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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ004105S
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00:31 The Vietnam war was a long, costly and difficult conflict. 00:35 Thousands of lives were lost and in addition people were 00:40 destroyed physically and emotionally. It took a heavy 00:44 toll. Beginning in 00:47 1954 and lasting 19 years the Vietnam war spread through 00:52 south and north Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos until finally 00:57 coming to an end in April 1975 with a North Vietnamese victory 01:03 The conflict involved over one and a half million troops from 01:08 South Vietnam, the United States South Korea and also including 01:13 Australia and New Zealand and others. The human cost of the 01:17 war was enormous with over three million deaths, countless 01:22 wounded and over two million refugees. In September 1967 01:28 John Johnson and his army group the 25th infantry division was 01:34 landing in Vietnam during the war. Before long Johnson came 01:38 down with a mysterious respiratory ailment and ended up 01:42 in the army hospital. Johnson felt sorry for himself and kept 01:47 hoping that he was sick enough to be sent to Japan to recover. 01:51 Or maybe all the way back home to the States. But he soon 01:57 recovered and found himself trudging back to his unit in the 02:01 war zone. He suddenly realized that this was one circumstance 02:06 that he couldn't get out of. Johnson had to decide if he 02:11 was going to be a victim or whether he was going to create 02:14 his own positive destiny with the power of his mind, his will 02:19 and enthusiasm. He made a discovery that changed his life. 02:25 Johnson found that by changing his attitude and choosing to 02:30 bring the power of willingness and enthusiasm to whatever 02:34 confronted him and reaching out for support from God he could 02:38 move forward confidently. The famous 19th century American 02:46 philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson also realized the power of 02:51 enthusiasm when he said: 02:58 Yes, enthusiasm, achievement and success go hand in hand. But 03:05 it's enthusiasm that always comes first. Enthusiasm inspires 03:11 confidence, increases vitality, raises morale and builds loyalty 03:18 It's easier, it's also contagious and it's priceless. 03:23 If you think about it, you realize that you can feel 03:26 enthusiasm by the way a person talks, walks and acts. You may 03:33 remember some enthusiastic people you've met in your life. 03:36 Why other people who seem to have more interest, passion and 03:40 purpose. In fact, they seem to be unstoppable Others like to be 03:46 around these enthusiastic people because they are upbeat, 03:50 generate energy and increase the desire to be successful with 03:55 their positive can-do attitude. So even when we face countless 04:02 challenges a positive attitude, a willingness to achieve and 04:07 enthusiasm can make a difference Join me as we find out more 04:13 about how enthusiasm is a habit that anyone can practice and 04:18 change their life. 04:20 ♪ ♪ 04:43 Charles Schwab, a wealthy and influential steel industrialist 04:48 was earning a salary of a million dollars a year in the 04:51 late 1800s. When he was asked if he was being paid such a high 04:56 salary because of his exceptional ability to produce 05:00 steel Schwab replied: 05:17 Enthusiasm generates a positive attitude. It helps us to look 05:23 for solutions to problems, to see the opportunity in a 05:27 challenge and to perform a task with energy, interest and 05:31 vitality. Enthusiastic people are far more likely to succeed 05:36 in accomplishing a task because they believe in what they are 05:40 doing despite the pressures around them. So let's find out 05:45 more about enthusiasm. today I have a special guest with me who 05:52 extensively researched the topic of enthusiasm. Don MacIntosh 05:58 has worked as a former nurse, a minister, a counselor, and as a 06:02 teacher empowering people from all walks of life to discover 06:07 their potential and take charge of their future through the 06:10 Nedley Depression and Anxiety Recovery Program. Don Macintosh 06:16 it's a pleasure to have you on our program today. We're talking 06:20 about enthusiasm. What is it? 06:23 Well enthusiasm is this intense excitement and joy that's 06:27 forward looking. It gives you pep in your step, spunk in your 06:31 trunk, your eyes are popping, your jaw is dropping, you're 06:34 you're, you're engaged, you're focused. That's what enthusiasm 06:38 is. 06:40 How can enthusiasm mold or remold our brains? 