Be Extraordinary: The Greatness Guide Book Two: 101 More Insights to Get You to World Class. Робин Шарма
again. It’s a law of life, I guess. So run toward fear. Start small. Slow and steady always wins the race. And watch the success you so dearly deserve begin to show up. When you most need it.
On the other side of every fear door lie gorgeous gifts.
Okay, your shoes don’t need to shine for you to be a superb leader. And please remember, leadership isn’t about your position, it’s a way of being—Leading Without Title, to be precise. Leadership is about holding yourself to world-class standards, taking personal responsibility (versus playing the victim), being excellent within the sphere of your influence, building beautiful relationships and elevating others by your example. My point with this chapter is simply this: The way you do the little things says a lot about the way you will do the big things. And resigning yourself to mediocrity around your minor pursuits sets you up for mediocrity when it comes to the major ones.
If your yard or home is well organized, I’ll bet your life is well organized. If you are attentive to details like remembering the birthdays of your friends and sending thank-you notes after every meeting, my guess is that you will be attentive to the details around your larger projects and bigger opportunities. And if your place of business is spotless, there’s a great chance the work you do for your customers will reflect the same commitment to excellence. (I can tell a lot about a business by the cleanliness of their bathrooms; an immaculate bathroom shouts “We care!” and that caring translates into remarkable service.)
So pay attention to the details. Focus on the small stuff (like crazy). Commit to OAD: Obsessive Attention to Detail. World-class people and organizations always do. Because the little things truly are the big ones.
My point is simply this: The way you do the little things says a lot about the way you will do the big things.
Just read these immensely important words of celebrated designer Bruce Mau that I need to share with you: “Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.”
We are shaped by our conversations. We are influenced by the ideas we hear and the people we meet. (Big idea: Every person you meet knows at least one thing you don’t; don’t let them leave without learning it.) Listening is a master skill for personal and professional excellence. Leaders listen. Staggeringly well. Mau’s absolutely right: When we go deep into listening to the person we are communicating with, when we allow them to share what they know, we have the opportunity to get behind their eyeballs and learn, grow and evolve into our highest and best. And if you are lucky enough to be talking to the right person—at the right time—that single conversation might be the one that changes the way you think, feel and behave forever. Their stardust will rub off on you. And you’ll be transformed. For good.
Every person you meet knows at least one thing you don’t; don’t let them leave without learning it.
There’s a man I wish you could meet. I was introduced to him while I was in Mexico City to deliver a speech to business and social leaders. He moved me with his story. And he humbled me by his courage.
David Mejia was born without ears. Doctors predicted he would suffer from poor hearing throughout his childhood and that he would be unlikely to live a full adult life. His youth was riddled with operation after operation, a great deal of pain, and the hurtful taunts of classmates who made fun of his appearance. But David persevered. Greatness, in so many ways, is determined by whether you persist through failure or let it consume you. David dreamed. He worked hard. And he believed. Because he knew he was meant to do extraordinary things.
David Mejia has been blessed. With a powerful mind. With a big heart. With a strong spirit. And with wonderful parents, who told him on a near-daily basis that if he looked for the best from life, he would find it. They encouraged him never to play victim. Told him to find the opportunity amid his challenges. And so he has. Masterfully.
The man I met in Mexico City is a leader. A hero. An inspiration. Why? Because he has taken what life sent him and turned what most of us would spend our days crying about into gold. He now has prosthetic ears. He’s healthy and remarkably vital. He has achieved superb success in his career. He has found great love and joy. He has more friends than most people I know (far more than me). And he is stunningly positive in a world where people who have nothing to complain about spend most of their time complaining about trivialities.
You can curse the darkness, or you can light a candle and show up as a leader. Life is all about how you exercise the choices available to you. And your daily choices stack up to craft your destiny. Day by day. Week by week. Month by month. Year by year. David Mejia knows how to make the choices that will raise him to his own personal mountaintop. So do you.
You can curse the darkness, or you can light a candle and show up as a leader.
Woke up this morning with the following line from Mick Jagger’s solo album Goddess in the Doorway screaming through my head: “No use getting misty eyed, it all screams by so fast.” True. Life really does scream by.
Why postpone what you can do today to some time off in the distance? Why put off playing your greatest game as a human being to some point in the future? Why delay having a remarkably good time until you are old? The other day I read about a young woman who was reflecting on her retirement savings plan. She said, “I want to make sure I’ve saved up a lot—that way I can have at least some fun at the end of my life.” I don’t get it. Why wait until you are old to love living?
I’m in no way suggesting that you neglect the importance of planning for your future. Take the long view and prepare for a full life. As always, it’s a balance. Do your plans. Save for retirement. Be strategic. But at the same time, live in the moment. Play full out. Take daily