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The 10 Best Personal Development Books?

Saturday, May 11th, 2013

By Robin Sharma
Author of the #1 International Bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title”

Greetings from New York City.

Just did a light run through Soho (exercising FIRST thing in the morning has been such a game-changer). You owe it to yourself to try it for 7 days.

Now I’m settled into creative mode. Great Colombian coffee. Book-filled room. Fresh flowers. (Another tip: your environment dramatically influences your creativity).

So, I wanted to share some more good information with you in my ongoing OBSESSION to help you Lead Without a Title + build out a life THAT MAKES HISTORY.

I’m often asked which books are most transformational for people like us who want to do fantastic work and lead our best lives.

So here are 10 of the best. Read them. Share them. Study them. LIVE them…

Jonathan Livingston Seagull. By Richard Bach.

With lines like: “Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation,” this book will move you deeply. I re-read it in Thailand. Still amazingly good.
Think and Grow Rich. By Napoleon Hill.

Fantastic book. Not so much about financial wealth as it is about the making of a rich life. You’ll learn how important it is to have a burning desire (this galvanizes your focus and causes the release of your creativity) + the imperative of setting clear goals + the value of “a mastermind alliance”. This book truly changed my life when I was starting out as a self-published author with nothing but a dream in my hands. Times were tough. This book got me through.
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. By–well, Marcus Aurelius.

Marcus Aurelius was a warrior—who then became a Roman emperor. He wrote his lessons on greatness and a life well lived during a multi-year military campaign. Someone got his notes. And put it into this book. I go back to this book often. It strengthens my character. And resolve to help more people.
Steve Jobs. By Walter Isaacson.

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Period.
Long Walk To Freedom. By Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela’s one of my heroes. Noble. Courageous. Focused. A visionary. If I could be 1/100 of who he is, I’d be overjoyed. This is his autobiography. You’ll walk with him through his days as a lawyer, his time as a disruptor, his prison years and his period as the positional leader of South Africa.
Stop Acting Rich. By Thomas Stanley.

Thomas Stanley became famous for “The Millionaire Next Door”. But this book–not so well known–is exceptional. He explains the concept of “The Glittering Rich”, shares how too many of us live beyond our means and how to create true financial freedom. Like most of the books I read, I listened to it.
As You Think. By James Allen.

Maybe 10 times. That’s at least how many times I’ve read this book. And like all great books, it seems better+wiser and deeper every time I read it. Of course, the book hasn’t changed. Just my ability to grasp the information. And understand the concepts. This book is all about the power of your daily thinking. And how it drives your life’s behavior. As you know so well: your behavior shows us your beliefs. And this awesome book will inspire you to build new ones.
The Magic of Thinking Big. By David Schwartz.

Uber-practical. Tons of value. Great concepts, like “Go Through Life First-Class.” Every student, teammate and human being should read this book (along with “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie–that work should also be on my list. True.).
Talent is Overrated. By Geoff Colvin.

Read this one a few years ago. Changed the way I viewed Genius. Confirms a lot of the work of exceptional performance researchers like the famed Anders Ericsson that talent is less about natural gifts and far more about devotion to a skill, relentless practice and patience. Another superb audiobook.
Spark. By John Ratey.

One of the best books I’ve read in years. I’m on my 3rd reading. Shares the latest (and so fascinating) research on how exercise transforms the brain, our performance, our productivity and even builds a new type of brain that is excellent at resisting stress. Please do your life a giant favor. And read this book. Today!

Ok. So there you go. Some of my favorite books. Go study them. And use them.

Please remember, ideas–flawlessly translated into reality are the keys to breathtaking success. And you becoming more of who you truly are.

Oh–and definitely make some time each day to read. Small little advances in your knowledge base lead to quantum improvements in your performance over time.

Thanks for making the time to read my posts. I work hard to make them valuable for you. So we get you to your best. Sooner versus later.

Be great. And dream even bigger. The world needs you to shine.

