The Responsibility Meter

Imagine a dash board with a meter on it. At one end is the word FREEDOM. At the other end; the word RESPONSIBILITY. To me, being a leader and living a remarkable life means striking the delicate balance between the two. In other words, the needle on your Responsibility Meter should stay in the middle. Ideally.

Life’s all about balance. And one of the most vital of all balance points is the one involving freedom and responsibility. Yes, be free. Enjoy the moment. Be wildly passionate. Have a fabulous time. Live in the now. And yet, be responsible. Set your goals. Keep your promises. Get important things done. Fulfill your duties.

Where does your life – this very minute – register on the Responsibility Meter? Too much time enjoying your freedom and not enough time doing what’s required to build a world class career and world class days? Or the other way around? Being at either extreme means being out of balance. So here’s an idea: Think about what being at the middle of the meter would look like. Because better awareness drives better choices. And better choices create better results.

“Life’s all about balance. And one of the most vital of all balance points is the one involving freedom and responsibility”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Be a Beautiful Thinker

I am reading Jumpha Lahiri’s The Namesake. Beautifully written. It prompted an idea: Become a Beautiful Thinker. Commit to making each of your thoughts a thing of beauty. Devote yourself to coming up with stunning insights and ideas and reflections that are outright masterpieces. You’ve heard it a hundred times in as many different ways: You become what you think about. And the thoughts you use become self-fulfilling prophecies. Expect extraordinary things to unfold for you, they will. The motivators say it. The teachers say it. The sages say it. Ever wonder why?

I think I finally understand why the idea is accurate. It’s not some esoteric philosophy. It’s simple logic. Here we go: The actions you take each day create the results of your life. And since every action you take has been preceded by a thought (thinking truly is the ancestor of performance), what you focus on does drive your reality. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said it so well when he wrote, “You will never go any higher than your thinking”. As a human being you will never act in a way bigger than your thoughts. Dream big and your behavior will follow. Think small and you’ll play small.

This concept cascades through every dimension of our lives. Think people are good and you walk through your days with an open heart. And that very behavior actually creates your reality, because people do good things for good people. Think you deserve the best and your actions will reflect that confidence. Better actions will then drive better results. Expect to be world class in your career or within your community and that brilliant thinking will shape the way you work as well as the way you live. And that exceptional conduct will drive exceptional outcomes.

I hope I have been able to express this point clearly because I believe it’s a big one that is too easy to neglect. Your thoughts do shape your reality. Your thinking does form your world. What you focus on truly will expand. And what you dwell upon will most definitely determine your destiny.

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

The Paradox of Praise

I was driving Colby to school and got an idea I want to share with you. We were talking about Everybody Loves Raymond, the television show my kinds adore. In particular, we discussed the tension between Raymond’s (cranky) mother, Marie and Ray’s (loving) wife, Deborah. Colby said they don’t like each other because Marie doesn’t like Deborah’s cooking. I asked him to go deeper and to figure out the real issue. After we discussed it for a while, we both heard the coin drop: We got that the reason for Marie doesn’t like Deborah is that she feels threatened by the love between Deborah and her son Raymond. She’s insecure. Things she might lose him. So she’s hard on Deborah and has no praise for her. Ever.

Made me think about praise within the workplace (and within the home). A rare commodity. Praise, to me, is like the sun: “The more you give away, the more everything around you grows toward you. However, most people don’t give praise freely (even though it’s free), According to Gallup organization survey, the number one reason employees leave an organization is that they don’t feel appreciated by their supervisor. Yet, most managers give away neither praise nor appreciation. Because they think it makes them look inferior.

Here is the truth as far as I can tell. Giving praise to all those around you, when they most deserve it, makes you look like more. It elevates you. It makes you look like a hero. It makes you look like a giant within the work place. To everyone around you. So don’t withhold what your team mates most crave. We all want to feel special. I do. You do. And so does Deborah.

“Giving praise to all those around you, when they most deserve it, makes you look like more. It elevates you. It makes you look like a hero”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Dream Like David

There’s a man I wish you could meet. I was introduced to him while I was in Mexico city to deliver a speech to business and social leaders. He moved me with his story. And he humbled me by his courage.

