DO YOUR PART

DO YOUR PART

 

“What are you doing to help build a new and better world?” Don’t blame the politicians. Don’t blame those around you. Don’t blame your parents or your back ground. Doing so is playing the victim and this world has far too many people playing the victim whey they could be sharing their brilliance and making a profound difference. Mother Teresa said it so much better than I ever could: “If each of us would only sweep our own doorstep, the whole world would be clean.”

 

Blaming others is excusing yourself. Telling yourself that you – as an army of one – cannot have an impact is giving away your power. After a hurricane a while ago, a couple of college kids got their hands on empty school busses and drove them into the ravaged area when everybody else said the city was impenetrable. A little man in a loincloth name Mahatma Gandhi freed an entire nation. A woman name Rosa Parkers sparked civil rights movement because she refused to sit at the back of a bus. Ordinary people really can do extraordinary things. I love what Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, once said: “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.”

 

Live by what I call the Jennifer Aniston Rule. In an issue of Vanity Fair, Aniston said that she gives herself one day to play victim after experience a challenging event. After that day of feeling powerless and sorry for herself, she wakes up and takes ownership for the way her life looks. She takes personal responsibility for her part in the problem – even if that only amounted to 1%. That’s personal leadership in action. It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you come from. “The ability to triumph begins with you. Always” offered Oprah Winfrey.

 

What you don’t like about life or the organization you work for or the country you live in? Make a list. Write it down. Shout it out. And then do something to improve things. Anything. Start small or go big. Just do something. As you exercise your power to choose, guest what? Your power grows. And as you work within your sphere of influence to make things better, guess what? Your sphere of influence expands. So do your part. Today. Now.

 

 

“The ability to triumph begins with you. Always”

 

EXTREME LEADERSHIP & KIDS CLOTHING

EXTERME LEADERSHIP AND KIDS’ CLOTHING

 

I just had a visit with the tailor who adjusts my kids’ school clothes this morning before I wrote this. I’ve known him for a long time and he’s always treated us well. He’s been in business for 40 years, so I thought I’d get behind his eyeballs and discover what has made his business both as successful and sustainable as it’s been. I started asking questions.

 

“Robin, there are four simple principles that we’ve followed here in our shop. They’ve served me well my whole life. I actually learned them by watching my mother as I grew up. She was one the most amazing people I’ve ever known”, he said.

 

I thought I’d share Neil’s four principles with you:

 

IMPROVE: Always be getting and doing better. Never settle for mediocrity.

 

OBSERVE: Talk to the people you work with. Really listen to them. And keep your eyes on the business. Because you can expect only that which you inspect.

 

CONNECT: Be really good to people. Treat your customers/team members with respect. Give them good value. Be caring and deal with any complaints fast.

 

ADAPT: Conditions change. Competition grows. Uncertainty is the new normal. Stay fast. Stay flexible. Stay nimble.

 

 

“Improve, Observe, Connect & Adapt”

 

FIND PERFECT MOMENTS

FIND PERFECT MOMENTS

 

I had a Perfect Moment today. It wasn’t a standing ovation in front of a thousand people. It wasn’t a phone call from a publisher sharing some good news. It wasn’t a Fortune 500 company calling to book a leadership presentation or coaching engagement for their team. No, it was far more important thing that occurred in my life on this morning. And it was incredibly basic (as are the best things in life)

 

As I got out of my car in the parking lot of our office, I noticed an amazing fragrance in the air. It was pure beauty. So sweet and breathtaking. I looked around and saw that I’d parked under a tree overflowing with red and pink blossoms. Spring had sprung, and the tree was spreading its magic. I just stood there. Closed my eyes, entranced by the smell. And the moment. I felt grateful to be alive. Sure, I have challenges I’m dealing with (the only ones who don’t are dead). Sure, life could always be better. But happiness is all about gaining a sense of proportion and perspective. And we all have many blessings in our lives, like people who love us or work that gives our days meaning or healthy kids or simple gifts like food on the table and two eyes to see through. Like the Perfect Moment in the parking lot.

 

Life is so very short. Yes, it’s important to focus on excellence in our careers and arriving at splendid success, however we define it. I totally agree with that. But equally important is enjoying the ride. Laughing. Having fun. Experience adventure. And not missing out on Perfect Moments. Mostly, they are free. And they are right in front of us. Today. If only we make time to look for them.

 

 

“Sure, life could always be better. But happiness is all about gaining a sense of proportion and perspective”

 

You’ll know when you know

You'll know when you know

 

I did a show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio yesterday. The host, Jesse Dylan, asked me a thoughtful question: "Robin, we all have goals and aspirations. But sometimes things don't go as planned. How do you know when to quit?" My answer was straightforward: "you'll know when you know."

