Hey guys! Sunday is Valentine’s Day. Have you bought your card for your sweetheart yet? The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide. That makes this day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year next to Christmas. The association has found in the U.S. men spend twice as much money as women.

Passion and Commitment is one of the seven Timeless Leadership Principles in our Leadership Wheel (see my last blog post.) Passionate leaders rally people around a cause. Those leaders are often so passionate about their work that they have turned it into a cause that draws others like insects to the back porch light. The American clergyman, and personal effectiveness writer and speaker, Norman Vincent Peale, considered a burning conviction and contagious enthusiasm to be the most critical factor in successful living and leadership (listening to him speak was an inspiring and invigorating experience.) He once said, “Your enthusiasm will be infectious, stimulating and attractive to others. They will love you for it. They will go for you and with you.”

Effective leaders generate peak performance that comes from creating energy through excitement (the pull or gain of what could be), urgency (the push to avoid the pain of poor performance), or some combination of both. This creates focus, and harnesses the deep urge we all have to be part of something meaningful — to make a difference. To know that we are doing something worthwhile, that we are striving for a worthy goal.

CLICK HERE to browse a large selection of my articles, excerpts, and columns on Passion, Commitment, and Self-Discipline. Here are three short articles that deal most directly with passion and love:

  • The Many Faces of Love
    Highly effective leaders are in love with the organization, community, or team that they work or live in. Their love is expressed in a deep desire to see that organization, community, or team grow to its full potential. More
  • The Power of Passion
    Leadership is emotional. Leadership deals with feelings. Leadership is made up of dreams, inspiration, excitement, desire, pride, care, passion, and love – the areas of our lives where we show the strongest leadership.More
  • Passionate Leaders Rally People to the Cause
    People rally around passionate leaders with a compelling vision and purpose. Effective leaders generate action that comes from creating energy and transforming jobs into crusades, exciting adventures, or deeper missions. More