most of the time) so long as we know why we are waiting. It is the feeling of being neglected that breeds dissatisfaction in patrons, not the mere fact of delay.
Knowledge is a great healer of emotional scars. The dentist who carefully explains to his patient precisely what is being done, and why all these laborious procedures have to be gone through, has made the patient a participant in the work- not merely an object that is worked upon. His technique removes fears and anxieties as well as decay.
Defining success. Two young salesmen were having lunch at the table next to mine. ?I couldn?t do it, one was saying, but Bill gets away with it ? and, after all, you can?t argue with success.?
I have heard this vicious phrase a thousand times, but I have never heard its justification. Why can?t you argue with success? There is no need to argue with failure. Failure doesn?t want to argue; it just wants to be left alone. But success is too often brassy and argumentative, self-satisfied and superior. The man who won?t argue with success has already been corrupted without knowing it. It is the duty of good people everywhere to argue with the ?success? of violence, fraud, greed and inhumanity.
Success is the one thing in the world that must be questioned. Peace is impossible, and justice is a mockery unless we see that power is put where it belongs -in the hands of men who cherish wisdom and righteousness.
Rather than be venerated, success must be carefully defined. It should include the whole man, in his spiritual and social life and not just his capacity for taking, for impressing and for commanding. The truly successful man, by these rigorous standards, is a rare and wonderful creature.
Why Respect? The most obvious truths in the world are often the hardest to grasp. Take the equation: the more respect you give, the more respect you receive. Since everybody wants respect from others ? indeed the struggle for money and prestige is simply a means of trying to attain respect ? why don?t more people try this easy proved method?
I have had many skilled workmen in my house recently. Two or three of them have done their jobs not only with competence but also with dignity and courtesy. The others have been the brash and sloppy workmen we have become so used to these days. They roll into the house as if doing you, the owner, a favour. They are dirty in their habits and crude in their deportment; they even seem contemptuous of their own skills. When ? they are treated in the manner they seem to invite ? for everyone is treated in the manner he seems to invite, they burn up a further supply of resentments.
The other workmen are treated with the respect that they earn and deserve. They carry an aura of dignity that gives them stature as human beings. They are courteous and deferential, not because they are weak, but because they are strong. When a man has genuine respect for his own person and his powers he then has enough respect to spare for others.
The key to this pursuit for happiness and fulfillment rests in the dedication you have to what you are doing in your life today.
I should make the obvious point, looking around the room today that realistically, what you do today is what you are likely always to be doing. This being the case you are obliged to find your purpose and your craft in the work that you do everyday now. How?
FIND A PURPOSE YOU?RE CRAZY ABOUT
There are no heights to which the human spirit can?t rise when people see that their work has meaning and purpose. People want to make a difference. They want to know how they contribute to the success of an organisation. When we know that our work is meaningful, we still have energy at the end of the day because the sanctity of our labour has been affirmed.
People don?t work here just because the company is thriving; they work here because they see how the company?s fight to survive is tied up in their own need to make a difference in society. They feel that they are engaged in a purpose that reflects their own vision and values.
Find a purpose that you?re crazy about, a purpose to which you are willing to give the totality of who you are, and who knows? Your work may become an avocation. You may recapture your idealism in a world that often gives little reason for being idealistic. You may even find a purpose so captivating that it awakens the collective energies of the people with whom you work and inspires them to soar. Find a way of bringing to life the promise integrity in the way you work with your customers.
Make YOUR LIFE AND WORK AN ADVENTURE
Don?t fall into the trap of believing that the vivaciousness and enthusiasm are beyond your reach. That?s nonsense! You live above the level of mediocrity because you are adventurous and playful. Because you work at turning routine into festivity. You get more out of life because you expect more out of life. You find extraordinary qualities in people because you take the time every day to rediscover the people you know. Like treasures waiting to be discovered, people will teach us all kinds of things that make life exciting if we are only willing to explore. When you?re always learning something new it?s difficult to get bored or burned out. So, decide today to become more curious, interested, and inquisitive.
