At the UK Leadership Academy we're great believers in putting our hearts into what we do.

So I'd like to send out a big thank you to the lovely Dr Joanna Martin, my public speaking mentor, for uncovering a piece of research proving beyond question that passion pays.

A group of 1500 college leavers were asked to choose between (A) following a career they believed would give them a good financial return and enable them to live the life of their dreams; or else (B) forgetting about the money and just doing what they believed in.  Over 80% (1255 people) chose the practical route, with a mere 245 choosing to follow their passions.

20 years later, 101 of the 1500 had become millionaires.

Now, this is the startling bit: only one of them came from the 1255, the remaining 100 came from the passionate 245.  That's an astounding 40.8% success rate against a meagre 0.08% for the practical group.

Those who pursued their passion were over 500 times more likely to become millionaires!

And we see this all the time with businesses too: those driven by a passion for worthwhile purpose consistently out perform numbers-driven organisations.

If you're enthusiastic, evangelical even, about what you do, you will enthuse those around you - staff, customers, suppliers etc. - to help you in your mission.  Enthusiastic people give a great customer experience; and satisfied enthusiastic customers lead to more repeat business and more recommendations and referrals. Compounded over time, this produces truly stellar results.

What is the purpose of your business, and how effectively are you harnessing the passion needed to make it a reality?

Let me know, I always love to hear your stories.