Do you know those small bags of baby carrots you’ve bought hundreds of times? Did you know that those are milled and sculpted from regular sized carrots? They’re not “baby” carrots at all.
When first hearing this you might think, oh what a scam. They’ve been fooling us into thinking those little carrots were baby carrots.
But the story behind it is entrepreneurial gold. Not only did they save a business, they transformed an industry.
In the early 1980’s the carrot industry was in bad shape — no growth and pretty wasteful because farmers couldn’t sell the ugly carrots to grocery stores.
In 1986, Mike Yurosek, a carrot farmer, was tired of the waste. Instead of tossing them out, he got the idea to carve them into something a bit more pleasant to eat.
He delivered a bag of his little carved out carrots to a local grocery chain along with their usual order of regular sized carrots. The baby carrots were such a hit that the store came back to him and said they only wanted the baby carrots.
The rest is history. Today, the small bags of baby carrots make up 70% of all carrot sales. Crazy, right?
All because one man had a passion for carrots and didn’t want to see them go to waste.
So what are you passionate about? And how can you use that passion to figure out the one transformation you want to help people with? Before we go into that, let’s first talk about what passion actually is.
What is passion?
Many people are under the impression that passion is an extremely heightened emotion. And while that’s true for say, romantic relationships, it’s not the case in the realm of our businesses.
Passion for our work is more like a knowing that we are right where we want to be. That we would rather be doing this than anything else we could be doing. There’s a peace to it — knowing you’re exactly where you should be.
Why is it important to be passionate about the transformation you want to help people with?
Being passionate about your ONE transformation has several other benefits...
First, you’ll be motivated to master that one transformation — to become a true expert — because you’ll be enjoying it so much. Research shows that we tend to get good at the things we enjoy doing. This is no exception.
Second, related to mastery, you’ll also become more creative in your coaching. You’ll come up with more creative ways to help your clients and problem solving will become a breeze.
Third, it motivates your clients. Trust me, your clients will be able to tell when you’re passionate about something. It will show up in your voice, your facial expressions, and your body language. They’ll feel that from you and want the same for themselves.
Finally, that motivation from your clients will lead to better collaboration between you. Think about it. If they feel your excitement, expertise, and creativity in what you do, they will trust you more. And that will lead to better and faster results.
How can you enhance your passion for your one transformation even further?
To enhance the passion you feel for your transformation, I recommend you have a growth mindset. Always be looking to improve your skills and gain more knowledge.
The best way to do this is to set aside time every week to learn more about your one transformation and improve your coaching skills. Earlier I mentioned that research shows we tend to get good at the things we enjoy doing. Well, the good news is that the opposite is true as well. People become more passionate about their craft as they gain mastery.
Have you ever played a musical instrument?
When I first took piano lessons, I wasn’t passionate about playing the piano at all.
That’s because I sucked.
Once I had enough practice under my belt so that my efforts started to sound like actual music, it was a whole other ballgame.
It was much more fun to play. Sitting down to practice for an hour was enjoyable and not a dredge.
Now you may be thinking, there are plenty of people who make good money who aren’t passionate about their work. And that’s true.
Yet, I’d like to challenge you to think about whether you want to be one of them.
There ARE plenty of people in the world who go to work every day just to get the paycheck. And many do eke out some enjoyment from those jobs.
I’m guessing that you didn’t go into coaching to eke out a living, but that you’re passionate about helping others and making an impact on others lives...
... and by extension the world around you.
With love & joy,
P.S. Is there someone in your life who could benefit from reading this post? Why not share this with them?