 

No one gets to world class in their work or within their personal lives without a relentless devotion to not giving up. All acts of heroism were accomplished by human beings who refused to lose. They just wouldn't let go – no matter how bad or impossible or impractical things looked. But having said that, life often sends us curve balls and has other plans for us. (Comedian Gilda Radner, who dies of ovarian cancer at age 42, put it so very well: "Now I've learned the hard way that some poems don't rhyme and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the most of it without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.")

 

We long for something to happen and some dream to get done. But no matter how hard we try, the clouds never part. We never get the break. Luck never smiles on us. We continue to toil in darkness, fueled purely by faith. That's fine – if deep within you your fire burns brightly and every fiber within you tells you to carry on (self-faith is a hallmark of greatness). But sometimes, you get to a point where you just know it's time to change strategy. It's not about losing hope. You just know. It's about trusting life. Trusting that there's even better thing waiting for you. And that it's time to course-correct.

 

For the past few years, I've tried to live by the pretty simple philosophy. Do your best and let life do the rest. It's not easy to let go of what you want. But why wouldn't you, if something even better is waiting just around the corner?

 

"Do your best and let life do the rest"

 

 

The Responsibility Meter

The Responsibility Meter

 

Imagine a dashboard 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: Thing 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”

 

 

On Evian water and You as a Big-Time Dreamer

On Evian Water and You as a Big-Time Dreamer

 

If people don’t laugh at you and your ideas at least once a week, you’re not pushing the envelope.

 

There, I said it. I needed to. I’m tired of seeing boring businesses and people afraid to take the road less travelled. Most of the things that fill us with fear never happen, so why let them keep you small.

 

Great people run towards their resistances and play out on the edges of their lives. And great companies spend far less time benchmarking others than creating new ways of delivering outrageous value to their customers. Why, because the world doesn’t need a better close. The world needs more human beings and enterprises that make us say wow. The world needs more giant ideas that no one’s thought of to enrich our customers and improve our communities and elevate the planet. The world needs more visionaries, dreamers and outright revolutionaries. I love what Tom Chappell, founder of Tom’s of Maine, said: “Success means never letting the competition define you. Instead, you have to define yourself based on a point of view you care deeply about”. Beautiful.

 

All innovators are initially laughed at. Just the way it is. They laughed at Columbus when he said the earth was round. They laughed at the Wright Brothers, who vowed a human being could fly. They laughed at the founder of Evian, who believed people would pay money for water. Who’s laughing now? I guess the universe really does favor the brave.

 

People pay for originality. You want to lead the field in your businesses? Be different. Let them laugh. Let them call you crazy. Let them snicker. Stay true to your vision. Dream bigger. Don’t be ordinary. It’s the kiss of death, as far I can tell.

 

“Businesses need more daring. Business needs more people willing to take risks and play out on the skinny branches”

 

Drink coffee with Gandhi

DRINK COFEE WITH GANDHI

 

Reading is one of the best disciplines I know of to stay “on your game” and at your highest. Reading from a great book is really all about having a conversation with the author.  Just think, tonight – by reading Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, My Experiments with Truth, over a cup of coffee – you can get behind this great man’s eye balls and learn what made him tick. Want to hang out with Jack Welch tomorrow? Grab his book. Same for Mother Teresa, Bill Gates or Dalai Lama. And reading a book by someone you respect allows some of their brilliance to rub off on you. The hand that puts down a great book will never be the same. As Oliver Wendell Holmes observed: “A mind once stretched by a new idea can never return to its original dimensions”.

 

When I was growing up my father once told me: “cut back on your rent or cut back on what you spend on food but never worry about investing money in a good book.” That powerful though has accompanied me through life. His philosophy was that all it takes is one idea discovered in a single book to life you to a whole new level and revolutionize the way you see the world. And so our home was filled books. And now I try to devote at least an hour a day to reading. That habit alone has transformed me.

 

Perhaps my greatest gift to my children when I die will be my library. These books shaped my thinking, formed my personal philosophy, and made me the man I am. To me, my books are priceless.

 

The old expression is true: “knowing how to read and not reading is almost the same as not knowing how to read.” Make time to read something good each day. Fill your mind with big ideas and dazzling thoughts. Use books to flood your soul with hope and inspiration. And remember, if you want to lead, you really need to read.

 

“Reading a book by someone you respect allows some of their brilliance to rub off on you”