Speak soon,

P.S. LAST CHANCE NOTICE: Snap up one of the few remaining seats to my all new live event–The 48 Hour Transformation– in Toronto this June (we’re just about sold out)…

–I’ll walk you through a transformation process unlike anything you’ve ever experienced

–Learn exactly what to do during the first 3 hours of each day to get results that are 20X what you’ve ever experienced

–Discover how to find and then do work you love

–Take your happiness + creativity levels to RARE-AIR via 3 simple new habits confirmed by science

–Learn how to unleash total confidence so you do BRAVE things

–I’ll passionately teach you through revolutionary methods to rewire positive and excellent beliefs into your mindset

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So invest in YOU and make the decision that will change the game for you…

…Just a few spots left so get yours now before it’s too late.

Thank you to EVERYONE for the huge interest in this event. I’m very grateful.
And I promise to work even harder to make your life better.

See you in Toronto in a few weeks! Let’s do this! :)

Snap up your seat now.

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Posted in Business, Entrepreneurship, Focus, Ideas and Inspiration, Leadership, Learning, Personal Development, Recommended, Uncategorized | 53 Comments »

JK Rowling’s Secret Success Weapon

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

By Robin Sharma
Author of the #1 International Bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title”

I know you’re all about Mastery. And Excellence. And crafting an iconic life. Along with doing things most people call impossible. For this, I applaud you.

So I wanted to share a great story with you…

All she ever wanted to do was write. But few believed in her.

She ended up as a single mom. Collecting social benefits checks–just to get food onto the table. For her and her child.

On a trip from Manchester to London in 1990, her train was delayed. And an idea burst into her imagination. About a boy who didn’t know what he was.

She called this kid Harry Potter. And she wrote about his adventures.”

12 publishers rejected the book. A small house called Bloomsbury Press eventually agreed to publish it. But even then, the author was told “you’ll never make any money on children’s books.”

Yet, the book caught fire. Touched the hearts of millions. Inspired a new generation to read.

Of course, the woman is JK Rowling.

And she’s sold 400,000,000 books. And built a fortune of $800,000,000.

From an idea. About a young wizard. With a brave heart.

Her secret “weapon”?…

… JK Rowling DIDN’T LISTEN TO THE DOUBTS OF HER CRITICS.

“For some to love you, some must loathe you,” she brilliantly observed.

And she’s right. All visionaries are initially ridiculed before they are revered.

All enormously successful people first meet with rejection, resistance and yes, sometimes outright hatred. Criticism truly is the price of greatness. And you really need to be so invested in your dream + abilities + passion that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING will knock you off your game.

So be strong. Go for world-class. And when you get knocked down, dust yourself off, and stay true to your loftiest visions. In the end, you’ll be grateful you did.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The 48 Hour Transformation

If you are ready to build self-confidence + perseverance at a “JK Rowling Level”, I invite you to join me at The 48 Hour Transformation in Toronto this June. It’ll change your life forever.

Seats will sell out so snap up yours now.

Sending you all green lights! So you get your boldest (and most audacious) dreams done. You know this: Life’s just too short to play small.

My very best, as always,

P.S. The AWESOME early bird discount to my all-new weekend event–The 48 HOUR TRANSFORMATION–June 8+9 in beautiful Toronto, Canada will end soon!….

These 2 days with me will completely revolutionize your life. And create explosive results in your mindset, financial life, creativity, happiness levels and productivity.

I’d love for you to join me and all the other game-changers that will be attending from across the world. I’ve worked hard to make this my best live event yet.

Only 250 seats have been made available and many have already been sold. So I STRONGLY encourage you to make the choice that will change your life and snap up your seat now. Register here.

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Posted in Entrepreneurship, Ideas and Inspiration, Leadership, Learning, Personal Development, Uncategorized | 8 Comments »

This Inspired Me

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

By Robin Sharma
Author of the #1 International Bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title”

I’m sitting in an airport lounge as I write this. In Florida. Just delivered a Lead Without a Title keynote for 700 top CEOs at an event sponsored by the FORTUNE 100 company Ingram Micro. Fantastic audience! Grateful.

