Category Archives: Leadership

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“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”

Adventures of a Curious Character

My book review this week is Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard P. Feynman.

Besides winning the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965, Feynman was an eccentric, larger than life character with a list of achievements and accolades that are hard to fathom. He actively worked on the development of the atomic bomb, traded ideas with Einstein, Bohr, and Nick the Greek, cracked safes guarding highly sensitive atomic secrets, played bongo drums for a ballet, along with a host of other eclectic activities and accomplishments. This is a highly entertaining book full of funny stories, technical theory, and valuable life principles.

My takeaways from this book are the principles that Feynman discovered and exemplified throughout his life. I have listed a few of them below:

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Tribe of Mentors

Short Life Advice from the Best in the World

This week’s book summary is Tribe of Mentors by Timothy Ferriss.

Once again, Ferriss delivers a classic! Tribe of Mentors is a collection of interviews of some of today’s most influential people across all sectors including, business, medicine, sports, and entertainment. This collection of words of wisdom are simply invaluable!

My takeaway from this book is that each and every one of us needs to practice this habit of intense curiosity and learning that Ferriss has perfected. We each need to conduct interviews of leaders in all industries to gather pearls of wisdom, cross-pollinate this wisdom with our own ideas, and share what we are learning with others! You can see a more in-depth summary of Tribe of Mentors by clicking here

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88 Powerful Lessons from Influential Leaders

I find that books are more powerful than any other teaching medium. They are unique packages of an author’s wisdom that provide a different experience for every reader.

Because we all have different life experiences, we interpret what we read through the lens of our own distinctive experiences. This means that two people can read the same book and come away with completely different life changing insights! It also means that you can read the same book more than once over the years and learn something different from it each time!

That is why Timothy Ferriss’ Tribe of Mentors is such a powerful book. Through his insightful questions and powerful interviewing style, Ferriss has distilled the profound wisdom of more than 100 of the world’s most influential people into a single book. It is a treasure trove of wisdom!

Through my lens or worldview, I have selected 88 pieces of wisdom and advice from Tribe of Mentors which I share below. Acting on any one of these pieces of advice could make a profound difference in your life. Acting on more than one is guaranteed to change you!

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The War of Art

Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

This week’s book summary is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

Pressfield does a stellar job of defining what “Resistance” is and how it prevents each of us from reaching our full potential. He has written this book in such a simple, yet profound prose, that anyone can read and understand it – and everyone will be motivated by it! Although the book does have a lot of metaphors and analogies that not everyone will agree with, I still think it is one of the most powerfully motivating books I have read!

My takeaway from this book is that each of us has unique gifts for the “sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter further along its path.” As Pressfield says; “Our creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”

 

Note that I have previously reviewed the following books in 2018:

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How to Make Your Customer a Hero

Everybody wants to be a hero! We all want to be the shining star that our family, friends, peers, industry, and customers look up to!

However, to be that hero, a business leader must take a counterintuitive step backwards and become a supporting character.

Our customers do not want to hire a hero, they want to be the hero!

The best thing we can do for our businesses and careers is to make the customer the hero. In doing so, we will accelerate our business and career and, in a round about way, become heroes ourselves!

What does this supporting character look like? Well, Luke Skywalker would never have succeeded without Yoda by his side to equip and guide him. James Bond would have died in his first movie if Q had not outfitted him with state of the art gear. This theme repeats over and over again in movies, comic books and in real life!

No great leader has ever risen to the top without being supported and guided along the way by a cast of supporting characters. We all have teachers, mentors, coaches, and advocates in our personal and professional journeys that have shaped us into who we are today. This applies to world leaders, business people, innovators, athletes and entrepreneurs. It applies to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan, and to you, me and our customers!

So, how do you become the supporting character and make your customer the hero?