06:44 Well you know they've studied this. They've looked at someone 06:46 who's enthusiastic. They've done what they call functional 06:49 magnetic resonance imaging, you know MRIs. They can actually see 06:54 what areas of the brain light up when you have a positive 06:56 attitude, when you have enthusiasm and they know it's 07:00 all related to the prefrontal cortex, different aspects of... 07:04 In fact, they've looked at six different areas if I recall 07:08 correctly and all these things kind of light up like a 07:11 Christmas tree and when that happens actually your brain 07:14 remolds itself, it organizes itself around that enthusiastic 07:19 site or that action. 07:21 What is the exercise connection for enthusiasm? 07:25 Well the exercise connection for enthusiasm is very interesting. 07:30 They have studied people that really are not that enthusiastic 07:34 but if they can get them out walking, if they can get them 07:36 out exercising something happens They seem to wake up, they have 07:40 more vitality and more optimism, they have more enthusiasm and 07:44 they've done this numerous times So actually exercise is kind of 07:49 the seed bed of enthusiasm. When you go out, when you hike, when 07:53 you walk, when you jog, when you run something happens that just 07:57 lays the foundation for you to be much more enthusiastic the 08:02 rest of the day. 08:04 How essential is enthusiasm? 08:06 Enthusiasm is essential for anything. There are researchers 08:11 that say without enthusiasm actually nothing happens. And so 08:16 it's a key vital element. Without enthusiasm nothing 08:19 really is followed through on and so you know they've actually 08:25 done research with, of course, rats and mice and they've seen 08:30 that you get these rats and mice exercising, you get them 08:34 enthusiastic, their dopamine receptor cells are enhanced and 08:39 their able to then follow through on many different things 08:43 Now without enthusiasm nothing really happens in the brain so 08:47 they've studies teachers, they've studied others and 08:51 unless they can get people thinking intrinsically instead 08:55 of extrinsically there's really no lasting change. So there has 08:58 to be something that comes from within; enthusiasm. It has to 09:02 come from the inside out. So it can't be excitedness from the 09:07 outside to excite, it has to be Enthusiasm. So enthusiasm is 09:12 intrinsic. You have to own things to really make a 09:15 difference. 09:17 So can enthusiasm be learned? 09:19 Yeah, you know, people ask it it caught or is it taught? It's 09:24 kind of both. It can be learned but it really can't be taught by 09:29 someone who's not enthusiastic. 09:31 So it can be learned though. They've actually done seminars 09:34 and teaching on how to be joyful how to be optimistic, how to be 09:38 enthusiastic and then they followed up later and they had 09:41 various groups that they looked at. But they recognized that the 09:44 group that was actually being taught the strategies of being 09:47 enthusiastic, being optimistic, they actually did in fact 09:52 improve. So yes, 09:53 enthusiasm although it can be caught actually also 09:57 can be taught. 09:58 And this is good news. Why is it good news it can be taught? Well 10:02 because you know enthusiasm lays the foundation for healthy 10:06 people, for instance to recover from depression and anxiety. 10:09 Maybe you get down in a pit, in a hole, and you have no 10:14 enthusiasm, you have no zest, no vitality and so how can you come 10:20 out of it? Well if you put yourself in an environment with 10:24 people that are enthusiastic and we're going to come back to this 10:27 later. Where does that really come from? Then things radically 10:31 can change. I'll give some examples later of how that 10:34 happens where I saw clinically myself and the others 10:37 maybe common stories some of us know about. 10:39 What is the impact of enthusiasm? 10:43 Well enthusiasm is kind of a game changer. You have a teacher 10:47 who's enthusiastic it can change the entire classroom. If you've 10:51 ever gone into a classroom that was just completely dead. Then 10:55 you have an enthusiastic presentation and pretty soon 10:57 people they were waking up, things were happening. Or have 11:00 you ever been to maybe a lecture where someone just is a live 11:05 wire. They bring everyone alive. Maybe you've attended a church 11:09 service where there's a pastor who just you know on fire. 11:13 Things just change. So you know I'll give you some examples. 