dispatches from the new world of work

Exuberance

Recently read a marvelous book, Exuberance: The Passion for Life, by Kay Redfield Jamison. Ms Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, is the expert on manic-depressive illness and also author of the stunning Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. Below you'll find a few quotes from Exuberance that sent me soaring:

"I believe exuberance is incomparably more important than we acknowledge. If, as has been claimed, enthusiasm finds the opportunities and energy makes the most of them, a mood of mind that yokes the two of them is formidable indeed."—KRJ

"The Greeks bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language—the word 'enthusiasm'—en theos—a god within. The grandeur of human actions is measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a god within, and who obeys it."—Louis Pasteur

"Exuberance is, at its quick, contagious. As it spreads pell-mell through a group, exuberance excites, it delights, and it dispels tension. It alerts the group to change and possibility."—KRJ

(A brief Special Presentation, "Exuberance," attached, provides a few more quotes in PowerPoint format—what else?)

Tom Peters posted this on 09/01/06.

Comments

My quote .... spoken with the wonderful advantage of some personal experience of mental health: â€˜If exuberance was as contagious as negativity we could close most mental health facilitiesâ€™

Posted by Trevor Gay at September 1, 2006 4:42 PM

Tom

Exuberence is the essence of life - the best thing about it is that those who do not have it "naturally" can find it in others and thus get their fair share. Perhaps the most noble thing we can do in the "virtual world" of the blog is to share our exuberance for life. The magical thing is that a "virtual transfusion" of exuberance can have tangible effects in peoples' lives. Tom Peters!Company is, and always has been, the leader in this field. It is good to hear that you are on your way to Adelaide to share your bounty of "natural exuberance" with some receptive Australians. God speed!

Richard Lipscombe
Melbourne, Australia

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at September 1, 2006 7:39 PM

Tom, while my friend Trevor couldn't have put this in a better perspective in his earlier comment, I can't help but try myself, as an incurable optimist. I equate enthusiasm to passion, and for me, this "god within" (I love that - I'll always think of that word differently now) is the "oil" that keeps my internal engine humming along. The "gas"? Love, of course. One heck of a combination. Thanks for the book tip, and YOUR "god within"!

Posted by Starbucker at September 2, 2006 4:55 PM

One thing I got out of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig was it was important to protect your enthusiasm. Your enthusiasm for a project is the most crucial element.

Posted by Mark Evans at September 4, 2006 7:39 AM

While he took it a bit further than I sometimes found tasteful, the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's abundant exuberance and energy (he had no formal degree in science) engaged millions around the world.

Posted by Rick Read at September 4, 2006 7:32 PM

Is exuberance really an unalloyed good? It seems to me that exuberance lends positive energy, but to what end?

It is not that long ago that we had the "irrational exuberance" that gave us the dot-com bubble Many of the great mob-actions of history come from exuberance directed to bad ends. Many individual bad choices result from substituting exuberance for analysis.

Posted by Wally Bock at September 7, 2006 1:11 PM

Tom, please get real. While it's obvious that you are a big fan of exuberance, enthusiasm and other wonderful things, I suggest that you warn your readers that this can be counterproductive. I used to smile a lot, be very enthusiastic etc etc working for a big corporate, and most of my colleagues thought I was mad. I mean, how is a guy supposed to smile when he's working for a faceless corporate giant? In general, if you smile a lot, there's an assumption that you're too happy, and if you're too happy, you aren't stressed out enough, and if you aren't stressed out enough, you haven't got a big workload or you're a shirker.

In contrast to the days of my foolish youth, I now KNOW the way to the top is to behave in a manner that conveys that you're always very stressed out, but still gallantly coping under great pressure against all the odds, rather than behaving in a manner that suggests you are actually enthusiastic or happy at work. This way, it looks like any "win" you have is a huge triumph, rather than a "win" that will be considered trivial if you've been going about your task smilingly. I mean, how difficult could it have been, if you've been smiling all the time? You could have succeeded against tremendous odds, but tough luck if you don't make a big show of it. Here's my take: don't look enthusiastic, don't smile too much and don't act like an eager-beaver. Always look like you're taking on too much, and then act as though you are over-delivering. Some lessons from Dilbert need to be taught in classrooms.

Posted by Peter at September 11, 2006 2:48 AM