This morning–in deep prep mode for the presentation in my hotel room–I came across an interview with the famed French designer Philippe Starck (a genius who can design a chair in 2 minutes and a chic hotel in 1.5 days. He says he prefers to work in solitude–”naked in my bedroom” for maximum productivity).

Anyway, the piece (which I read on The Harvard Business Review’s website), really validated a lot of my personal productivity practices (except the bedroom thing). And left me with a ton of creative inspiration.

And so I wanted to share it with you. So you work at peak. And succeed massively.

Here’s an excerpt that’s really worth thinking quietly about in this world of “dramatic distraction” and “really busy being busy”:

HBR Interviewer: “What’s the secret to working so quickly and productively?”

Starck: “I am sort of a modern monk. We don’t go to dinners. We don’t go to cocktails. We don’t go to movies. We don’t watch TV. I don’t use my energy on other people. I just work and read. I live with myself in front of my white page (My Note: yes, he works with a simple pencil and piece of paper).

…Of course, for much of the year I have to travel and speak to journalists, engineers and things like that. It’s the worst. But from the 15th of June until the 15th of September, I live completely secluded–locked in one of my houses–working from 8 am until 8 at night–or making my own biorhythm; work 3 hours, sleep 45 minutes, work 3 hours, sleep 45 minutes for 24 hours, without eating.”

“It’s a little sick. But I’m like Dr. Faust. I signed a contract with the devil to sell my life for Creativity.”

Beautiful..

I absolutely LOVE this! Yes, Philippe Starck isn’t the most life balanced person. But no true master ever is. They all were obsessed with their craft. DEVOTED to pouring their genius into the marketplace. And inspiring the world via their exceptional gifts and talents.

Look. You owe it to yourself to make time to be alone. To create space for your biggest ideas to flow. To access your most raw and natural potential. And to pour all you come up with out into the world.

So your life gets to it’s best level. And so you inspire everyone around you. By your obvious brilliance.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The 48 Hour Transformation

If you truly want to be inspired, learn the “inside tactics” of Mastery and get your life to a whole new place, I encourage you to make a decision that will change your life forever…

…The first two blocks of tickets to my all-new weekend event–THE 48 HOUR TRANSFORMATION–in Toronto, Canada June 8 + 9 have completely sold out!

…Snap up one of the remaining seats to this life-changing 2 day program on unleashing your highest potential + enjoying a life you adore right now. If you wait, you’ll be too late.

Details here.

Until next time, please remember to make time to create and think in solitude. Your greatest creativity needs space before it will flow. And few things will make you feel happier than presenting your best to the world.

Your fan always,

P.S. I’m only offering 250 seats to The 48 Hour Transformation. These 2 days will give you the inspiration and tools/tactics to DRAMATICALLY accelerate your success and happiness….

…And when you act now, you can still get the AWESOME early bird discount I’m offering. Register now.

..I’ll see you in Toronto in June! THX. And stay great.

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Posted in Entrepreneurship, Ideas and Inspiration, Interviews, Learning, Personal Development | 2 Comments »

51 Ways Ordinary People Reached World-Class

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

By Robin Sharma
Author of the #1 International Bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title”

