(Page 3 of 4)

Many people have mental objections that keep them from becoming life enrichers and cheerleaders. If you want to be successful, effective and influential like Rich DeVos, then you need to overcome these obstacles and objections.

Obstacle no. 1: childhood barriers

If you grew up in a home where encouragement was scarce, where criticism and sarcasm reigned, then the idea of being an encourager and a life enricher may be foreign to you. If you never had a good parental role model of a cheerleader, then you probably didn't even know that people should encourage one another. If you were subjected to judgment and criticism throughout your formative years (or worse, verbal or physical abuse), then how could you know anything else?

Now that you are an adult, however, you must retrain your mind and reprogram your behavior. Encouraging others is a deliberate choice you must make. It's time to break through old childhood barriers and become the person you want to be. It's time to consciously decide to become a life enricher and a cheerleader.

Obstacle no. 2: insecurity and self-centeredness

Some people, out of a deep sense of insecurity and inferiority, find it difficult to encourage and affirm other people. Over the years, they have developed behavior patterns of building themselves up by tearing other people down. They look for faults and failings in other people in order to feel superior.

If you feel blocked from encouraging others because of your own insecurity and self-centeredness, it's time for you to grow up. It doesn't cost you anything to encourage others. You don't lose anything by affirming, praising and inspiring other people. In fact, you gain - big-time! When you become known as an encourager and a cheerleader, you are the winner. People who tear others down only diminish themselves; people who build others up build themselves up as well. Authentic greatness is demonstrated by the choice to become a life enricher and a cheerleader.

Obstacle no. 3: thoughtlessness

Some people simply don't take the time to enrich someone else's life. We all know it doesn't take much time or effort to say a kind, encouraging word or to send a note of encouragement - but we think, I'm busy right now, and there's always tomorrow. In our casual thoughtlessness, we fail to realize that this isn't necessarily so - sometimes, tomorrow doesn't come. That person you've been meaning to encourage may not be here tomorrow. Or you may not be here tomorrow.

So don't be thoughtless. Stop putting it off. Be an encourager now, while there is still time.

"Rich DeVos is one of the most thoughtful people I know," says Jill Grzesiak, Rich's executive assistant. "You can imagine the incredible volume of requests and invitations he receives. I remember one request he received from an unpublished poet in Michigan who wanted help finding a publisher. The man had written a book of poems dedicated to his late son. He wanted to sell the book locally and at his church, with some of the profits going to charity. He had been turned down by publisher after publisher. Finally, he sent the manuscript to Mr. DeVos, who read it and was very moved by the dedication the man had written to the memory of his son. Mr. DeVos sent the manuscript to his own publisher, but they weren't interested. So he helped the man get the book printed locally. Most people would have told the man, "I wish I could help you," but Mr. DeVos went out of his way to help the man honor his son's memory with a book of poems. That speaks volumes about the thoughtfulness of Rich DeVos." Obstacle no. 4: ignorance Another common obstacle is that some people simply don't know how to encourage other people. They don't know where to begin, what to do or what to say. Here, then, are some steps to take that will make you a life enricher to the people around you:

How to Be a Cheerleader

Step no. 1: be cheerful

How can you be a cheerleader if you have no cheer? Many people think that cheerfulness is the result of an emotional high or happy circumstances, such as winning the lottery. In reality, cheerfulness is a choice. It's an attitude that we choose. No one can be on an emotional high all day long, but anyone can choose to be cheerful. No one has cheery circumstances all the time - we all have to pay taxes; we all lock our keys in the car sometimes; we all get bad news in the mail every now and then; we all get headaches, colds and stiff backs from time to time. Yet even when our circumstances are less than cheery, we can choose a cheerful attitude.

Cheerfulness comes from adopting an optimistic outlook on life. It doesn't mean that we pretend that bad days don't happen. It means that we choose to maintain a positive disposition even on days when things don't go our way.

Cheerful people energize the people around them. Cheerless people are an emotional drag. They suck the life and enthusiasm out of you. So in order to be a cheerleader, you need to be cheerful - and you need to spread that cheer around.

© 2004. All rights reserved. Reprinted from How To Be Like Rich DeVos by Pat Williams. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher.

Tags: Business Life

About the Author

PAT WILLIAMS is the senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, a renowned speaker, and the author of How to Be like Mike, The Magic of Teamwork, and Go for the Magic.