KNOW YOUR GENIUS

KNOW YOUR GENIUS

 

Genius is not the sole domain of a rare breed of person. Both you & I are entitled to that label and to play in that space – if we so choose. Here’s the big idea: Focus on any area or skill will a relentless devotion to daily improvement and a passion for excellence and within three to five years, you will be operating at a level of competence (and insight) such that people call you a genius. Focus plus daily improvement plus time equals genius. Understand that formula deeply and your life will never be the same.

 

Michael Jordan was a basketball genius. Was his spectacular success on the court purely the result of natural gifts? Absolutely not. He took what nature gave him and ran the formula: Focus plus daily improvement plus time equals genius. He didn’t try to be good at five different sports. He didn’t scatter his focus. He just got devoted to being brilliant at basketball. And he was.

 

Thomas Edison registered a stunning 1093 patents over his life time and invented the light bulb as well as the phonograph. (A school teacher labeled him a slow learner when he was a kid; he didn’t listen. Kudos). He didn’t try to be a great merchant and a great poet and a great musician. He focused on his inventions. He improved daily. And he let time work its magic. Genius came knocking.

 

Makes me think of a story of Pablo Picasso. One day a woman spotted him in the market and pulled out a piece of paper. “Mr. Picassos,” she said excitedly,  “I’m a big fan. Please, could you do a little drawing for me?” Picasso happily complied and quickly etched out a piece of art for her on the paper provided. He smiled as he handed it back to her, and said, “that will be a million dollars.” “But Mr. Picassos,” the flustered woman replied, “it only took you 30 seconds to do this little master piece.” “My good woman,” Picasso laughed, “it took me 30 years to do that master piece in 30 seconds.”

 

Know what you can excel at – your genius. Discover your talents and then work like crazy to polish them. One of the most important of all personal leadership skills is self-awareness. Know what you are really great at. Reflect on those abilities that others admire in you. Think about those capabilities that just come easily to you – and that flow effortlessly from you. You might be a fantastic communicator or have a way with people. You might possess an extraordinary ability to execute and get things done. Perhaps your special talent lies in innovation and creativity and seeing what everyone else sees but thinking a different thought. Find your genius points and then develop them. Focus plus daily improvement plus time. Start today and in three to five years people will be writing about you. Calling you a genius. Celebrating your magnificence. And don’t worry – I’ll be one of them.

 

“Focus plus daily improvement plus time equals genius. Understand that formula deeply and your life will never be the same”

 

LIFE LESSONS FROM SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS

LIFE LESSONS FROM SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS

 

SpongeBob SquarePants is my hero. The kids and I were having breakfast this morning when Bianca, my nine-year old daughter brought up the subject of this crazy little cartoon charter. “Daddy, is SpongeBob a real person?”. Made me laugh. Then it made me think. If SpongeBob were a human being, this world would be a better place.  Seriously. Here are four lessons SpongeBob can teach us to get more joy from life:

 

Be the eternal optimist: The guy (or sponge, I should say) always sees the best in any situation. Your thinking really does shape your reality. And because SpongeBob looks for the best, he finds it.

Value people: SpongeBob knows what friendship means. He loves his pals in Bikini Bottom, even Squidword “who is always cranky”, to borrow my sons words. SpongeBob knows that respect and putting people first are two of the most important elements for strong relationships.

Be an original: SpongeBob is one of a kind. Too many among us are afraid to be ourselves. So we give up our dreams to follow the crowd. Tragic. “To thine own self be true,” wrote Shakespeare. Have the courage to be your true – and greatest – you. (Warren Buffett, once said, “there can’t be two of you.”)

Laugh and have fun: There’s no point in being successful but sad. Makes no sense. Yes, reach for the mountaintop. But enjoy the climb as well. Life wasn’t meant to be an ordeal. It was meant to be a celebration. So have big-time fun as you chase – and catch – your most cherished dreams.

 

“Too many among us are afraid to be ourselves. So we give up our dreams to follow the crowd”

 

Leadership begins on the Extra Mile

LEADERSHIP BEGINS ON THE EXTRA MILE

 

I had just dropped off my children at school and was driving to the office when I got an insight that made me pull over. So here I sit, off to the side of the road with my hazard blinkers on, hammering this out on my phone because I wanted to share it with you. The big idea: Leadership – and success – begins on the extra mile.