David Mejia was born without ears. Doctors predicted he would suffer from poor hearing throughout his childhood and that he would be unlikely to live a full adult life. His youth was riddled with operation after operation, a great deal of pain, and the hurtful taunts of classmates who made fun of his appearance. But David preserved. Greatness, in so many ways is determined by whether you persist through failure or let it consume you. David dreamed. He worked hard. And he believed. Because he know he was meant to do extraordinary things.

David has been blessed. With a powerful mind. With a big heart. With a strong spirit. And with wonderful parents, who told him on a near-daily basis that if he looked for the best from the life, he would find it. They encouraged him never to play victim. Told him to find the opportunity amid his challenges. And so he has. Masterfully.

The man I met in Mexico City is a leader. A hero. And inspiration. Why? Because he has taken what life sent him and turned what most of us would spend our days crying about into gold. He now has prosthetic ears. He’s healthy and remarkably vital. He has achieved superb success in his career. He has found great love and joy. He has more friends than most people I know (far more than me). And he is stunningly positive in a world where people who have nothing to complain about spend most of their time complaining about trivialities.

You can curse the darkness, or you can light a candle and show up as a leader. Life is all about how you can exercise the choices available to you. And your daily choices stack up to craft your destiny. Day by day. Week by week. Month by month. Year by year. David knows how to make the choices that will raise him to his own personal mountaintop. So do you.

“You can curse the darkness, or you can light a candle and show up as a leader”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Be the Best You

Warren Buffet once observed, “There will never be a better you than you.” Brilliant insight. From a brilliant guy. There will never be a better me than me. And there will never be a better you than you. Some might try to copy the way you think, speak and act. But no matter how hard they try, they will only be a second best you. Because you are unique. Only one of you alive today. Among the billions of us. Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it? Makes you realize you are pretty special. No, very special. And that there really isn’t any competition.

And so today, what will you do with you as you march out into a world that needs people playing at extraordinary with their lives more than ever before? Will you exert more of you hidden potential? Will you liberate more of your natural creativity? Will you uncover more of your authenticity? And will you be more of the you that you are meant to be? Just wondering. Because there will never be a better time to be the best you than today. And if not now, then when? Makes me think of what the philosopher Herodotus once said: “It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what may happen.” So beautifully said.

“There will never be a better time to be the best you than today”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Give to Get

Walking down the street today I heard a man repeating this mantra to all those who passed by him: “Have you helped someone today besides yourself?”. He was trying to raise money. For his cause. But it got me thinking about giving. You need to give to get. Giving does begin the receiving process.

Give support to get it. Give praise to receive it. Give your best to attract it. Give more respect to experience it. And give more love to become beloved. (Powerful thought: If you make five people feel better about themselves each day, by the end of one year you will single handedly have elevated the lives of nearly 2,000 people. Continue this practice and – after a decade – you’ll have positively impacted 20,000 people. Factor in the number of people that those you touch, in turn, influence and you’ll quickly realize that your “little daily gestures of inspiration” can end up helping hundreds of thousands of human beings over the course of your life time).

Give to get. Nice refrain. And so staggeringly simple (as the truest ideas are). All about servant leadership. Help others reach world class. And they’ll joyfully help you get to your cherished ideals.

“You need to give to get. Giving does begin the receiving process”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Angels of Evolution

You’ve heard it before, but the more we get exposed to a good idea, the more deeply we get to integrate it. Like reading a powerful book for a second and third time. Seems like a whole new book on every new reading. Did the book change? No. You did. Your capacity to understand got bigger. Your world view got broader. Your ability to take in the insights grew. And so you discovered a whole new level of knowledge in that book. That was always there. You just didn’t have the eyes to see it before.

The idea I feel so passionately about on this day can be stated in a simple phrase: Angels of Evolution. Nothing soft and irrelevant about this one. Just a way to look at life’s challenges in a better light. As blessing rather than curses. Because they just might be. Angels of Evolution. Everyone who is causing you stress, struggle and challenge in your life just might be an angel of sorts. They just might be the very messengers carrying the lessons you most need to learn to get to your Next Level of Greatness.

