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Is Passion Overrated?

Written on August 13, 2008 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Business, Entrepreneurship

One of the most awesome people we’ve met since we started Bigg Success is Jim Bouchard. He’s a black belt turned motivational speaker. He does a great job helping you get in touch with your personal power. Recently, Jim turned the table on us – instead of us being the interviewers, we were the interviewees!

But that doesn’t mean we didn’t take the opportunity to send a few questions Jim’s way – we love to hear his fantastic insight! So today we thought we’d share some of the highlights with you.

Let’s check into the conversation as we talk with Jim about passion …

Hear a portion of our interview with Jim on The Bigg Success Show! Just click the purple play button: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

jim There’s a lot of rhetoric about getting into a business that expresses your passion. The business I’ve been involved with for a long time is the martial arts business. Most martial artists will go into business – start a school – because it’s our passion, but it’s not always the best way to make money. I think that’s a very important, and often overlooked, factor when entering an entrepreneurial life. Passion is necessary, but it’s not the only ingredient that’s necessary.

george That’s a great distinction. It’s the old story – I have a hobby I love that I turn into a business. Now I don’t love my business or my hobby. Think about your hobbies, but also reflect on the elements of that hobby that you really enjoy. Teaching has been my hobby, because I had my businesses full-time. What I got out of it was the joy of helping people and seeing the light bulb come on. Bigg Success fulfills me in the same way.

jim That’s what people really need to look at. When you open these doors, you find passions that you never knew existed. I didn’t set out to get into the speaking business. I did always have the ambition to write a book at some point, but I never thought I’d go out into the speaking world. Like you, George, I found it was just a natural extension of the teaching that I liked to do – in my case within the martial arts world.

marylynn You’re such a great presenter, Jim. How did that happen for you … that you ended up getting into the speaking business?

jim That’s a great question – it actually came from some of my martial arts students. I was sharing the martial arts philosophies that helped me create an anchor and a sense of value and worth in my life. They found themselves applying these philosophies to their business and personal life. A few of them encouraged me over the years to take my message to a different audience – not everybody wants to learn how to punch and kick, but everyone wants to learn how to develop their personal power, their capacity to act effectively. That’s how it got started. Then one of my mentors told me that I was already presenting every day anyway – I went on the floor and taught! So for me, it was a very natural transition. But I’m going to mark it this way … one of the greatest gifts that I learned from the martial arts was the idea of beginner’s mind. The whole world is open as a learning experience for us and we should never stop to pat ourselves on the back too long. Perfection is not a destination … it’s a never ending process. So I’m going through the same process as a speaker that I went through as a martial artist. I want to learn, I want to grow, and I want to be a better presenter every day. And I know you guys feel the same way!

george Absolutely, Jim! The thing that strikes me from your story – you said some of your students made a suggestion. With that one little suggestion, and you listening carefully and then processing it, you found this opportunity. That’s something we all need to be aware of – opportunity doesn’t hit you like a train. In most cases, it’s very subtle. But that’s where you’ll find that thing that you really want to do!

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Dynamic Components of Personal Power

(Image from JimBouchard.org)

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Add Fireworks to Your Next Presentation

Written on July 4, 2008 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Presentations

We’re celebrating the 4th of July here in the United States. Fun, friends, and …

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"Fireworks! I love the fireworks. Watching them always makes me feel like a kid."

"One of my favorite stories is about a fireworks show gone wrong. I used to be in a service club called the Jaycees. Many local Jaycee chapters put on the fireworks show, particularly those in small towns. I heard about one chapter’s show, in particular. One year, at the beginning of the show … not more than a few fireworks in … they lit one that misfired. It hit the pile of all the remaining fireworks! BOOM! An amazing display … but their whole show was over in less than a minute!"

Nothing like having your grand finale at the beginning!

There is an art (and some luck) to putting on a good fireworks show. As we were talking about this, we thought it was interesting how it relates to storytelling.

The start

It kicks off with a little burst that grabs your attention right away. Then you get into the flow. There’s a certain rhythm to the fireworks, often synchronized with music. The rhythm changes throughout the show. At times, they’re firing off quickly; at other times … a little more slowly.

When you tell a story, start with an attention grabber and then get going. Vary your pace with the action of your story. Talk faster to imply that things are developing faster or slow down when it’s called for. Make your timing fit your story.

The pseudo-finale

Usually you’ll see a pseudo-finale about half way through the show. They give you a taste of what the grand finale will be like.

"Sometimes it’s so good that you think it is the finale! You get bummed that it’s almost over."

As you tell your story, depending on its length, think about how you can get them to anticipate the climax as you near the middle. This will keep them engaged and wanting more!

The grand finale

This is what everyone’s been waiting for. It’s almost sensory overload with so much going on at once – the sound, the sights, the colors exploding in the sky … one right after the other, sometimes on top of each other.

"You feel your heart start pounding faster … that rush of adrenaline. You’re in awe and you don’t want it to end."

"You don’t want your story to be like the Jaycees’ fireworks show I mentioned earlier. You want it to build, and build, and build …to your final line – the point of your story. You want your audience on the proverbial edge of their seats. Leave them wanting more … realizing why they should listen to you."