Elevate your Passion like "Patch Adams"

I had heard some decent things about the 1998 movie, “Patch Adams” yet never found the time to see it. One reason for my avoidance was that it seemed quite silly. Flipping through the TV this past week, I stumbled upon this lightly entertaining movie starring Robin Williams and found it pleasant and inspiring.

Based on a true story, Patch is a medical student who relates to his patients as human beings first and is passionate on improving their quality of their life, not just keeping them alive. He rubs many colleagues the wrong way but the patients adore him. The character Williams portrays is radiantly infectious.

This is not a great movie and many scenes are predictable although it did vividly remind me about the importance of living in the moment, being passionate and happily relating to others. Why do so many NOT show the happiness and passion externally even though they are happy and positive people inside? We don’t have to be as lively as Patch Adams; we only need to elevate or improve our passion, be more energetic and not be afraid to engage people especially new faces that we might come across.

During the movie, my mind drifted back to influential people I have worked with who exhibited the Patch passion for life:

-- At Madison Square Garden, our Head of Advertising Sales was a person you would never forget. I still think of moments with him especially when he was talking to a group. Not everyone was a fan but nobody could deny that he was an engaging and fun person. He was extremely funny, a great story teller and was passionate x 100. After telling the team a great story about husbands and wives, he ended the talk with these words; “I don’t care if my kid is not happy or anyone else but as long as my wife is happy, I am happy”. He was frequently providing quality wisdom.

-- In NYC, I had the best boss I will probably ever have. He was smart, witty, fair, fun and a true gentleman. I cannot remember one single moment with him that wasn’t pure enjoyment. He loved life and always talked lovingly about his wife and his eyes lit up when he spoke of his children. His enthusiasm and knowledge helped to prepare me for marriage and parenthood. In addition, he knew how to engage and instruct people that reported to him in a way that was empowering, fair and void of burden. He is one of my best mentors.

-- As a substitute teacher in Sweden, I had the opportunity to work with and observe some of the most admired teachers at their schools. One taught first grade and upon meeting him, I immediately recognized his loving spirit by the number of students that were always around him. He was constantly smiling and his students thought the world of him. We also worked together with a special needs student who was one of the most damaged kids I have been around. Even though I had sole responsibility for this young boy, when I needed help, he was always there to calm my student down.

Another teacher worked with kids after school. Even though his task was to monitor them while they played, he made moments special. He took attendance by playing silly name games that made kids laugh or corrected bad manners by joking with the students yet always teaching them the proper way to act. Needless to say, he was very popular.

I have met numerous people in the USA and Sweden who have some "Patch” in them but only show it to friends inside their circle. Some of my American and British friends have described Swedish people as robotic and indeed I can see why they think that. Many in this country find it difficult to open up (Sweden is very conformist) yet if you meet them privately, they are engaging and uplifting! Why not show that passion a bit more often?

During my years at Madison Square Garden, I was fortunate to meet Pat Croce (former owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76er’s) at a private meeting. The aforementioned boss asked him to come to speak to the sales team as a way to motivate us. It was one of the most memorable and inspiring moments of my life! Even though some would find his energy over the top, I didn’t as it was genuine and you could feel the passion with his every word. His motivational skills were unbelievable! He inspired his basketball team, employees and the city of Philadelphia with a passion and "breath of fresh air" that will be difficult to duplicate.

We all have come across people like Patch, Pat and the others mentioned above and I bet you felt good after being in their presence? Even though you might not favor that particular style, it is hard to not be impressed or influenced by people who display happiness, passion or are engaging personalities. True passion is intoxicating!

Take the time to work on elevating your likability, passion towards others or personality. It will usually make you feel better, impact those around you positively and make life in general more interesting. I plan to step up my passion intensity in some areas where it has been a bit low.

The title of Pat Croce’s book is “I FEEL GREAT and you will too!". I recommend it highly. At the meeting, he told us to try what he does every morning; wake up and simultaneously clap your hands and say out loud, “I FEEL GREAT”. I know it sounds a bit corny but what did I have to lose by giving it a try?

The next morning I clapped, and to my surprise I instantly felt better. Pat was right in saying we would get some extra energy! I don’t do it every day yet when I make it part of my morning routine, it brings a smile to my face.