The difficult teammate might be an angel of sorts, here to teach you understanding. The mean salesclerk might be an angel showing up to help you with compassion or communication or standing up for yourself. A business setback or professional disappointment might be an angel sent to build your resolve and commitment. A health issue might be an angelic wake-up call to get you to commit to a better diet, regular exercise, relaxation and meditation. Each encounter represents a defining moment that gets you to the excellence meant for you.

Angels of Evolution. The hardest stuff in your life is the ideal stuff to get you to where you’ve always dreamed of being. The people and events that irritate, anger and hurt you are the idea educators to help you learn the lessons that will help you shine – at work, at home and in life. So that you evolve. And grow.

“Everyone who is causing you stress, struggle and challenge in your life just might be an angel of sorts…carrying the lessons you most need to learn”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

I'm Stretching Too

I know I encourage you to push the envelope. To innovate. To elevate. To step up to the next level with the work you do and within the life you have the privilege to lead. And I know I talk a lot about running to your fears (remember that most of the stuff we are afraid of never even comes close to happening) and hugging your discomfort. Well, I do my best to do the same. Here’s an example.

I just spent two days last week in a recording studio. For a long time I’ve had the dream of making music with a powerful message. I used to play guitar in a rock band in law school (poorly yet passionately) and I needed to get back to that love. And you know this: There will never be the ideal time to do the dreams in your heart. So I took a risk. (Al Pacino recently told Larry Kind, “You will only be as good as the chances you take.”) I reached out to the two amazing partners at the Orange Record Label and shared my vision. Guess what, “no ask, no get”. They signed me to a deal. Immediately.

These past two days found me in a studio with some of the most creative people I’ve ever met. Writers and musicians. Visionaries and dreamers. All banded together to help me create brilliant music that will inspire people to make their lives extraordinary. Genuine works of art. I had to sing (stop laughing). I had to play guitar. I had to let go of my safe harbor and be a beginner again. “How was it?” you ask. Breathtakingly great. (If you want to seem playing, watch the CNN clip at robinsharm.com). I was scared, excited, joy-filled and delighted. I trembled. And I laughed. It was a experience I’ll never forget – one that is part of the personal story I call life. So get out there. Risk. Ask. Dream. Dare. Fall. Fail. And never let anyone tell you that your dreams can’t come true. Eventually someone’s going to do what you dream of doing. Why not you?

“Never let anyone tell you that your dreams can’t come true. Eventually someone’s going to do what you dream of doing. Why not you?”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

First Principles for Great Relationships

The quality of your life comes down to the quality of your relationships. With your customers, with your suppliers, with your loved ones, with yourself (big idea there). Commit to insanely great relationships and you’ll have an insanely great life. And being a great human connector is pretty easy stuff. Remember, success is all about masterful consistency around fundamentals.

The following seven First Principles are profoundly simple and yet simply profound – and isn’t that the case for all great truths?

• Be the first one to say hello (or Namaste/Shalom/Hola/Salam Malekam, or whatever may be appropriate) when you encounter another person. In other words, be kind first (which takes courage, because we’re all scared of rejection)
• Smile a lot. It’s one of the best ways to have someone open up to you. Remember, we make lasting impressions on people within the first few minutes of meeting them.
• Use people’s names. This is really important. It shows that you care, and is a mark of respect.
• Look people in the eye when you speak to them.
• Become a world- class listener. Get this one right and you’ll own the title of “Relationship Superstar”. Most people don’t listen. Most people are so self-focused that they fail to ask good questions when they meet another person. Listening and asking questions shows humility. It shows you are interested. It demonstrates that you are engaged – and not in love with yourself. Most people’s idea of listening is waiting until the other person has finished speaking so that they can interject.
• Offer sincere compliments. Praise is free. Never miss an opportunity to celebrate and elevate another person, whether at work or at home. You’ll connect with the best within them. And then they’ll give you their best. Leave people feeling better than you fond them.
• Treat everyone like royalty ( and I do mean everyone; it scares me when someone’s really nice to me but rude to a waiter – no consistency there). Behave as if you’ll never see them again. When I get home from work each day, my kids come flying around the corner and hug me. Every day. Makes me feel like a king.