11:17 When I was working in a hospital years ago there was a lady that 11:20 saw me. She said you are an enthusiastic chap. I would like 11:24 you to come and work with my ailing father and I want him to 11:27 stay alive until the holidays, until Thanksgiving time. And I 11:31 said, Well a, you know, that'd be great. I'll come over. And I 11:35 went over and I really needed the job so I wanted this man to 11:38 stay alive, maybe for the wrong reasons, but I wanted him to 11:40 stay alive. And I say what is it that motivates this guy? What is 11:44 it that makes him, I didn't know even the word then in this 11:47 context, but what makes him intrinsically motived? What 11:50 makes him enthusiastic. And I could find nothing. He was just 11:53 laying there. There was nothing going on. Then I noticed one day 11:57 there was a television on and there was this man whose name 12:02 was I think it was Harry Carey or something like this and he 12:05 sang a song before a baseball game here. Take me out to the 12:10 ballpark. He was singing that. And everybody would start 12:13 cheering and they would... Now this team that he was following 12:16 they always lost. But just because of the way he sang, just 12:20 because of the way he was, people would watch this team. 12:22 I mean they would watch it for years, they were fans just 12:25 because of this enthusiastic broadcaster. So this guy, I see 12:29 him, he's watching. He hears that commotion. He goes Oh! my 12:32 teams on and he sat up. He started rolling over towards 12:36 that. I said, that's it. This is the intrinsic motivator, this is 12:40 his button for enthusiasm. So I began to move that television 12:44 set to where I wanted him to look. If I wanted him to roll 12:47 over, I moved it to the other side of the bed. And so he would 12:50 look. Then I moved it back. Pretty soon his sores started 12:52 getting better on his back. Then I said this is great but I 12:56 needed him to be able to get up so he went to sleep once and I 12:59 moved the television down the hall. He wakes up. He goes where 13:02 look up, where are they. I said they're down the hall. He says 13:06 I got to get up. So he gets up. I get him in the wheelchair. 13:08 Pretty soon I'm getting him up in the wheelchair. I'm taking 13:11 him down the hall. He's sitting in the other room. And the 13:14 difference was enthusiasm. He had seen you know this 13:20 motivation, this motivational broadcaster and that enthusiasm 13:24 in that broadcaster even though the team was terrible led him to 13:28 do things he wouldn't have otherwise done. And he actually 13:32 lived several years after that. Enthusiasm turned things around. 13:37 It was a great impact. 13:39 How can we learn to be more enthusiastic? 13:42 It can in fact be learned and usually it is learned by being 13:48 around people that are enthusiastic. Let me give you an 13:52 example from studies that they did on teachers. They had 13:56 discovered that students who are in classrooms where the teachers 14:00 are enthusiastic are more engaged and do better with their 14:03 grades and they have far less cheating. They actually 14:07 discovered that you know the more enthusiastic the teacher is 14:11 the more they remember concepts but they also don't even want to 14:16 cheat when they come to the test because they have this bond, 14:19 they don't want to let the teacher down. So it's in those 14:22 environments that you begin to.. your brain is changed, you gain 14:26 information, but you're actually learning how to be enthusiastic. 14:31 There's a great video clip sometimes I show when I'm 14:34 teaching this of a teacher who comes into a classroom. No one's 14:37 listening at all. And then he begins so say something and 14:40 someone listens and then he magnifies that and pretty soon 14:43 everybody's engaged and he starts to move his body around 14:47 and different things and pretty soon everybody's just focused on 14:50 him and everybody gets involved except for one student. And then 14:54 he goes over to that student and even that student becomes 14:56 engaged. So there's this cascade of enthusiastic you know 15:01 influence and confluence and unity that comes. So yes, it can 15:06 be learned and it's usually learned by watching someone. 15:11 Now the word enthusiasm itself we gave one definition and one 15:16 definition was you know this vitality and optimism, this 15:20 forward-looking type of moment, but another actually more 15:25 accurate definition of enthusiasm is Entheos. 15:30 It means actually God within. And I want to suggest that if 15:36 God gets inside you he can teach you things. You can learn things 15:40 you never learned before. 15:43 What are the spiritual aspects of enthusiasm? 15:45 So enthusiasm again, that word comes from two Greek words, En 15:50 which means inside, theos - God within. So have you ever noticed 15:56 that very religious or spiritual organizations are usually very 15:59 enthusiastic. Whether or not you agree with them they're very 16:04 enthusiastic like, I mean, let's use some examples that might 16:08 make us shudder, like ISIS or al queda. Well you watch tapes 16:12 of them you know maybe on the nightly news or whatever, you 16:15 don't get sense that they're not enthusiastic about what they're 16:18 doing. They're very into it. And around the world you'll notice 16:22 that are very highly into their religion. And by the way, 16:25 religion although in some parts of the world seems to be 16:28 diminishing, actually most parts of the world it's growing 16:31 rapidly. And these are very enthusiastic people. Now you 16:36 know the cultures where they have lost their religious 16:39 focus, their spiritual focus, not as really enthusiastic, 16:44 maybe at a sports game but nowhere else. Not as 16:46 enthusiastic. Much more depression, much more anxiety. 