Here’s another postcard from the field that caught my fancy.

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I think so often in this world people think that being good at business is about being clever, but the thing about business is that it involves people—and people are interested in what’s in your heart.

I have worked at many different things, but one that gave me incredible insight was being a children’s entertainer. Children will automatically want to join in with whatever activity you want them to engage in as long as you look like you’re having a magical time.

If you are following your bliss, they will join in with more enthusiasm than you could have cultivated in an hour worth of telling them how fun things were going to be.

They don’t want to be told what to do. They want to have an adventure.

I think most adults are the same. That is why the most important thing about being an entrepreneur is having a magical life—casting a wonderful spell that enchants the people you come into contact with.

When you do everything with the intention of loving your clients as people, they can feel it and they will in turn love you back. That will love your business too.

This is not a thought out process, but a way of being.

There is so much happiness to be had in giving, receiving and, most importantly, in wonderment. When you are filled with wonder, both of these things are more likely and easy.

I loved the part when you talked about people who seem young are filled with a sense of curiosity. It is definitely true in the people I have met and some appear timeless.

Some people think that wealth is all about how much money you earn, but living in abundance means filling your life up with beauty, appreciation and joy.

Katherine Flynn, London, UK

Shortly after my daughter Jennie graduated from college, I noticed a change in her. News that would have been greeting with an “Oh, wow!” in the past was met with a shrug or a grunt. Nothing seemed to excite her.

When I mentioned my concern to my sister, she said, “I don’t think you need to be worried. I was like that when I was in my twenties trying to send the message, ‘I’ve seen better,’ so people would think I was worldly.”

Happily, the enthusiastic Jennie eventually returned, but not everybody passes through their blasé phase so quickly. Some people make it a lifetime policy to be unimpressed and unexcited about everything that life has to offer.

While they may think that they’re displaying superior intelligence by their perpetually disapproving attitude, they’re really repelling others (including customers and clients) from their life.

Being around the terminally bored is like being in a room lit by 25 watt light bulbs. It’s strangely uncomfortable and there’s a natural impulse to want to move into a brighter space.

Smart entrepreneurs know that apathy is an invitation to doom while enthusiasm is survival gear.

The wise have always known this. “Success is going from failure to failure,” observed Winston Churchill, “without a loss of enthusiasm.”

The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek “entheos” which means “God within”. It appears that those who are in touch with their inner spiritual fire are the most naturally enthusiastic about life itself.

Of course, many people have brief moments of excitement if they make a big sale, buy a winning lottery ticket or get invited to a reception at the White House. These are temporary responses, however, and once the moment has passed, so has their enthusiasm.

Genuine enthusiasm isn’t a temporary response to short-lived good fortune: it’s a way of dealing with whatever life offers up. It is actually an expression of a grateful and awe-filled attitude. Most critically, it’s a cultivated behavior—like good manners.

The chronically cranky don’t understand that they’re doing it to themselves. On the other hand, the perpetually enthusiastic know that their attitude is a powerful weapon against boredom, frustration and intolerance so they take great care to protect it.

Unlike good manners, which are totally learned behavior, enthusiasm arrives with us at birth. Watch any two-year-old exploring the world around them and you’ll see wide-eyed enthusiasm in action.

Unfortunately, many people believe that the role of parenting is about dampening enthusiasm, not fanning it, so too many of us arrive at adulthood with our enthusiasm dimmed and diminished. If we are to approach our lives with enthusiasm and vigor, we need to learn how to light our own fire.

That may be easier than you think. Since enthusiasm is an innate quality residing in each of us, we can decide to release it and allow it to propel us through our lives.

We can also discover for ourselves what nurtures our enthusiasm and make an effort to bring more of that into our lives. Conversely, we also need to identify those people and situations that diminish our zest and either eliminate them or find a workable way to include them with enthusiasm.

If you want to create a business that is rich, full and filled with wonder, start by releasing this magical power.

Do so and you’ll discover first hand what Charles Kingsley was talking about when he said, “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”

Enthusiasm is a cultivated emotion, it seems to me. It also seems that many people haven’t experienced that emotion for a long time and have no idea how magnetic enthusiasm can be. When you’re passionate about something and not afraid to show it, opportunities have a way of appearing when you least expect them.

I was reminded of this simple truth one day as I was checking out some books on London at my library. The librarian asked me if I was planning a trip. “Oh,” I laughed, “I’m always planning one or coming back from one.” She smiled and said her daughter had spent a year studying in London. During that time, my librarian friend visited and loved the city. That was all the invitation I needed to start a rollicking conversation. I quizzed her on what her favorite sights had been.

Before I knew it, two other librarians had moved closer and were eavesdropping on our conversation. I began telling them that one of my favorite spots was the manuscript room in the British Library. As I was going on about the treasures there, one of them piped up and said, “Do you lead tours? I want to go with you.” I could have signed her up on the spot had I been planning such an excursion.

If your enthusiasm level has dwindled, take responsibility for filling it up again. Stay away from dreary people. Read things that inspire you. Find something every day to get excited about and share it with someone—even a stranger. You never know what opportunity might be looking for you and just needs your enthusiasm to issue the invitation so it can land on your doorstep.

Enthusiasm is the most important single factor in making a person creative. ~ Robert E. Mueller

Here’s a interesting article on the 11 Traits of Highly Creative People.

And here’s another on how to Travel for a Year on $14,000.