THE 73......from Robin Sharma

Best Lessons for Leadership Success in Business and Life by Robin Sharma, author of the international bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title”

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Hi! there,

I’m skiing in South America but have also been doing a lot of thinking. I wanted to thank you for all your kind support of my work. So I have summarized the 73 best ideas/insights/lessons I’ve learned for winning in business and life below. I hope they help you. And I hope you’ll share them with others who will benefit from them. Again, thanks for supporting my mission to help people in organizations around the world lead without a title. I’m grateful. 



 


Robin

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1.     You can really lead without a Title.

2.     Knowing what to do and not doing it, is the same as not knowing what to do.

3.     Give away what you most wish to receive.

4.     The antidote to stagnation is innovation.

5.     The conversations you are most resisting are the conversations you most need to be having.

6.     Leadership is no longer about position – but passion. It’s no longer about image but impact. This is Leadership 2.0.

7.     The bigger the dream, the more important to the team.

8.     Visionaries see the “impossible” as the inevitable.

9.     All great thinkers are initially ridiculed – and eventually revered.

10.  The more you worry about being applauded by others and making money, the less you’ll focus on doing the great work that will generate applause. And make you money.

11.  To double your net worth, double your self-worth, because you will never exceed the height of your self-image.

12.  The more messes you allow into your life, the more messes will become a normal (and acceptable) part of your life.

13.  The secret to genius is not genetics but daily practice married with relentless perseverance.

14.  The best leaders lift people up versus tear people down.

15.  The most precious resource for businesspeople is not their time. It’s their energy. Manage it well.

16.  The fears you run from run to you.

17.  The most dangerous place is in your safety zone.

18.  The more you go to your limits, the more your limits will expand.

19.  Every moment in front of a customer is a gorgeous opportunity to live your values.

20.  Be so good at what you do that no one else in the world can do what you do.

21.  You’ll never go wrong in doing what is right.

22.  It generally takes about 10 years to become an overnight sensation.

23.  Never leave the site of a strong idea without doing something to execute around it.

24.  A strong foundation at home sets you up for a strong foundation at work.

25.  Never miss a moment to encourage someone you work with.

26.  Saying “I’ll try” really means “I’m not really committed.”

27.  The secret of passion is purpose.

28.  Do a few things at mastery versus many things at mediocrity.

29.  To have the rewards that very few have, do the things that very few people are willing to do.

30.  Go where no one’s gone and leave a trail of excellence behind you.

31.  Who you are becoming is more important than what you are accumulating.

32.  Accept your teammates for what they are and inspire them to become all they can be.

33.  To triple the growth of your organization, triple the growth of your people.

34.  The best leaders are the most dedicated learners. Read great books daily. Investing in your self-development is the best investment you will ever make.

35.  Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business.

36.  Change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and best at the end.

37.  Measure your success by your inner scorecard versus an outer one.

38.  Understand the acute difference between the cost of something and the value of something.

39.  Nothing fails like success. Because when you are at the top, it’s so easy to stop doing the very things that brought you to the top.

40.  The best leaders blend courage with compassion.

41.  The less you are like others, the less others will like you.

42.  You’ll never go wrong in doing what’s right.

43.  Excellence in one area is the beginning of excellence in every area.

44.  The real reward for doing your best work is not the money you make but the leader you become.

45.  Passion + production = performance.

46.  The value of getting to your goals lives not in reaching the goal but what the talents/strengths/capabilities the journey reveals to you.

47.  Stand for something. Or else you’ll fall for anything.

48.  Say “thank you” when you’re grateful and “sorry” when you’re wrong.

49.  Make the work you are doing today better than the work you did yesterday.

50.  Small daily – seemingly insignificant – improvements and innovations lead to staggering achievements over time.

51.  Peak performers replace depletion with inspiration on a daily basis.

52.  Take care of your relationships and the sales/money will take care of itself.

53.  You can’t be great if you don’t feel great. Make exceptional health your #1 priority.

54.  Doing the difficult things that you’ve never done awakens the talents you never knew you had.

55.  As we each express our natural genius, we all elevate our world.

56.  Your daily schedule reflects your deepest values.

57.  People do business with people who make them feel special.

58.  All things being equal, the primary competitive advantage of your business will be your ability to grow leaders without titles faster than your industry peers.

59.  Treat people well on your way up and they’ll treat you well on your way down.

60.  Success lies in a masterful consistency around a few fundamentals. It really is simple. Not easy, but simple.

61.  The business (and person) who tries to be everything to everyone ends up being nothing to anyone.

62.  One of the primary tactics for enduring winning is daily learning.

63.  To have everything you want, help as many people as you can possibly find get everything they want.

64.  Understand that a problem is only a problem if you choose to view it as a problem (vs. an opportunity).

65.  Clarity precedes mastery. Craft clear and precise plans/goals/deliverables, and then block out all else.

66.  The best in business spend far more time on learning than in leisure.

67.  Lucky is where skill meets persistence.

68.  The best leaders without a title use their heads and listen to their hearts.

69.  The things that are hardest to do are often the things that are the best to do.

70.  Every single person in the world could be a genius at something, if they practiced it daily for at least ten years (as confirmed by the research of Anders Ericsson and others).

71.  Daily exercise is an insurance policy against future illness. The best leaders without titles are the fittest.

72.  Education is the beginning of transformation. Dedicate yourself to daily learning via books/audios/seminars and coaching.