16:49 I work part of the year sometimes in Scandinavian 16:53 countries and they have a lot of depression, they have a lot of 16:57 anxiety. But this seems to have skyrocketed as they've got away 17:01 from their religious bearing. In fact, a number of years ago 17:05 one of these countries, they said, you know what? We have all 17:08 this influx of people that are very almost militant in 17:12 enthusiasm of their religion but we don't seem to have any 17:15 answer. We're not excited about anything. So guess what they did 17:18 in this country? They decided to print a new translation of the 17:22 Bible for the entire country. And so they print a new 17:26 translation of the Bible for the entire country, they give it to 17:28 everybody, it's very affluent, so they can afford to do this, 17:32 and nobody wants to read it. So guess what they did? They 17:36 brought the Bibles back. They said let's put new covers on. 17:38 We're going to put covers of the bad girls of the Bible, so 17:41 they're scantily clothed. There's like you know the 17:44 prostitutes like Rahab and other things on the front. And then 17:47 all the stories throughout the Bible that were actually pretty 17:50 interesting. If you actually crack the Bible, it's actually 17:53 fairly interesting because it has very radical stories. And so 17:57 they pictures of these and their attempt was to say they get back 18:01 to your spiritual roots, get back to the things that really 18:05 enthuse you. Because without enthusiasm it seems like nothing 18:09 happens. Another area for instance: Science. Science did 18:14 not develop in what we used to call pagan cultures really that 18:20 much where there were multiple gods. It seems as though there's 18:23 a real focus where there's just one deity and in Judeo-Christian 18:27 culture this is where science developed. It's in that context 18:31 that science developed. I'm reading a fascinating book right 18:34 now called The Bible, Protestantism and the Rise of 18:38 Natural Science. But people got enthusiastic about the Bible and 18:43 everything in that and that led to the scientific revolution. We 18:48 sometimes forget about that today. So there is a real 18:53 spiritual connection with entheos, you know, God within. 18:59 I'll give you another example of this. You know there was a time 19:05 in history in Great Britain where they had what was called 19:08 the enthusiasts. Enthusiasts were those who were so 19:12 enthusiastic about God they couldn't help themselves. One of 19:17 these guys was a guy named George Whitfield. George 19:20 Whitfield was a very famous preacher. He was contemporary 19:24 of the Wesley brothers. He came to America and he preached 19:28 all through America, you know, various locations, sometimes 19:32 5000 people, sometimes 25,000 people. And he would preach with 19:37 such vigor and such gusto that crowds would just come and 19:41 they'd be spell bound for however long he preached, might 19:44 be an hour, might be two hours. And every single thing he said 19:49 just gotta grip their attention. Now there was a guy, 19:51 in American history. His name was Ben Franklin who was kind of 19:55 a deist, actually maybe not even that, a sceptic, a rationalist. 19:59 But he loved to hear Whitfield preach. So he went one day to 20:04 hear Whitfield preach. The enthusiast right so he was very 20:07 enthusiastic about what he was preaching. And that doesn't mean 20:10 that it was contrived. I might say probably I mean it was 20:14 literally entheos, God within. He was actuated by the Holy 20:18 Spirit you might say. And he was preaching. And Benjamin Franklin 20:22 came and he said you know when I go I know he's going to ask for 20:26 a collection. I don't want to give any money to him. So he had 20:30 in his pockets some copper coins and he had some silver coins and 20:33 he had some gold coins. He began to listen to Whitfield preach. 20:38 And something strangely changed in his heart, in his mind 20:43 as he was listening and so sure enough he calls for... he knew 20:47 he was going to call for a collection. He said when he 20:49 calls for it I'm going to just give him the copper coins. At 20:52 first he wasn't going to give anything but he says I'll give 20:53 the copper. Second he said after he'd heard just a couple more 20:57 lines he goes no I got to give the silver coins. This is too 21:00 good. Finally he ends with an appeal. He said look I'm giving 21:05 everything. And he gave not only the copper but he gave the 21:09 silver and he gave the gold. And more than that when he left 21:14 and he began to write about it I says you know it's not just 21:17 his enthusiastic preaching, I don't know if he used the word 21:19 enthusiasm, enthusiastic preaching but he was called an 21:23 enthusiast. It wasn't just that. Look at what's happened in our 21:26 city. The taverns are closed, marriages are coming together, 21:30 the entire society is changing because of this enthusiastic 21:36 preaching these other people become enthusiastic. People were 21:40 singing in the streets, you know and they were singing hymns they 21:44 were singing psalms. Something changed. There was something 21:48 transformed in the community just because of that spiritual, 21:52 you might say, enthusiasm. 