Facts Inform, But Passion Moves

Passion is at the top of the list of the skills you need to excel whether you're in sales or any other profession. A salesperson without passion is just an order taker.

If you're in sales, you can have a great product, a tremendous territory and a fabulous marketing campaign, but if you don't have passion, it's hard to make a sale. When you have passion, you speak with conviction, act with authority and present with zeal. When you are excited and passionate about a product-or anything for that matter-people notice. They want in on the action. They want to know what can be so good.

There is no substitute for passion. If you don't have an intense, burning desire for what you are doing, there's no way you'll be able to work the long, hard hours it takes to become successful.

"Make sure that the career you choose is one you enjoy," said Kathy Whitworth, who won 88 LPGA tournaments, more than anyone on the men's or women's professional circuit. I was lucky enough to be in attendance when she won four of them. "If you don't enjoy what you are doing, it will be difficult to give the extra time, effort and devotion it takes to be a success. If it is a career that you find fun and enjoyable, then you will do whatever it takes. You will give freely of your time and effort, and you will not feel that you are making sacrifices in order to be a success."

President Harry Truman once said: "Good work is never done in cold blood; heat is needed to forge anything. Every great achievement is the story of a flaming heart."

Mark Twain was once asked the reason for his success. He said, "I was born excited."

J. Paul Getty, the wealthy oil tycoon, actually ranked passion ahead of imagination, business acumen and ambition as necessary ingredients of business success.

Surround yourself with people who are passionate about their jobs. You'll catch their passion. And remember that you can't be passionate when you feel like it. You have to be passionate about your job, product or cause all the time.

Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart, had 10 "Rules for Success." Rule number one was "Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anything else. If you love your work, you'll be out there every day trying to do the best you can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you-like a fever."

Set an example for your co-workers or teammates to be passionate. There's nothing more powerful and more contagious than passion.

By Harvey Mackay