Energy is Half Contagious

One of the many things my wife and I learned while working at Pine Cove Camps is that energy and enthusiasm are contagious.  However, they are only half contagious. This means that if you are at 50% energy level, your campers (students, followers, employees, etc) will only be at  25%.

So if you're giving 100%, the people your are trying to energize will increase their enthusiasm to about 50%.  I can see you doing the math and you're right no leader wants followers only giving 50%.  So what do you do?

Standard Greeting @ Pine Cove :)

You guessed it, give more than 100%!  I know it seems impossible to do but think of it this way:  100% is normal energy level.  The status quo.  100% is regular.  It's average.  As a leader, if your max effort is average, the vast majority of your followers are going to be below average.

Which is why if you go to Pine Cove Camps, you'll find everyone that works there is over the top.  Absolutely bonkers!  Crazy with seemingly unending energy! They know because they are taught that if they want camper energy to be at 100%, they have to be at 200%.  How do they get there?  The camp director, program director, and leadership team are all maxing out at 400%!


This same principle carries over into parenting as well.

Many people comment that our son Beau smiles all the time, which is totally true.  We could get into the nature vs nurture debate and I certainly agree that babies are born with particular demeanors.  However I think Beau smiles so much because we make a conscious effort to slap on the biggest grin every time we see him.  Katy and I smile, laugh, and over the top celebrate as much as possible because we believe in the principle that energy is 1/2 contagious.

Where did we learn that you ask?  From the wife of one of the directors at Pine Cove Camps! :)

By the way...so excited about heading back to Pine Cove this year.  We get to experience the camper side of things at The Woods Family Camp!