Know what you want. Clarity is power. And vague goals promote vague results.
Remember that every problem has a solution. Maybe you just can’t see it. Yet.
In this Age of Dramatic Distraction, the performer who focuses the best wins the most.
Before someone will help you, you need to help them.
Become the most passionate person you know. It’ll be contagious.
Know more about your craft/the work you do than anyone who has ever done the work you do…in the history of the world.
Join The 5 am Club. Your most valuable hours are 5am-8am. They have the least interruptions.
Devote yourself to learning something new about your field of mastery every day. Success belongs to the relentless learners. Because as you know more, you can achieve more.
Remember that when you transform your fitness, you’ll transform your business.
Don’t check your mobile when you’re meeting with another person. It’s rude. And rude people don’t reach world-class.
Every time you do what scares you, you take back the power that you gave to the thing that scared you. And so you become more powerful.
A problem is only a problem if you make the choice to see it as a problem.
Stop being a victim. Your business and personal life was made by you. No one else is responsible. To make it better, make better choices. And new decisions.
You can lead without a title. Don’t wait to get a position to stand for excellence, peak quality and overdelivery on every expectation.
Find your own style. Be an original. Every superstar differentiated themselves from The Herd. And marched to their own drumbeat.
Understand that when you play small with your success, you betray your potential. And the birthright you were born under.
Eat less food and you’ll get more done.
As you become more successful, stay really really hungry. Nothing fails like success. Because when you’re successful, it’s easy to stop outlearning+outOverDelivering+outthinking and outexecuting everyone around you. (Success is Beautiful. And dangerous).
If you’re not overprepared, you’re underprepared.
The only level of great manners to play at is “Exceedingly Polite”. In our world, this alone will make you a standout. And differentiate you in your marketplace.
Remember that the moment you think you’re a Master, you lose your Mastery. And the minute you think you know everything, you know nothing.
To double your results, double your level of execution.
Invest in your personal and pro development. All superstars do.
Get this year’s best Targets of Opportunity down onto a 1 Page Plan. Then review it every morning while the rest of the world sleeps.
You don’t get lucky. You create lucky.
When you push through a difficult project, you don’t get to the other side. You reach The Next Level.
Smile. And remember to inform your face.
Spend time in solitude every day. Your best ideas live there.
Debrief on how you lived out your day every night in a journal. This will not only record your personal history, it will make you uber-clear on what you’re doing right and what needs to be improved.
If your not being criticized a lot, you’re not doing very much. Ridicule is the price of ambition.
Develop a monomaniacal focus on just a few things. The secret to productivity is simplicity.
To get the results very few people have, be strong enough to do what very few people are willing to do.
Rest. Recover. It’ll make you stronger.
Buy a smaller TV and build a larger library.
Remember that the bigger the goal, the stronger a person you must become to achieve that goal. So goal-achieving is a superb practice for character-building.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The 48 Hour Transformation

For the 1st time in 3 years, I’m doing a LIVE weekend event on personal mastery + creating a life you adore.

I’ve built it to be one of the most powerful programs in the world on breaking through your limits and unleashing your greatest potential.

It’ll be held on Saturday June 8 + Sunday June 9 in Toronto, Canada (one of the world’s best cities)–with the option of an additional private VIP Mastermind on Monday June 10.

To keep this exclusive, I’m only offering 250 seats.

If you’re ready to transform the way you think + feel + perform + live, I’d love for you to join me at this life-changing event.

Here are the details

Food fuels your body. Learning feeds your mind.
Don’t ask for respect. Earn it.
Finish what you start. And always end strong.
Breathe.
In business, don’t play to survive. Play to win.
Protect your good name. It’s your best asset.
Remember that words have power. Use the language of leadership versus the vocabulary of a victim.
Give more than you take. The marketplace rewards generosity.
Know that if it’s not messy, you’re not making progress.
Be a hero to a kid.
In business, aim for iconic. Go for legendary. Make history by how awesome you are at what you do.
Please don’t confuse activity with productivity. Many many people are simply busy being busy.
Your doubts are liars. Your fears are traitors. Stop buying the goods they are attempting to sell you.
The best anti-aging remedy in the world is working really hard.
World-Class performers have no plan B. Failure just isn’t an option.
You have the power to change the world—one brave act and one person at a time. Please use it.

My best to you!

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Posted in Entrepreneurship, Ideas and Inspiration, Learning, Personal Development | 139 Comments »

The 50 Business + Life Lessons 2012 Taught Me

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

2012′s coming to a close. It was a hard year for people behaving as victims. And a superb year for people like you showing up as leaders (and world-builders).

I’m in reflection mode as I review the past 12 months, record what I learned in my journal and set precise and clear goals+plans for 2013.