Sure the above seven ideas are simple. Master these principles and you’ll get to your mountaintop more quickly than you can imagine. Greatness comes from mastery around the fundamentals.

“Never miss an opportunity to celebrate and elevate another person”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Open Your Eyes

Just saw something that stunned me. I walked up to my favorite Starbucks. Saw a car, engine running, baby in the back seat – and no driver. The father had pulled up to the front of the store and dashed into get this morning java. Coffee over kid?

It’s so easy to get so caught up in the rush of busyness and the call of our routines that we forget the imperative of being aware of the very things we are doing. “Most men would rather die than think”, wrote philosopher Bertrand Russell (“Many do”, he added). Human beings are the only creatures in the world that can step out of themselves and reflect on their thoughts and actions. Monkeys can’t do this. Dogs can’t. Cats can’t. Only we can.

If you can breathe oxygen today then in my mind you have the gift of being able to show leadership behavior over the coming hours (and days/months/years). Leadership is about showing up at your best. You know that. It’s about excellence amid change times and celebrating the people around you. And leadership is about being aware. Aware of your thoughts. Aware of your actions. Aware of your mission. Aware of your priorities. Aware of your talents. Aware of your fears. Aware of your passions. Aware that time is short. Aware of the brilliance presented to you by the life you get to lead.

So live with your eyes wide open. Clarity precedes mastery. Thank about things. Shine  brighter than ever before. Act impeccably. And stand guard over babies in cars.

“It’s easy to get so caught up in the rush of busyness and all the call of our routines that we forget the imperative of being aware of the very things we are doing”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Set People Free

The best leaders turn their teammates loose. They clearly communicate the vision, coach and develop their people and, once done, set them free. Free to use their own creativity and ingenuity to get the results needed. Free to do excellent work and find splendid solutions. Free to feel what it’s like to succeed. And free to fail, because making mistakes is part of getting to success.

People want to be a part of an organization that lets them bring their fights to work and be fully alive. Peole want to be engaged and feel proud of their contribution. At the deepest level, each of us aches to know the work we do – and the lives we lead – make a difference. Will you let the people around you realize this longing by setting them free? Because if you don’t some else will.

“People want to be a part of an organization that lets them bring their gifts to work and be fully alive”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Leadership Begins at Home

I was on my way to a meeting and saw a billboard that caught my eye. It worlds: What are you teaching your children? The big idea? Leadership really does begin at home.

What are we teaching our children by the lives we are leading and examples we are setting? I believe that the best way to influence your kids is to be true to yourself and to lead the best life that you can, so that they will adopt the same values, though their path may be different. What message are you sending to those little leaders who watch your every move and model your every act? Are you showing them what’s possible by being remarkable in each of your pursuits? Or are your teaching them to play small by resigning yourself to average?

The fruit never falls far from the tree, and your children will become a lot more like you than you may believe. You can help your kids get to their greatness. It starts with you leading the way.

“The fruit never falls far from the tree, and your children will become a lot more like you than you may believe”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Burn the Extra 1 Percent

Reading British GQ on a flight, the biggest idea I ran across in the magazine comes from Chris Carmichael, the coach of seven-time Tour de France-winner Lance Armstrong who said, “the last 1 percent most people keep in reserve is the extra percent champions have the courage to burn”. Magnificent thought. I hope we never forget it.

Spend every bit of your energy playing at your best and creating world class results. Offer every bit of your potential to all you do. And awaken your talents. And your inner fire. So at the end, you can say, “ I gave it my all. I did my best”. That would be fantastic. Wouldn’t it? And please remember – the opportunity for outright greatness comes at the very moment that ordinary people give up.