If you?ve been sleepwalking through life, wake up and start seeking new challenges. Refuse to settle for mediocrity in yourself or in others. Make every moment count by giving yourself permission to work with fewer inhibitions and live just a little bit more adventurously. What have you got to lose? Life is too short and we work too much of it to be emotionally and spiritually dead.
BELIEVE IN PEOPLE AND THEY WILL BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES
Southwest Airlines is a remarkably successful organisation in the US. They have succeeded by demonstrating an age-old truth. When you believe in people, they will rise to greatness. The greatest challenge a leader ever faces: is helping people believe in themselves. People who have self-confidence develop the creativity to dream, the boldness to venture into the unknown and pursue their dreams, and the courage and persuasiveness to summon help along the way. Southwest has created a corporate environment in which people have a strong sense of self. We are talking about an authentic, deeply felt kind of affirmation that causes people to see their strengths more vividly and trust their capabilities.
When this happens, the effect on the organization can be dramatic. People rise to the occasion and take charge of the future because they believe that they can shape and mold it through their own efforts.
Look beyond the surface and find the undeveloped potential in the people with whom you work. Take a moment to see them not as they are, but as they can be. When you do, our bet is that two things happen. First, they will act and perform according to the image you have of them, and, second, your faith in the potential of the human spirit will be restored.
DON?T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY
Most of us take ourselves too seriously. When we?re wrapped up in protecting our egos and holding onto life too tightly, it?s easy to become rigid and boring. Think about the people you have the most fun being around. Are they people who can laugh at themselves? Are they people who can make you laugh by making light of their idiosyncrasies? Do yourself, your family, and your organization a big favor- lighten up. The permission they get to loosen up must come from our example. There is a spirit of liberty and freedom among people who don?t take themselves too seriously. Check your ego at the door and quit pretending that you?re always calm, cool, and collected. If you do something stupid, foolish, or clumsy?and you will-it won?t be the end of the world. Laugh about it and move on.
DARE TO DREAM
Dreams stimulate our senses and awaken our entrepreneurial spirit. They fuel our imagination, release our creative energy, and draw forth a deep sense of commitment to action. It?s difficult to take action toward something you can?t envision. It?s almost impossible to envision something you don?t have permission to dream about. People who lose their dreams have nothing to hope for and, without hope, they have nothing to live for. Dreams help us experience the richness of life.
There will always be people who respond to your dreams by saying, ?You gotta be kidding! Are you nuts?? Remember Albert Einstein, though, who said, ?Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.? Dreams come true because people refuse to let disappointment permanently discourage or derail them. Your story should be one about an unconventional person with an irrational faith in his or her own ability to make a dream come.
But you need an indomitable spirit of perseverance and the raw determination to stay the course. Its easy to fall for the short term action of cheap and dirty compromise. And while, for a while that might work it is a bit like the terrific sense of breeze you get in your face when you jump off a building. It?s nice for a while, but only a very short while. Those of us who admit we don?t dream enough would do well to remember that most significant achievements in this world begin in the minds of those who have the courage to follow their dreams.
BE YOURSELF
Overcome the temptation to put on an act for others, particularly people you want to impress. Be yourself and express your individuality. It is the greatest asset you bring to every business and personal relationship. At the same time, let the individuality of others energize you rather than make you defensive and insecure.
DARE TO BE DIFFFERENT
You can become a legend because you dared to be different. Make room for the untried, the unpredictable, and the unexpected. If anything you should deplore the old traditional way things were done. When people who think differently hit you with a fresh idea that makes sense, go for it! If it bombs, learn from it. If it works, celebrate like crazy. But in either case, remember to keep looking for the new, the unconventional, the unfamiliar way of doing things. Not only is this a key to success in a world of change, it?s a lot less stressful and more exciting way to live.
The world is filled with companies that have failed or are failing because they simply carried on doing business by doing more of the same.
Promise yourself that from this day forward nothing will ever be the same again and live with a clown in ze head and a love in ze heart.