Be Deliriously Happy Or At Least Leave Yourself Open To Be

I’m a sucker for movie quotes. I really think there should be an entire class dedicated to the great quotes and nuggets of insight that come from the movies, but can be applied to the business world.  Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the type of people I want to work with (colleagues, business partners, employees, clients, etc.).  It finally occurred to me that I want to work with people that passionate about what they do and excited about working with me.  I’d rather work with someone like that, than the smartest or most proficient colleague, partner, client, etc.  In short, I’d trade passion for skill.

I think this quote from the movie, Meet Joe Black really sums it up.

“There’s not an ounce of excitement, not a whisper of a thrill. This relationship has all the passion of a pair of titmice. I want you to get swept away out there. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture & dance like a dervish…be deliriously happy or at least leave yourself open to be.”

This was advice being given by Anthony Hopkins’ character, William Parrish, to his daughter about dating.  His point was, don’t settle, don’t pick something that seems like a logical fit.  Pick someone who excites you.

This is one of the reasons I genuinely love my job.  Many of the people I work with excite me.  My manager, Michele Fabrizi, our agency’s President & CEO has just as much passion for what she does today as she did 20 years ago.  We feed off of the mutual excitement.  We trade emails in the middle of the night, because an idea is bouncing around in our head.  That’s the kind of people you want to work for and with.

The next time you’re in a position to choose who you want to work with, ask yourself, “am I excited to work with X?”  If you aren’t, I’d suggest passing.  Life is too short to not be excited about what you get to do.