The energy bus by john gordon ken blanchard summary from four minute books written by nicholas gerka one sentence summary the energy bus is a fable that will help you create positive energy with ten simple rules and make it the center of your life work and relationships favorite quote from the author positive energy is like a muscle the more you use it the stronger it gets the stronger it gets the more powerful you become the more you focus on positive energy the more it becomes your natural state john gordon did you know that one of the most common times when people commit suicide is 9 a.m on a monday sadly it seems like the start of yet another work week is what drives some over the edge when they already feel like they can't handle life anymore luckily circumstances aren't quite so dire for most of us but that doesn't mean we don't sometimes go through a serious rough patch john gordon once did he struggled at work his team was imploding and due to all the stress his family life was falling apart too after being fired from his job at a dot com startup his wife even asked him where the man was that she married but instead of throwing his hands up in despair john then decided to sit with that question he thought about his life motivation and purpose and then it came to him that he wanted to write and speak having no time to lose he immediately got to work three inspired weeks later he finished the manuscript for the energy bus and while it would be a long time before the book became the best seller it is today that was the real beginning of his journey here are three lessons from the book to help you start yours 1. you must reclaim the driver's seat of your life you can do so with the e plus p equals o formula two to inspire others to support your journey be enthusiastic it's contagious three always do your best to love people by listening to them showing empathy and commending their work are you ready for a ride into positivity then here's your one-way ticket for the energy bus lesson one take control of your life with the e plus p equals o formula the hero of this story is george he works at a light bulb company and is in a similarly negative situation john was in several years ago worse one monday his car breaks down and he finds out that for the next two weeks he'll have to take the bus what he doesn't know is that from the moment he gets on his life is about to change the bus driver joy is committed to unleashing the positive energy in every single one of her passengers to do so she shares 10 rules with everyone on the bus the first few are about regaining control over your life if you feel you've lost it since positive energy is the only proper fuel for a good journey which is the third rule we should focus on the upside of everything joy says she shares the e plus p equals o formula with george which means that energy plus perception equals outcome and if your perception is positive you'll always have a positive outcome this is similar to the stoic idea of amor fati which means to love your fate no matter what it brings it's the difference between thinking life happens to you and life happens for you you can't control everything that happens but you can control what you believe about what happens if you focus on gratitude solving problems and learning new things you'll always come out on top lesson two humans can sense enthusiasm from a distance and it's what gets people on your bus the seventh rule is that enthusiasm is what'll get other people to join you on your ride on the bus and motivate them as you travel through life the word is originally greek entheos and means to be filled with a divine joy tells george that he is the ceo of his bus and life the chief energy officer it's on him to spread his positive energy to as many people as possible and when your good energy is sincere that's easier than you'd think if you've ever heard a friend rave about some product event or person you know how easy it is to get caught in the wave enthusiasm is contagious over thousands of centuries humans have evolved to understand emotions from afar one example is our body language john also quotes a study that showed our heart has its own electromagnetic field and the waves it sends can be sensed by others even if they're up to 10 feet away so don't just look for the positive share it with others we don't always have a great day but whenever we do it's a chance to spread good vibes and inspire those around us now before we get into lesson number three i'd like to give a quick nod to reading.fm the amazing people behind the audio for this and all the other videos on our channel reading.fm is your personal blog radio where you can listen to your favorite articles and essays from around the web narrated by real human professional voice-over artists use the link below to sign up for free and start listening to more summaries from four-minute books as well as your favorite blogs right away okay now let's dive into lesson number three lesson three love people make time to listen recognize them as individuals and appreciate their accomplishments every day he takes the bus george learns a little more about life and becomes slightly more positive near the end of his journey he's rallying his team to work together and deliver a great product launch presentation hoping they'll catch his renewed spirit the way he does this and the way you should treat everyone who gets on your bus is by loving them as humans we all have a deep seated need for appreciation from other humans love fulfills this need but it doesn't always have to be the romantic cheesy kind here are the three things joy tells george to do for and with his team one meet people one on one make time and listen two practice empathy and show people you realize they too are just humans three recognize individual accomplishments and highlight people's contributions these are things you can do with any person you meet be it someone at work a date or your closest family if you do you'll soon have plenty of great company on your bus ride of life hey this is nick the founder of four minute books and i want to thank you so much for watching our video leave a like if you enjoyed and subscribe to the channel for more you can also visit us at 4minutebooks.com for hundreds of free book summaries each of which will make you smarter in 4 minutes or less thanks again and always keep learning