I spent a few days this past week traveling to and from Arkansas for a Future Business Leaders of America district conference. I had never presented to any groups in The Natural State, so I was pretty excited to hang out with the students of the area for a while.

The day was definitely a memorable one. After speaking to a group of about 1,500 early Wednesday morning, I headed backstage to talk with a few students and administrators.

As we chatted about the presentation and FBLA in general, the conference continued with The Battle of the Chapters, a competitive event where leadership students represent their schools in a war of business knowledge. Twenty minutes into the competition, a group of about 6 teens were left to duke it out.

Now I like to think that I’m a veteran when it comes to leadership conferences, but every once in a while something out of the ordinary is bound to take me by surprise.    As I walked up towards the stage to watch, I noticed something a little odd.

And when I say odd, I mean awesome.

Two students had managed to rally over 1500 of their fellow leaders to do the wave that extended around the entire coliseum.

While I looked around to see other’s reactions, I noticed that everyone’s expressions were the same: happiness and shock.

It’s funny how a random act of positive enthusiasm can take so many people by surprise. Whether it’s a carefully planned “flash mob” seen on youtube or a single person singing at the top of their lungs on the freeway, the spontaneous acts of others often cause many of us to join in with a smile.

As you enjoy your few days of rest before beginning another hectic week (of whatever life has in store), I encourage you to think about what you can do to stir up some excitement in your life and the lives of others. Take a risk and meet someone new.  Go support an event or cause that needs the added attention. Take up a new hobby with some friends.

By taking just a few minutes a day to live life with a little bit of added enthusiasm, you not only make your own day better, but can cause a waves of others to join in.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 4th, 2009 at 12:25 pm. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.