“The last 1 percent most people keep in reserve is the extra percent champions have the courage to burn”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Your Highest Freedom

One of my favorite books is Man’s Search for Meaning, written by Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychotherapist who survived confinement in Nazi concentration camps. So many of those around him perished. They lost hope. They fell into despair, then death. He managed to get through the ordeal by applying what I believe is our highest human freedom: our ability to choose how we respond to and process any event that happens to us. We can look for some good or we can become haunted by the bad. Frankl writes, “everything can be taken from a person but one thing, the last of the human freedoms to choose one’s attitude to a given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way.” Such a magnificent thought.

“Everything can be taken from a person but one thing, the last of the human freedoms to choose one’s attitude to a given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Ask Powerful Questions

One of the fastest ways to find the solution to an issue or challenge you are facing is to ask the right question. The right question inevitably leads you to the correct answer. Questions matter. In business, remarkable performers are dazzlingly good at getting to the right question. The one that speeds them to the place they need to reach and offers them the missing piece they need to find. And in life, asking yourself a powerful question will allow you to step into a whole new set of possibilities that you may have missed while you were locked into an old way of seeing things. Like the lesson amid a so-called failure. Or the opportunity that inhabits a setback.

Here are six questions that I share with the clients with whom we do leadership development work. I suggest you write them down and then find some time today to answer them in your journal.

• What one thing – if I did it – would profoundly improve the way I work (and how I live)?
• What needs to happen between now and the end of the next 90 days for me to feel that this is the best quarter of my work and personal life? (remember, clarity precedes mastery)
• Who do I need to express appreciation to? (make your list long)
• What would I like to improve, professionally and personally?
• What could I be grateful for that I’m currently not grateful for?
• How do I want to be remembered at my retirement party?

And as you make this day extraordinary, I’ll leave you with one of the my favorite quotes (which comes from Mark Twain): “If everyone was satisfied with themselves, there would be no heroes”

“In businesses, remarkable performers are dazzlingly good at getting to the right question, the one that speeds them to the place they need to reach”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Be Unreasonable

One of my favorite quotes comes from George Bernard Shaw, who noted, “the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man”. Please think about that idea for a moment. I suggest it’s a big one.

Sure, be practical and operate intelligently as you move through your world. I agree, it’s important to use common sense. True, foolish risks can lead to difficult consequences. But having said that, don’t be so scared of failure and disappointment that you fail to dream. Don’t always be so reasonable and practical and sensible that you refuse to seize glorious opportunities when they show up. Push the envelope as to what’s possible for you. Remember, critics have always laughed at the visions of the bold thinkers and remarkable visionaries. Ignore them. And know that every outstanding piece of human progress was achieved through the heroic efforts of some one who was told their idea was impossible to realize. The world needs more dreamers. Unreasonable souls who fight the urge to be ordinary. Who resist the seduction of complacency and doing things the way they have always been done. You can be one of them. Beginning today.

Kahlil Gibran, in The Prophet, made the point for more beautifully than I ever could, when he wrote, “ the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul”

“Remember, critics have always laughed at the visions of bold thinkers and remarkable visionaries. Ignore them”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Ideas are worthless

Controversial chapter title? Perhaps. But I think it’s true. I’ve heard so many gurus say that ideas are the currency of success and thinking drives business and we become what we consider all day long. But, to me, ideation without execution is mere delusion (I dare you to share that line at your next team meeting). In other words, an idea no matter how big, only assumes value when it’s acted upon and brought to life.

This world of ours is full of great thinkers who never realized their greatness. They were strong on the thinking side but weak on execution side. And they suffered as a result of that constraint. (German poet Johann von Goethe said, “whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic.”) World-class people get both right. They are superb strategically and brilliant tactically. Really creative and really good at getting things done.

So jump-start your commitment around execution. Yes, capture your ideas and bask in the glow of a remarkably imaginative thought that has the power to improve how you world or the way you live. And then reach deep into yourself and have the discipline to do whatever it takes to make that idea a reality. Because nothing happens until you move.

“This world of our is full of great thinkers who never realized their greatness”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Don't Fight for your Excuses

“I can’t be better than I am at work”. “ I don’t have the time to exercise”. “I can’t do this project (or reach that dream) because it’s too hard/scary/impractical”. It’s so easy very human to fight for your excuses. And the more you fight for them, the more they own you. Don’t feed what you don’t want. Let them go. And step into your power.