21:54 Do you have a special message for us today? 21:57 Well you know enthusiasm can be looked at just with a lens of 22:01 maybe a secular lens. I need to exercise more, I need to be 22:04 around enthusiastic people, and all those different things. But 22:08 you know this last concept that I gave you in terms of the 22:11 spiritual aspect, I think that's what we need to really 22:15 reconsider. All the cultures that have kind of lost their 22:18 grip on God, they start to just lose their focus as a culture, 22:23 as a nation. They become ripe for others that come in that 22:28 have enthusiasm. So look in my own life I lost all that, but as 22:33 I came back, as I came back from an atheist mind set, 10, 11 22:38 years as an atheist, depressed, anxious and everything, as I 22:41 came back and I considered the spiritual, just for myself, not 22:44 for someone else. That's what turned me off before. But when 22:47 I looked at it for myself, man, it totally changed my life. God 22:52 came within. I became en theos, enthusiastic. And now it's just 22:58 great to see people's life changed through the power of 23:01 enthusiasm. 23:03 John Macintosh thank you for being with us today. It's been a 23:06 pleasure to have you on our program. 23:08 You're welcome. 23:10 Enthusiasm sure can make a difference in our lives. 23:17 But having enthusiasm 23:19 for what you are doing does not mean you won't face challenges 23:23 or difficulties. The fact of the matter is that we all face 23:27 challenges in life, but if you have a positive attitude then 23:31 you are better equipped to deal with all the problems that arise 23:36 Your enthusiastic attitude will also leave a lasting impression 23:41 on those around you. It demonstrates how your positive 23:45 attitude helps you to overcome obstacles, to see problems as an 23:49 opportunity, to work toward the solution and leave a legacy of a 23:55 life well lived. Many successful and famous people have 23:59 recognized the power of enthusiasm and I'd like to share 24:03 with you some of their comments upon enthusiasm. 24:56 Our Creator God wants us to enjoy a life that is filled with 25:02 joy and boundless opportunities. It changes a mediocre life to 25:08 one filled with purpose and meaning. Listen to what the 25:11 Bible says in John chapter 10 and verse 10: 25:21 God wants us to experience the very best in life. He wants us 25:26 to experience an abundant life. Enthusiasm is an extremely 25:31 powerful quality that can bring a sense of purpose and meaning 25:35 into our lives. God has wired you for a life of purpose. If 25:42 you would like to experience the abundant life with enthusiasm 25:46 that God created you to enjoy then I'd like to recommend the 25:51 free gift we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers 25:55 today. It's a booklet called How to Harness Your Enthusiasm. 26:00 This booklet will share with you how to make the choice to be 26:05 enthusiastic and how it can change your attitude and your 26:08 life. This booklet is our gift to you and it's absolutely free. 26:13 I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. So 26:19 make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive the gift 26:23 we have for you today. 26:25 Phone or text us at 0436-333-555 in Australia or 020-422-2042 in 26:37 New Zealand or visit our website TiJ.tv to request today's free 26:42 offer and we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with 26:46 no obligation. Write to us at: 27:01 Don't delay. Call or text us now 27:04 If you've enjoyed today's program on the power of 27:15 enthusiasm and our reflections on how it can change our choices 27:20 attitudes and life then be sure to join us again next week when 27:25 we will share another of life's journeys together. Until then 27:29 let's pray and ask for God's blessing on each of us. 27:34 Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the way your love can give 27:40 our life meaning, how it can give us a purpose and show us 27:44 the way forward. We pray that you'll give us the power to 27:48 choose a positive attitude and to be enthusiastic in all that 27:53 we do and have an abundant life. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 28:00 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2021-07-07