Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

22 Ways to Become Spectacularly Inspirational

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

1. Do important work vs. merely offering opinions.

2. Lift people up vs. tear others down.

3. Use the words of leadership vs. the language of victimhood.

4. Don’t worry about getting the credit for getting things done.

5. Become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

6. Take your health to a level called superfit.

7. Commit to mastery of your craft instead of accepting mediocrity in your work.

8. Associate with people whose lives you want to be living.

9. Study for an hour a day. Double your learning and you’ll triple your success.

10. Run your own race. “No one can possibly achieve real and lasting success by being a conformist,” wrote billionaire J. Paul Getty

11. Do something small yet scary every single day.

12. Lead Without a Title.

13. Focus on people’s strengths vs. obsessing around their weaknesses.

14. Remember that potential unused turns into pain. So dedicate yourself to expressing your best.

15. Smile more.

16. Listen more.

17. Read the autobiography of Nelson Mandela.

18. Reflect on the words of Eleanor Roosevelt who said: “Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.”

19. Persist longer than the critics suggest you should.

20. Say “please” and “thank you”.

21. Love your loved ones.

22. Do work that matters.

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PICK FIGHTS FAST

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Yes, indeed, most of us dread conflict as much as a dental visit or a speech in front of a room full of hecklers. And yet, conflict brings advantages – especially to businesses that really want to out-innovate their peers.

I recall a dinner on The Bosphorus in Istanbul where I chatted with an uberSuccessful entrepreneur. He enthusiastically shared his ideas on business-building, picking A Players (the bigger the dream, the more key the team) and delivering value to customers. And then he said something unforgettable: he revealed that his company hired a young man fresh out of business school with the sole job to passionately challenge every one of the great ideas the executive team came up with.

Loved it. Why? Because the beginning of the end of a great business (and life) is “the falling in love with your own most closely cherished ideas”. Yes, you have to believe in your vision when no one else will. Agreed. But – at the same time – following the same business model or way of working just because that’s the way you’ve always done it, is the way to inevitable obsolescence. This leader was incredibly smart: his company built a protocol to generate healthy conflict / to challenge their favored assumptions and to ensure that only the best ideas won.

Maybe it’s better to be surrounded by “No People” versus “Yes Men”? Please share your comments below – I’d love to get a conversation going on this point.

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Leadership’s Just Being a Professional

Monday, January 24th, 2011

En route home from New York, I was blessed to be driven to LaGuardia by a professional. His pickup was on time. His smile was brilliant as I entered the SUV. And his manners were impeccable. All obvious moves for someone in his job. And all so rare in this age of dramatic distraction and a loss of focus on what most matters.

Call his behavior Leading Without a Title (because that’s exactly what it was). Or call it being a professional.

No matter what you do, and no matter where you live, and no matter what you’re dealing with as a human being, this day-and every day that follows-provides you with a platform of choice. You can choose to follow the herd, make excuses to coast and settle for mediocrity. Or you can stand for something higher. For leadership. And be a professional. And all it takes is a single decision to rewrite your future.

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60 TIPS FOR A STUNNINGLY GREAT LIFE

Monday, December 6th, 2010

I want to shift gears from leadership to a pure focus on crafting an exceptional life for this blog post. Ultimately, life goes by in a blink. And too many people live the same year 80 times. To avoid getting to the end and feeling flooded regret over a live half-lived, read (and then apply) these tips:

1. Exercise daily.

2. Get serious about gratitude.

3. See your work as a craft.

4. Expect the best and prepare for the worst.

5. Keep a journal.

6. Read “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”.

7. Plan a schedule for your week.

8. Know the 5 highest priorities of your life.

9. Say no to distractions.

10. Drink a lot of water.

11. Improve your work every single day.

12. Get a mentor.

13. Hire a coach.

14. Get up at 5 am each day.

15. Eat less food.

16. Find more heroes.

17. Be a hero to someone.

18. Smile at strangers.

19. Be the most ethical person you know.

20. Don’t settle for anything less than excellence.

21. Savor life’s simplest pleasures.

22. Save 10% of your income each month.

23. Spend time at art galleries.

24. Walk in the woods.

25. Write thank you letters to those who’ve helped you.

26. Forgive those who’ve wronged you.

27. Remember that leadership is about influence and impact, not title and accolades.

28. Create unforgettable moments with those you love.

29. Have 5 great friends.

30. Become stunningly polite.

31. Unplug your TV.

32. Sell your TV.

33. Read daily.

34. Avoid the news.

35. Be content with what you have.

36. Pursue your dreams.

37. Be authentic.

38. Be passionate.

39. Say sorry when you know you should.

40. Never miss a moment to celebrate another.

41. Have a vision for your life.

42. Know your strengths.

43. Focus your mind on the good versus the lack.

44. Be patient.

45. Don’t give up.

46. Clean up your messes.

47. Use impeccable words.

48. Travel more.

49. Read “As You Think”.

50. Honor your parents.

51. Tip taxi drivers well.

52. Be a great teammate.

53. Give no energy to critics.

54. Spend time in the mountains.

55. Know your top 5 values.

56. Shift from being busy to achieving results.

57. Innovate and iterate.

58. Speak less. Listen more.

59. Be the best person you know.

60. Make your life matter.

Robin Sharma is the author of the #1 international bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title” (Simon & Schuster). Pass this list on to a friend by using the tools below.

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Voice What You Resist

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

By not speaking of what we resist and fear we actually strengthen what we resist and fear. But when we have the courage to speak of what makes us most uncomfortable, we begin the process of releasing it’s steely grip over who we are and all we can become.

Our fear simply wants us to acknowledge versus deny it. Why? Because it comes as a gift. To teach us. To show us where we play small. And when we validate versus pretend it’s not there, it recognizes that we’ve recognized it. And it can then leave.

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