“We have forty million reasons for failure – but not a single excuse”, observed Rudyard Kipling. Successful people don’t make excuses. They create results. And no great like was ever built on a foundation of excuses. So stop making them. Most of them are self-created delusions, designed to help you avoid doing the things that you are afraid to do. Yes, beneath every excuse lives a fear. A fear of changing. A fear of the unknown. A fear of failure. A fear of success.

Today can be the day you burn the bridges that lead to your excuses (please do). Today can be the day you step up to the possibilities that lie just off the beaten path of your life. Today can be the day you Lead Without Tittle. And access your genuine greatness.

“No great life was ever built on a foundation of excuses. So stop making them”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

What ever happened to commitment?

When I was in Dubai delivering a leadership presentation for the Young Presidents’ organization a while ago, a woman approached me and said, “Robin, I loved reading The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, but you make it all sound so easy. Making improvements in my life is hard”. Hmm. Made me think. A lot. Here’s where I am at with that one.

We live in a world seduced by easy. We want to look great and be spectacularly fit but we don’t want to have to exercise to get there. We want to be super successful in our careers but we wonder if there’s a way to reach world class without having to work hard and be disciplined (every great executive is strikingly disciplined, as is every great company). We dream of living fearless, joy-filled lives, but we all too often avoid the very best practices (like getting up early, taking risks, setting goals and reading) that are certain to deliver us to our ideals. Nothing comes for free. There truly are no free lunches. The best things in life require sacrifice and devotion. Each of us, to get to our own unique forms of personal professional greatness, must pay the price. And the more we pay, the more we’ll receive.

Wanting to live your life best life, at work and at home, without having to work at it and stay disciplined around our important To Do’s is like wanting an amazing garden without having to plant anything. Or like hoping to be in superb physical condition without having to give up the daily chocolate bar. Or like praying to have a great business by swallowing some magic pill. Whatever happened to commitment? And dedication?

Great lives don’t just occur out of the blue. They are crafted and built, like the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China, block by block, day by day. And superb businesses don’t just appear, They are forged through continuous and never ending improvement and effort. Let’s not fall into believing that the best things in life come without effort. Give your best, and the best will come to you. Guaranteed.

“Nothing comes for free. There truly are no free lunches. The best things in life require sacrifice and devotion”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Our team’s only as good as each one of us

Watched a road crew at work the morning while walking to school. The team leader was having a bad day. A bus driver was hitting her horn because a traffic barricade was slowing her down. The team leader yelled, threw a fist into the air and then kicked over the barricade. One angry man.

Then he started yelling at his crew. Mocking them. Spitting out his venom. Ranting like a madman. They looked down at the ground and kept on working. I sense they felt humiliated by the public spectacle. But their leader continued. Pouring his toxic waste out onto the busy street for all to see. Tonight he’ll blame his crew for a low-performance day. And probably scream at his kids.

Our team will never be greater than “each one of us”. Each one of us set standard to which each one of us can rise. Each finger affects the strength of the hand. When organizations bring me in to help their people get to world class performance, I gently remind everyone in the room that “everything begins with you”. I suggest that’s mission critical idea. Forget blaming others – that’s just excusing yourself. And it all starts with your inner world. “External leadership begins with internal mastery” You can’t help in building an excellent organization until you commit to becoming an excellent person.

That team leader I saw out on the street might want to look in the mirror. Might want to cleanup his own messes. Deal with character. Open his own heart. “Soft stuff, Robin” you say? No, I really don’t think so. It’s hard stuff. (How many people have the courage to do it?) The stuff that ultimately drives better business results. Boosts profits. Gets organizations to greatness. And did I mention that it all starts with you? Because it really does.

“You set the standard to which you all can rise. Each finger affects the strength of the hand”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Get Excited or Get Upset

The most important of all of our human traits is the power we have to choose. To choose how we live. To choose what we will do. To choose how we will view and consider a circumstance.

