During a recent webinar I participated in, one of the other guests talked about having a passion for success, a passion for winning, and even a passion for losing. When we succeed and as we win, it becomes very easy to follow the philosophy of “Success begets success,” and “Winning begets winning.”

What about when we lose, or don’t experience the results we are looking for? Is it possible or realistic to have the same level of passion? Does “Losing beget losing?” The answer to both questions is yes.

No one likes to lose, but everyone can learn from losing. And this is where the passion comes in, making it possible for us to see what we could have done better or differently. And when we can tap into our enthusiasm for learning from failing, it becomes much easier to find the passion for losing. Even becoming so passionate about losing that we will try new and different things so that we do not fail again in the same way.

Unfortunately, sometimes losing does beget losing. However, this only happens when we fail to take something away from the loss. If we simply accept defeat and keep doing the same behaviors repeatedly, we will continue to lose.

Now when it comes to maximizing results, there are four qualities that I have seen top performers focus on in their pursuit and achievement of success. These qualities include passion, hope, motivation and action.

Living and working with passion is invaluable. Passion excites us. Passion involves us. Passion connects us mentally, physically, and spiritually. Passion is the secret super-ingredient of success and the realization of desired results. No matter what we do, regardless of where we are in life, whether we are just starting out, in the middle of our life or career, or winding down and enjoying our sunset years, if we maintain our passion for what we have done and what we are currently doing, it will make the difference in our outcomes.

Hope is the great activator. Sometimes hope is born out of anger or frustration. We are tired of losing or not seeing the results we have been seeking, or we are not seeing progress fast enough. We get so angry or frustrated that we become hopeful. And when we have hope we begin to see the world through a different lens. We see our personal and professional goals and objectives as something we can not only achieve but exceed. With passion-driven hope, our possibilities are endless.

When we find that spark of passion and infuse it with hope, our motivation begins to kick in. We are motivated to make changes that may be needed, attempt things that we used to fear, and look at the obstacles ahead of us as nothing more than the smallest of hills to climb. There are three kinds of motivation; fear; incentive; and growth. And it’s OK to derive our motivation from any one of these. However, fear-based and incentive-based motivation is only temporary, whereas growth-based motivation is longer lasting.

Now let’s put the fourth key to achieving maximum results into place. Passion, hope, and motivation may sound fluffy to you, maybe even too soft. Perhaps they are, and that’s OK because they work, or at least they work when we couple them with action. It doesn’t matter how passionate, hopeful, or motivated that we are, if we do not turn those into action, it is really just fluff. Acting means that we move from thinking about doing something, to doing it. Acting means that we are willing to take the first step toward our goals and dreams, knowing that steps two, three and four will follow.

Four keys to maximizing results; passion, hope, motivation and action. Which ones are you already doing and doing well? Which ones could you use a little help with? I would love to hear your story at mnorton@tramazing.com, and when we combine the four keys to achieving maximum results, it really will be a better than good year.

Michael Norton is the grateful CEO of Tramazing.com, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.