 

Leadership is shown when a sales person makes extra calls at the end of an exhausting day – not because it’s the easy thing to do but because it’s the right thing to do. Leadership is shown by the manager who finishes a report that has taken the very best from him, then goes back to it a little later to polish and improve it even more. Leadership is shown by a team that delivers on their value promise to a customer and then digs even deeper to wow them. And leadership is shown by the human being who fights the urge to stay under the covers on a cold day and throws on her running shoes to pound the pavement. Not because running miles on a frosty morning is fun. But because it’s wise.

 

Please think about this idea. I think it’s a deeply important one. Those among us who craft extraordinary careers and spectacular lives are those who spend most of their time giving their best out on the extra mile. Yes, ordinary people don’t spend much time on the extra mile. But who ever said you were ordinary?

 

“Ordinary people don’t spend much time on the extra mile. But who ever said you were ordinary?”

 

MAKE TIME TO THINK

 

MAKE TIME TO THINK

 

I am blessed to be able to meet interesting people from all walks of like regularly because of the work I do. I meet film makers, poets, brilliant college students, wise teachers and visionary entrepreneurs. Each one of these encounters has taught me something and shaped my perspective. I had dinner recently with one of Asia’s top CEOs. Asked him the secret of his outrageous success. He smiled: “I make the time to think”. Every morning, he spend at least 45 minutes with his eyes closed, deep in reflection. He’s not meditating. He’s not praying. He’s thinking.

 

Sometimes he’s analyzing business challenges. Other times he’s thinking about new markets. Still other times he’s being introspective on the meaning of life and what he wants it to stand for. Often, he’s simply dreaming up new ways to grow personally and professionally. Every once in a while, he’ll spend between six and eight hours doing this. Sitting silently. Still. With his eyes closed. Thinking.

 

Making the time to think is a superb strategy for success at leadership and in life. Too many people spend the best hours of their days solely engaged in doing, on the execution aspect of things. Recently a client said to me: “Robin, sometimes I get so busy that I don’t even know what I’m so busy doing.” But what if he’s busy with the wrong things” Few things are disappointing as investing all your time, energy and potential climbing a mountain only to find – once at the top – that you climbed the wrong one. Thinking and reflection ensures that you’re on the right mountain. Peter Drucker, said is to well: “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that should not be done at all”

 

Being thoughtful and strategic is step number one as you walk to greatness. Clarity precedes success. By thinking more, you will have a better sense of your priorities and what you need to focus on. Your actions will be more crisp and deliberate and intentional. You will make better decisions and wiser choices. More time thinking will make you less reactive. You’ll become clearer on the best uses of your time (which will, in turn, save you time). And your “think time” will provoke some amazing ideas and inspire some big dreams. Lewis Carroll addressed this point beautifully in Alice in Wonderland when he wrote: “There’s no use in trying” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things”. “I daresay you haven’t had much practice” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast”.

 

“Peter Drucker, said it so well: “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that should not be done at all”

 

Speak like a Superstar

SPEAK LIKE A SUPERSTAR

 

The words you use determine the way you feel. The language you choose shapes the way you perceive reality. Your vocabulary drives meaning in your life. Please think about this idea. I believe it’s a big one.

 

The superstar business people who I’ve coached are among the most high-spirited people I’ve ever met. And the way they talk reflects that devotion to being an up-lifter and elevator of human beings. They wouldn’t dream of calling a setback a “problem” – they’d call it an “opportunity to create something even greater”. And then, as if by magic, their positive language provokes a set of positive sensations within them that supports them in being player versus victim in seemingly difficult situations. The great ones among us would never express information about an upset customer as “bad news” but instead would label it “a challenge that will help us grow”. Rather than using negative words, they prefer winning words that inspire those around them to dwell in possibility and keep their heads focused on the dream. The words you use influence the life you live. Select them wisely.