I’m up here in the mountains on a quick ski trip with my kids. Yesterday it rained. We could have grumbled. We could have complained. We could have got frustrated. Instead, we stepped back, decided to make a better choice and then viewed the whole thing as a giant adventure. We got excited versus upset. We donned the plastic covers that the resort provided. Suited up. And Skied like there was no tomorrow. Guess what? The skiing was actually amazing. Soft snow. No crowds. Clean runs. It’s going to take me a week to wipe the smile off my face. Each day we have the opportunity to make choices. And the way we choose shapes our destiny. So don’t get upset. Get excited. As author Paul Theroux once observed, “only a floor flames his bad vacation on the rain”.

“Each day we have the opportunity to make choices. And the way we choose shapes our destiny”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

What Is Success?

To me, success is all about being in the process of joyfully creating a life that reflects your highest values, your deepest beliefs and your greatest dreams. There’s a lot in that statement and I invite you to break it down and reflect on it. There’s the part about the “process” of creating life on your terms (the journey really is better than the end). There’s the part about “joyfully” journeying through life because life is meant to be fun. There’s the element of living by your values and beliefs, which is all about being more true to yourself and live life on your terms. And there’s that aspect of chasing your dreams, as these are what get us out of bed each day and fill our hearts with hope.

This reminds me of the words of Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. “. That’s true success.

“To me success is all about being in the process of joyfully creating a life that reflects your highest values, your deepest beliefs and your greatest dreams”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Believe in Others

I took my kids to see Hilary Swamk’s move Freedom Writers. It inspired me deeply. Brought tears to my eyes. Made me want to be and do and give more. Made me want to improve things. Profoundly.

One of the things I took away from the film is that the leadership is all about believing in others (and yourself) when no one else does. The kids in the movie were gang members. Tough lives. Hard hearts. But their teacher saw them for what they truly were: smart/good/caring human beings who’d been knocked down and had given up. The school wouldn’t even give them new books – didn’t think they were worth it. But their teacher did. Treated them with respect. Bought the books herself (worked two extra jobs to do it). She challenged them. Celebrated them. Believed in them. And they transformed. Because when you see the best in the people, they’ll give you their best.

I’ve seen it happen in organizations around the world. Develop, honor and inspire people, and they will fly. As the wonderful teacher Leo Buscaglia once said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind world, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring – all of which have the potential to turn a life around”.

“Leadership is all about believing in others (and yourself) when no one else does”

Make Your Mark

In an issue of Best life, I came across a line from George Clooney: “ you only have a short period of time in your life to make your mark”. Obvious? May be . Yet so true.

It’s easy to get so caught up in the daily administrivia that you forget about building your legacy. Easy to become so focused on your problems that you neglect to chase your ideals. Easy to get so pulled into the ordinary pursuits of life that you lose sight of the Extraordinary. Yet, life spins by at an alarmingly fast rate. And if you don’t use each day to do even one thing to make your mark and to advance your vision and to become your brilliance, you may miss what truly counts. Makes me think of the words of consultant Richard, who observed, “ People over 65 were asked ‘ if you could live your life over, what would you do differently?. They said three things – I’d take time to stop and ask the big questions. I’d be more courageous and take more risks in work and love. I’d try to live with purpose – to make a difference”. That says it all.

“If you don’t use each day to do even one thing to make your mark and to advance your vision and to become your brilliance, you may miss what truly counts”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Create Your Body of Work

It is early afternoon as I write this and reflecting – about leadership & life.

Just read a little piece in an issue of Vanity fair on Art Buchwald, the writer, who is not 80 and battling kidney failure. Coming close to death brings a human nearer to what’s most important in life. Brings tremendous clarity. Strips away all the accessories that we think are so essential when we are younger. Connects us with the Truth (and the truth sets us free, doesn’t it?)

He was asked, “what is your idea of perfect happiness?” “Being healthy” was the reply. He was asked, “Which talent would you most like to have?” ‘Living” was the reply. Then he was asked, “what is your most treasured possession?” “All of my writing – my 32 books and all of my columns”. The point of wisdom that you and I take away? Greatness comes when you create something with your life that is not only bigger than you but outlasts you. Legitimacy and recognition and prestige and material things are all fine and are all very human pursuits. But there’s something far more important: Legacy. Making a difference. Having an impact. Creating something special. And meaningful.