If you can’t take BIG steps in upgrading your passion, do it with little ones like smiling at a stranger, hugging a friend you have never hugged before, attending an event with a motivational speaker, engaging someone you never met before or waking up in the morning and being verbally expressive to kick-start your day!

Happy Gswede Sunday!


One of my most passionate friends. There have been moments laughing together when I thought my insides were going to explode!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello there. Merely planned to consult a rapid problem. Now i am arranging my weblog along with wish to know exactly
where you got your own topic? Ended up being the item free?

Or ended up being that compensated? I can not appear to find something just
like this place, therefore hopefully you are able to allow me to learn.
Appreciate it. PS, my own apologies. British isn't my own
first language.

Also visit my web-site - itunes download codes

Anonymous said...

Hi to every one, for the reason that I am actually keen of reading
this blog's post to be updated daily. It includes
nice material.

My web-site: Telecolumbus Angebote

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I realize this is somewhat off-topic but I had
to ask. Does building a well-established blog like yours require a lot of work?

I'm brand new to writing a blog but I do write in my journal daily.
I'd like to start a blog so I will be able to share my personal experience and feelings online.
Please let me know if you have any kind of suggestions or tips for new aspiring bloggers.
Appreciate it!

Also visit my weblog - dragon City hack

Anonymous said...

Make your plans to watch these performances buy Lady Gaga Tickets
and enjoy the live shows. You may even mail a send to 00350 48508 Gibraltar and also at 01483 747 097 coming from In search of:30-6:00pm.
It makes one ponder about making use of this kind of software yourself.


My homepage ... best poker books

Anonymous said...

Paragraph writing is also a fun, iff you be acquainted with then you can write if not it iss complx to
write.

Feel free to visit my weblog; family dentist el cajon

Anonymous said...

Having rezd tɦis I believed іt was very informative.

I appreciate yߋu taking thе time аnd energy to ƿut
tɦis informatіοn toɡether. I oncce again find myslf spending ɑ lot оf time
both reading and posting comments. Βut sso wɦat, іt was sstill worthwhile!


mʏ weblog :: sportsbet

Anonymous said...

Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all people you really understand what you are speaking about!
Bookmarked. Kindly additionally consult with my website =).
We will have a hyperlink change agreement between us

Feel free to visit my weblog - skin derma pro reviews

Anonymous said...

When I originally left a comment I appear to
have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now
every time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment.
There has to be a means you are able to remove me from that service?

Thanks!

Look at my website social landings ()

Anonymous said...

I couldn't refrain from commenting. Perfectly written!

My webpage: Beats By Dre Outlet

Anonymous said...

I have to thank you for the efforts you've put in penning this website.
I am hoping to view the same high-grade content by you later
on as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my own, personal website now ;)

Also visit my web site - payday loans

Anonymous said...

A built-in, 220 volt fireplaces are built-in, they can still appreciate the heat from
ethanol fireplace wa the coils out of the fireplace or arrange
for it to be. Corn requires a lot of them were dedicated to producing andirons made from brass.



Stop by my web blog rando quad marrakech inc woodbridge ct [hockeyworld.dk]

Anonymous said...

hello there and thank you for your information – I've definitely picked up anything new from right here.
I did however expertise some technical issues using this
site, as I experienced to reload the site lots of times previous to I could get it to load properly.
I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances
times will often affect your placement in google and
can damage your high-quality score if ads and marketing with
Adwords. Well I'm adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for
a lot more of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this again very soon.

Also visit my web page :: hotel belvedere croazia

Anonymous said...

Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this
board and I find It truly useful & it helped me
out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.



Feel free to surf to my web page; donne in webcam

Anonymous said...

electronic cigarette, e cigarette, e cigarettes, smokeless cigarettes, ecig, e cigarette

karina pitaloka said...

Daftar Harga Kulkas Mini Murah Terbaru
Harga Kulkas Mini Murah
Daftar Harga Kulkas Mini Murah
daftar harga kulkas
Harga Kulkas Mini
Obat Untuk Memperbaiki Kualitas Sperma

Unknown said...

pelangsing badan WMP slim juice