73.  The quickest way to grow the sales of your business is to grow your people.

Economisation and Resource Utilisation.........

Buddha, one day, was in deep thought about worldly activities and the ways of instilling goodness in human beings.

One of his disciples approached him and said humbly "Oh my teacher! While you are so much concerned about the world and others, why don't you look in to the welfare and needs of your own disciples also?" 

Buddha: "OK.. Tell me how I can help you"

Disciple: "Master! My attire is worn out and is beyond the decency to wear the same. Can I get a new one, please?" 

Buddha found the robe indeed was in a bad condition and needed replacement. He asked the store keeper to give the disciple a new robe to wear on. The disciple thanked Buddha and retired to his room.

A while later, Buddha went to his disciple's place and asked him, "Is your new attire comfortable? Do you need anything more?" 

Disciple: "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more" 

Buddha: "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?" 

Disciple: "I am using it as my bed spread." 

Buddha: "Then, hope you have disposed off your old bed spread" 

Disciple: " No, no master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain" 

Buddha: “What about your old Curtain?" 

Disciple: "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen" 

Buddha: "Oh! I see. Can you tell me what did they do with the old cloth they used in kitchen" 

Disciple: "They are being used to wash the floor." 

Buddha:" Then, the old rug being used to wash the floor?" 

Disciple: "Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a wick in the oil lamp, which is right now lit in your study room." 

Buddha smiled in contentment and left for his room.

As Your Mind, So the World....

Most of those things what we otherwise consider as a problem has nothing to do with the external world but everything to do within one’s own Self. In other terms, the real problem is our approach to the problems with an attitude! - The problem is not out there, with the world, but the way it is projected in our mind and being reflected in our thoughts. When we look at things with the right attitude, we are automatically guided to the right approach, resulting a ‘Just solution’ to all our problems. In short, by focusing on the inner Self and trying to rectify it Within, we are able to project a perfect World for us to live.

In the Hindu Epics Mahabharatha, there is an interesting parable - Lord Krishna requested Duryodhana to find the most righteous person and bring him to the Lord. While Duryodhana sets out on his mission Krishna called Yudishtra and told him to find the most wicked person in the world and bring him. Yudhishtra also set on his mission to find a wicked person.

At the end of the stipulated time, Dhuryodhanan came back stating: “Oh, Lord, I am so sorry, I could not find even one righteous person in this world.”

After some time Yudhishthira came and said: “Oh Lord, I am so sorry, I could not find one wicked person in this entire world.”

Yudhishtiran being Dharmarajan (King of virtue) could not find even one wicked person, and Duryodhanan being a wicked one could not find a righteous person!

The parable tries to convey the message: “as your mind, so the world.” Dhuryodhanan could only see wickedness in everyone while Yudhishitran could only see nobility everywhere, yet both searched in the same world.

Therefore, what needs transformation is, your mind and intellect….. There is nothing wrong with the outer world, let the world remain as it is, and you bring the light of knowledge within, to steer your way though the challenges of life.

HATRED???

 A kindergarten teacher decided to let her class play a game.

The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes.

Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates.

So the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates.

So when the day came, each child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for 1 week.

Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.... 

The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?". The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go. 

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???" 

Moral of the story: Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a lifetime. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take!  

True love is not loving a perfect person but

loving an imperfect person, perfectly.

Spread Your Wings......

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly. He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch. Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, "May be I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem." So he cried out to his court, "Go and get a farmer."

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, "Bring me the doer of this miracle."

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the falcon fly?"

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, " It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting."

We are all made to fly, to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of doing that, we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling.

So let us learn to destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free ourselves to the glory of flight.

-- Courtesy, the Book "Why Walk When You Can Fly"

BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!
Our Death is our Closing Balance!
Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities
Our Creative Ideas are our Assets

Heart is our Current Asset
Soul is our Fixed Asset
Brain is our Fixed Deposit
Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital
Character and Morals, our Stock-in-Trade
Friends are our General Reserves
Values and Behavior are our Goodwill

Patience is our Interest Earned
Love is our Dividend
Children are our Bonus Issues
Education is Brands / Patents
Knowledge is our Investment
Experience is our Premium Account
The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.
The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

Some Very Good and Very Bad Things ...

The most destructive habit....... ........ .....Worry
The greatest Joy......... ......... ............ ...Giving
The greatest loss........Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work........ .......Helping others
The ugliest personality trait.......... .....Selfishness
The most endangered species..... ....Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource.... .......... ...Our youth

The greatest 'shot in the arm'........ ..Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome.... ........ ...Fear
The most effective sleeping pill....... Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease........ .......Excuses

The most powerful force in life........ ............. Love
The most dangerous act...... ..A gossip
The world's most incredible computer..... ....The brain
The worst thing to be without..... ............ ..... Hope

The deadliest weapon...... ........ ..........The tongue
The two most power-filled words....... ........ 'I Can'
The greatest asset....... .......... ........ ....Faith
The most worthless emotion.... ......... ....Self- pity

The most beautiful attire...... ......... ........SMILE!
The most prized possession.. ........ .....Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication. ......Prayer
The most contagious spirit...... .......... ......Enthusiasm 

Life ends; when you stop Dreaming,
Hope ends; when you stop Believing,
Love ends; when you stop Caring,
And Friendship ends; when you stop Sharing...!!!