What body of work will you create over your life so that the generations who follow will know that you’ve been here? What bold acts and brave moves will you make This Very Moment to let the greatness that slumbers within you come out and visit the light of This Very day? What will your “ most treasured passion” look like? And, at the end, what will you have done with all that talent with which you’ve been blessed? Just wondering.

“Greatness comes when you create something with your life that is not only bigger than you but outlasts you”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Go Perpendicular

In Italy on vacation with the kids. Yesterday afternoon the kids and I rented a little boat and headed down the Amalfi Coast. We hugged the shoreline, stayed close to land, never strayed far from home. This got me thinking about Christopher Columbus and about taking smart risks.

Every explorer before him feared losing sight of the shore. They clung to the known. They opted for security, They didn’t dare. Columbus did something different. He was brave. Went straight out to sea. Went perpendicular to the shore line. And found a new world. Good on him.

Of course I needed to be safe with my kids. I am just trying to make a point: Greatness, as a leader and as a human, sometimes requires that you leave the constraints of safety. Sometimes you just have to let go of the known. And sail out into the unknown. To try a new way. To think a new thought. To behave in a new way. And to go perpendicular when the rest of the world hugs the shoreline and clings to safety. Yes – I get it’s so human to feel frightened as we experience the Blue Ocean of Change, transition and growth. But as Lord Chesterfiled said, “ it is not possible to discover new oceans unless one is willing to lose sight of the shore”.

“It is not possible to discover new oceans unless one is willing to lose sight of the shore”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

The Best Practice is a Practice

Imagine Lance Armstrong stopping his spectacularly disciplined daily practice regimen and still hoping to win the Tour De France. Imagine Steve Nash giving up his crushing dialy workouts and post-game analyses and still expecting to be in his finest form. Just think about Sachin relaxing his extraordinary commitment to never-ending refinement and improvement of his game. Ridiculous, you say. And yet how many of us, on the playing field of business and life, are devoted to consistent daily practice? Few.

How can we get better if we do not practice? Success doesn’t just occur. Brilliant results don’t just show up by chance. The finest things in life take patience, focus and sacrifice. To get to world class, we need to work at it. Daily. Relentlessly. Passionately.

Just hoping we will get to be a great accomplisher (and human being) is nothing more than magical thinking. It’s a waste of time. Remember 1 percent wins. A few little improvements each day, the result of your daily practice, amount to staggering results over time. Athletes get better through practicing their sport. Great accomplishers get their by cultivating their craft. By elevating their skills. By deepening their impact. By consciously stepping towards their mountaintops. Until they get there.

“Brilliant results don’t just show up by chance. The finest things in life take patience, focus & sacrifice”

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)

Be So Good they can’t ignore you

Here’s comedian Steve Martin’s advise to young comics: “ Be so good they can’t ignore you” Love it. Life favors the devoted. The more you give to life, the more life sends back. It’s just not possible for you to be great at what you do, and not win in the end. (Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead once said, “ you do not merely want to be best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do”)

Sometimes discouragement sets in. Happens to all of us. We try hard, stay true to our dreams and pursue our ideals. Yet nothing happens. Or so it seems. But every choice matters. And every step counts. Life runs according to its own agenda, not ours. Be patient. Trust. Be like the stonecutter, steadily chipping away, day after day. Eventually, a single blow will crack the stone and reveal the diamond. An enthusiastic, dedicated person who is ridiculously good at what they do just cannot be denied. Seriously.

Steve Martin’s insight speaks to me deeply. “Be so good they cannot ignore you.” (Management guru Peter Drucker made the point slightly differently when he observed: “ Get good or get out”). Apply that philosophy at work. Apply it at home. Apply it in your community. Apply it to your world. Having the courage to present your gifts and your highest capacities will yield magnificent rewards. Life is always fair in the end. Trust it.

(these are not my thoughts J and are copied from Robin’s book)