Inspiration to perform - from shoes to cars!

We were fortunate last week to attend a keynote address by Krista Green, Founder and CEO of Organized for Life Canada (www.organizedforlife.ca), and Author of "Get Noticed, Be Remembered". She included a story about how a reporter once asked Michael Jordan about why he wore a brand new pair of Nike shoes for each game. Aside from the charitable benefits that arose from him autographing and donating each pair, she inquired about if he didn't still think that it was a bit of an excessive indulgence, or perhaps a bit of a "spoiled athlete" demand.

He replied that whenever he puts on a brand new pair of Nikes, they make him feel like he can run and jump faster and higher than anyone else. And so, when his livelihood is based on him out-running and out-jumping everyone else, why wouldn't he make sure he gets that rush of invincibility before every single time he gets called upon to work? His performance as an athlete shows that it worked!

What are your own pair of Nikes to help inspire you to optimum performance in your business each day? What gives you that rush and confidence to be your best? For me, I would have to say it is my car. When I leased this car a year ago, a brand new model with only 27 kms on it when I picked it up from the dealership, I indulged a bit and got the leather seats, sunroof, and "Z" model (I think that just means it goes faster) of the car I wanted. At the time, I certainly wasn't thinking about how it could help my performance in my business in the future - in fact, it was more the opposite. My rationale at the time was that I deserved this for what I had already done.

But what I have come to find out is that it gives me that same kind of boost of confidence and energy just like Jordan's shoes. I love the way my car looks, I love how it drives, and love what it says (at least what I think it says!) about me as a competent and successful business person in driving a brand new car with some of those little "extras". I get a little boost each and every time I get in and out of it. Here's to hoping you find your own pair of Nikes!