I wanted to share 50 of my best lessons learned (or reinforced) from 2012. So here you go:

Hard work is a force multiplier.
Don’t participate in recessions.
Exercising for 20 minutes first thing in the morning is a game-changer.
If you’re not innovating daily, you’re on the path to obsolescence.
If you want an A-Level company, you can’t afford to hire B-Level players.
Procrastination is an escape mechanism for people scared to do their best work.
Give your customers 10X the value they expect and they’ll tell everyone they know about you.
Don’t do it if you’re not having fun.
If you’re not scared a lot you’re not growing very much.
Invest the time to create great social media content and your base will go global + viral.
There’s never been a better time to be a social entrepreneur.
It’s never been easier to be of service to a large amount of people (and few things are as rewarding).
When no one else believes in your vision, you absolutely must stay true to your vision. (Have the guts to stay in the game far longer than makes any sense).
The quickest way to build a superb business is to quickly develop the leadership potential of every teammate.
A job is only a job if you choose to see your work as a job. All work is a noble sport. (The reality is all work is a chance to express your genius–and to inspire the world).
People are craving transparency+authenticity and community. Give it to them.
Creativity comes in seasons. There’s a time to harvest your ideas. And there’s a time to let the field sit fallow. (I’ve been working on integrating this lesson for years).
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax (When you relax, your brain shifts into alpha state–the time when million-dollar ideas present themselves).
Change is hard at the beginning, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end. (And without change, there is no progress).
Someone’s going to win in your space. Why not you?
10X the size of your dreams because if you don’t, you’ll wish you did.
Pursue excellence versus chasing perfection.
Celebrate small wins and you’ll unleash a huge amount of momentum and positive energy.
Learn for an hour a day, no matter what. That’s not a waste of work time. It’s a brilliant use of your work time because you’re paid to know more than anyone who has ever done your job.
Why go for good at what you do when you can stand for iconic?
Transform your fitness and you’ll transform your business.
Delete victimspeak from your languaging. No more "I can’t" and "It’s not possible" and "It’s so hard." More "I will" and "This is awesome" and "What’s the opportunity here?"
If you inspire one person each day, you’re day hasn’t been a waste. It’s been a blessing.
Living in the past is disrespecting your future.
Build an amazing career but enjoy your lifestyle along the way. What’s the point of becoming a business legend but a failed human being.
Look people in the eyes when you talk to them. Smile at people when you see them. Say "please" to respect them. And "thank you" to appreciate them.
Don’t be on time–Be early.
The person who tries to do everything achieves nothing. Focus. Focus. Focus.
Spend the first 90 minutes of your work day on real work versus fake work. (Another game-changing tactic that served me so very well in 2012).
Spend time in silence each day. You’ll never do Jay-Z level work if you’re overstimulated by technology.
Goal-setting is mission-critical. (Review your Big 5, quarterly goals and daily goals constantly).
Your daily behavior broadcasts your truest beliefs.
To have the results only 5% of businesspeople have, have the guts to do what only 5% of businesspeople are willing to do.
World-class begins when you think you’ve done a great job but know you can do a better job.
Remember that your greatest gift is so much stronger than your deepest fear.
Everyone’s in Human Resources. And we are all paid to develop the talents of the people we work with.
Mediocrity is a mindset. Avoid the mental viruses of negative people.
Be the most honest person you know. It generally takes 30 years to build a fantastic reputation. And 30 seconds to lose it by a single silly move.
Become a lion–not a sheep.
People are always willing to pay for the best.
The more devoted you become to serving others, the more your career begins to build itself.
Problems come to test your commitment to your goals, hopes and dreams.
As you become more successful, get more hungry.
Join Traffic University. Use every possible moment in the car to upgrade your skills, polish your gifts and elevate your mindset.
Use your life to make the world a better place.

I hope these 50 ideas have helped you. And I so hope I’ve been of service to you in your business and personal life this year. I enthusiastically wish you and those closest to you an even better year ahead. Let’s make it wow.