5% More

Chapter 11Make Life 5 Percent More Exciting for Others

I was at breakfast recently and a little girl no more than three was so excited when she was going through a book and was able to identify the animals in the book. She proudly announced to her mom, “Mommy, that's a giraffe” and “Mommy, that's a panda bear.” She was so excited!

But there comes a point in a child's life where their excitable expressions become muted. That's because parents are constantly hushing children, telling them to quiet down or, even worse, to shut their mouths. What if we as a society allowed that excitement to grow and expand? What if we embraced a child's excitement level?

Why do we have to suppress that excitement? What if you were 5 Percent More excited about the basic things in life? From just waking up to going to the gym, what if you perceived it all through the eyes of a child? Imagine how your work day would go if you were just a little more enthusiastic about your job. I will tell you this, if you see your life as more exciting, then your life will be more exciting. You will begin to appreciate the little things.

And the first step to making this happen is to allow your children to be excited and not suppress that excitement. Watch it grow and expand. And soon you will see your chance to get your excitement back through them and other children around you.

We all had it when we were kids, too, but somewhere along the way of “growing up” we lost it, and, in a way, lost ourselves. Well, here ...