 

I have a little exercise to offer you. Pull out your journal or clean white sheet of paper and record an inventory of the words you most frequently speak. The more aware you can become of the quality of your language, the more choice you will give yourself. And writing things down dramatically raises your self-awareness. Then, once you have identified your most commonly used words, do another list. Articulate a series of spectacularly positive words that will serve you – words that you imaging a superstar in your field using. Bring them into your daily vocabulary. You will discover that speaking these words make you feel better. More powerful. More passionate. And when you feel great feelings, guess what? You’ll do great things.

 

“The words you use influence the life you live. Select them wisely”

 

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

 

Get some skin in the game

GET SOME SKIN IN THE GAME

 

I fail more than most people. I fail all the time. I’ve had failures in business. I’ve had failures in relationships. I’ve had failures in life. I used to wonder why this happened. I used to play Poor Me and suffer from the dreaded disease of victimitis infinitus. But I now I get it. I’ve been stumbling toward my best life. Failure is the price of greatness. Failure is an essential ingredient for a high achievement. As innovation guru David Kelley wrote: “Fail faster. Succeed sooner”. You can’t win without leaving your safety zone and taking some calculated risks. No risk, no reward. And the more risks you take in the pursuit of your dreams, the more you are going to fail.

 

Too many among us live in what I call the safe harbor of known. Same breakfast for 20 years. Same drive to work for 20 years. Same conversations for 20 years. Same thinking for 20 years. I have no judgment on that kind of a life. If it makes you happy, well, that’s great. But I don’t know of anyone who is happy living like that. If you keep doing what you’ve have been doing, you’ keep getting what you’ve been getting. Einstein defined insanity as doing the same things but expecting different results. Yet most people rule their lives that way. True joy comes when you put some skin in the game and take some chances. Yes, you will start to experience more failure. But guess what? Success also starts to pay more visits.

 

Failure is just part of the process of getting to world class. “Screw-ups are the mark of excellence” said management consultant Tom Peters. The best companies on the planet have failed more than the average ones. The most successful people on the planet have failed more than ordinary ones. To me, the only failure is the failure to try and dream and dare. The real risk lies in riskless living. Mark Twain made the point perfectly when he observed: “ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did”.

 

So go ahead, stretch today. Ask for the best table in your favorite restaurant. Ask for an upgrade to first class on your next flight (good luck). Ask your team mate at work for more understanding. Ask your sweatheart at home for more love. Do it. I dare you. And remember, you can’t win a game that you don’t even play

 

“The real risk lies in riskless living”

 

Nothing Fails Like Success

Richard Carrion, the CEO of Puerto Rico’s top bank, once shared a line with me that I’ll never forget: “Robin, nothing fails like success”. Powerful thought. You, as well as your organization, are most vulnerable when you are most successful. Success actually breeds complacency, inefficiency and – worst of all – arrogance. When people and businesses get really successful, they often fall in love with themselves. They stop innovating, working hard, taking risks and begin to rest on their laurels. They go on the defensive, spending their energy protecting their success rather staying true to the very things that got them to the top. Whenever I share this point with a roomful of CEOs, every single one of them nods in agreement. Please let me give you a real-world example from my own life.

 

This past weekend, I took my kids to our favorite Italian restaurant. The food is incredible there. The best bresaola out side of Italy. Heavenly pasta. Super foamy latte that make me want to give up my job and become a barista. But the service at this place is bad. Bad, bad, bad (like it is at most places). Why? Because the place is always full. And because they are doing so well, they’ve taken the lines out front for granted. And guess what? It’s the beginning of their end.

 

I love taking pictures. My dad taught me to record the journey of my life with photos. So I generally carry a little camera around with me. I asked our server if she would snap a picture of my children and me as we dug into our spaghetti. “I don’t have time” was the curt reply. Unbelievable. Too busy to take five seconds to keep a customer happy. Too busy to help out a little. Too busy to show some humanity.

 

“Nothing fails like success”. Richard Carrion gets it. So does David Neeleman, the CEO of JetBlue, who observed: “When you’re making money and good margins, you tend to get sloppy”. Many CEOs don’t. The more successful you and your organization become, the more humble and devoted to your customers you need to be. The more committed to efficiency and relentless improvement you need to be. The faster you need to play. The more value you need to add. Because the moment you stop doing the very things that got you to the top of the mountain is the very moment you begin the slide down to the valley.

 

“The more successful you and your organization become, the more humble and devoted to your customers you need to be”

 

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