If you are not familiar with Robin Sharma, I would suggest checking out his work. He is the bestselling author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrarri and The Leader Who Had No Title. He put together 73 lessons of leadership and success that I wanted to share because their is some tremendous insight here. – Enjoy!

You can really Lead Without a Title.

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

Give away what you most wish to receive.

The antidote to stagnation is innovation.

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

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

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

Visionaries see the “impossible” as the inevitable.

All great thinkers are initially ridiculed – and eventually revered.

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.

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

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

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

The best leaders lift people up versus tear people down.

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

The fears you run from run to you.

The most dangerous place is in your safety zone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Never miss a moment to encourage someone you work with.

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

The secret of passion is purpose.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

The best leaders blend courage with compassion.

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

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

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

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

Passion + production = performance.

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

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

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

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

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

Peak performers replace depletion with inspiration on a daily basis.

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

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

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

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

Your daily schedule reflects your deepest values.

People do business with people who make them feel special.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lucky is where skill meets persistence.

The best Leaders Without a Title use their heads and listen to their hearts.

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

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).

Daily exercise is an insurance policy against future illness. The best Leaders Without Titles are the fittest.

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

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

I wanted to share an article that my friend Mike Robbins (www.mike-robbins.com) shared in his weekly newsletter.

Below is a poignant, true story. While this event took place a few years ago (2007) and you may have read it already, it was the first time I’d been made aware of it and I wanted to share this story with you. It’s an important reminder about the power of our attention – it’s not about the beauty of the music, it’s about our willingness to hear it and appreciate it.

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning.

A man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about forty five minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After three minutes, a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar; a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A three-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth thirty-five million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post a few years ago as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The questions raised:

In a commonplace environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

Do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…

How many other things are we missing?

If you stop and pay attention right now, where can you find beauty and brilliance that you may not have been noticing?

I sincerely wish you will have the experience of thinking up a new idea, planning it, organizing it, and following it to completion, and then having it be magnificently successful. I also hope you’ll go through the same process and have something “bomb-out.”

I wish you could know how it feels “to run” with all your heart and lose – horribly.

I wish that you could achieve some great good for mankind, but have nobody know about it except for you.

I wish you could find something so worthwhile that you deem it worthy of investing your life.

I hope you become frustrated and challenged enough to begin to push back the very barriers of your own personal limitations.

I hope you make a stupid, unethical mistake and get caught redhanded and are big enough to say those magic words ”I was wrong.”

I hope you give so much of yourself that some days you wonder if it’s worth it all.

I wish for you a magnificent obsession that will give you reason for living and purpose and direction and elan and life.

I wish for you the worst kind of criticism for everything you do, because that makes you fight to achieve beyond what you normally would.

I wish for you the experience of leadership.

Last night my wife and I watched the last 30 minutes of the Academy Awards. It is always fun to see who wins the big awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Picture of The Year.

The thing that impressed me was the way that they recognized the nominees for Best Actor and Actress.
Each of the nominees were introduced by a friend and colleague who knew them personally and had worked with them before. The personal relationship allowed them to share funny stories, genuine compliments and heartfelt congratulations to each of the nominees.

It was moving!

Whenever you are part of recognition with a team, family, organization, or business – take a lesson from the Oscars. Make it personal. Make it heartfelt. Make it real.

What a difference this makes on the impact of the recognition – not only for the individual being recognized but for all who are participating.

What a great lesson from the Oscars!

I have a good friend who passed away a little more than a year ago. Richard Ellis was a successful entrepreneur, father and friend. He touched thousands of people’s lives with his wisdom, understanding and caring. Just before he passed, he shared 19 Life Lessons with some of the people he loved and I wanted to share them with you because I think there is great wisdom in each of these.

1. You won’t always succeed, but never give up believing in yourself.
2. Look for the success lesson of any failure. There is a hint there.
3. Be inspired by your mentors and leaders, but never controlled.
4. Personal growth will always precede relationship and business growth.
5. Believe and trust in other people until they have absolutely proven that they don’t deserve it.
6. Believe anyone you meet can accomplish anything, unless they prove to you they don’t want to.
7. Associate with positive people, and make no exception in allowing negative people into your life. This even includes family and best friends!
8. Listen to actions, not words.
9. Be honest, and gentle, even when it’s hard.
10 Never compromise your honesty, integrity or trust…people are watching and following you.
11. Give yourself unconditionally to deserving people without expecting of something in return.
12 Never do anything that compromises your integrity or long term goals for short term gains. (This is a hard one)
13 Always treat people better than you want to be treated.
14 Remember there is more than one perspective on everything in life. Allow others to see things differently than yourself.
15 Expect to be surprised.
16 Discipline your disappointments. Limit disappointing feelings to seconds, not days.
17 Learn how to take advantage of all the “Natural Laws in Life” as they cannot be changed by you. You don’t get a vote.
18 Practice the principle of the “Slight Edge” as it literally controls the outcome and quality of our life. It also sets into motions all natural laws in the universe.
19 Remember, you have complete control over your own reactions. When something happens, take that one second pause and realize you have complete control. You make the decision of how you will choose to react. You do not have to be governed by the past poorly formed habits anymore. You choose, you decide, you take responsibility. You control the direction the slight edge will take.

A true leader, in any business or organization, is the one who recognizes the impact they can have on others as well as the impact others can have on them. Then they learn to check their ego at the door in order to bring in the most talented people possible to make the biggest impact possible on the group, company, customers or community. The key to lasting, high impact leadership is to not be afraid to recruit up, to surround yourself with the best and always look up to those beneath you in the pecking order of life or business.

David Ogilvy, founder of the giant advertising agency, Ogilvy and Mather, used to give each new manager a Russian doll, which contained five progressively smaller dolls inside. A message inside the smallest one read: “If each of us hire people we consider smaller than ourselves, we shall become a company of dwarves. But if each of us hire people who are bigger than we are, we will become a company of giants.”

Do not be afraid to surround yourself with people who are a little better, or even a lot better, than you different areas of the business. It is not only a sign of maturity, but a sign of wisdom, to recognize the benefit which comes from such a dynamic in your business. Far too many strive to control the group by making themselves indispensable and the only one who can solve problems, make decisions or create new opportunities. While it may make them feel needed or important it will ultimately be a disservice to customers and kill the business.

Recruit up, attract better, employ the best of the best. Create a culture where there are no small parts or players – where everyone is encouraged and coached to become their very best. Then make an impact on their lives and lead them to impact others and achieve the extraordinary.

To become a giant in the eyes of others, and to succeed in the 21st century, surround yourself with the best and look up to those beneath you!

Thanks – John McLelland for sharing this thought!

Let me know how you did on the test at the end – and share this with other leaders

Best & Worst

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 pariah…………………………………………..A Gossiper
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 Contagious Spirit……………………………………………Enthusiasm

Great food for thought

Thanks for visiting, leave any comments below, and share this with your friends. Have a great day!