The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in

by Robin Sharma

Victims recite problems. Leaders present solutions.

EACH OF US IS BORN INTO GENIUS. Sadly, most of us die amid mediocrity.

I’m just an ordinary guy who happened to get lucky enough to learn a series of extraordinary secrets that helped me become super-successful

they always did the best that they could do. And in my mind, the best you can do is all you can do.

I still miss them deeply and not a day goes by that I forget to appreciate them. In my quieter moments, I sometimes reflect on the fact that we generally take the people we love the most for granted. Until we lose them. Then we take long, silent walks and pray for a second chance to treat them the way they deserved to have been treated. Please don’t let that sort of regret infect your life. It happens too often, to too many among us. If you are blessed enough to still have your parents, honor them. And do it today.

Within the covers of a single book are ideas that, if acted upon, have the power to rescript every part of your life.

getting lost along your path is a part of finding the path you’re meant to be on.

Age is just a state of mind anyway—a label the tribe uses to pigeonhole people and to place limits on all they can be.

whether you have a formal title or not, you have total control of how you show up in your current role.

“I’ve heard that the best way to help poor people is to make sure you don’t become one of them.”

I’ve not only become successful. I now feel significant.

Only the mediocre die always at their best. Real leaders are always improving—and raising their bar on how superbly they can perform and how quickly they can move. —JEAN GIRAUDOUX

‘We need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed,’ said the thinker G. K. Chesterton.”

‘There will be plenty of time to sleep once you are dead.’

seventy-seven-year-young man,

people all perform the same few leadership disciplines. They consistently practice the same few fundamentals. But their seemingly small, insignificant daily acts of excellence stack up over time to a best-in-class career and a world-class personal life. Which brings us to failure. Failure, on the other hand, is just as easy to slip into. Failure’s is nothing more than the inevitable outcome of a few small acts of daily neglect performed consistently over time so that they take you past the point of no return.

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. —ALICE WALKER

She’s a lovely woman. So very kind. Really industrious. Ever so passionate. And deeply wise.

Success doesn’t just happen because someone’s stars line up. Success, both in business and personally, is something that’s consciously created. It’s the guaranteed result of a deliberate series of acts that anyone can perform. And to me, that’s quite exciting,” Anna said energetically.

We just need to look a little deeper. To try a little harder. And to lead a little better.

It’s impossible to build a tribute to success on a foundation of excuses.”

The I in IMAGE will remind you about the importance of Innovation. We live in what I sometimes call Remake Nation. Yes, America is a superbly creative country that has given birth to many of the world’s greatest advancements and finest inventions. But too many of us in business here have lost the fire within our bellies for genuine innovation. We’ve stopped flexing our imaginations well past the point of normal. We’ve dropped our lust for creativity and our drive to be different. Just look at all the remakes of old movies or outdated songs and you’ll get the point I’m trying to offer you. People are just too scared to be too original these days, so they try to repackage a formula that was successful a few decades ago—with the hope of staying safe. But that’s such a silly business strategy. Innovation always trumps repeating what might have worked in the past. Doing what worked even a year or two ago amid the terrifically unpredictable conditions under which we now do business is a good way to get into some bad trouble. Customers and all the people around you want fresh value and novel forms of excellence—

innovation and creative mastery is to be all about making this day better than yesterday.”

excellence in your work isn’t by some revolutionary idea or some radical initiative. Great careers and great businesses are built by evolution.

Nothing fails like success, because the higher you rise, the easier it becomes to stop pushing the envelope, challenging the status quo, and keeping your focus.

“The starting point of moving to mastery is to raise the expectations you set for yourself. Just make the commitment to be the first, the most, the only, and the absolute best. Expect more from yourself than anyone around you could ever expect from you. Play in the big leagues, Blake!

Few things feel as good as the pride you feel on a job masterfully done. And doing world-class work is also part of the purpose of life, you know?”

People don’t work and live at average because they are average. They behave that way because they’ve forgotten who they truly are. They’ve actually bought into the false thoughts the people around them have taught them and started to perceive themselves as ‘un-special’ and ‘non-genius.’ And because that’s how they now view themselves, they now act in that way.

“And rather than taking personal responsibility for their failure to do what it takes, they make excuses and blame things like their boss or the competitive nature of the industry they’re in or the people they have to work with or the turbulent times around us,” I added. “That’s it, Blake. Or they blame their parents or their histories or the weather. Interesting how human beings protect themselves—and in so doing, destroy themselves. The only weather that matters is the weather within you. And the only economy that matters is the economy between your two ears.”

Yet look at any pro athlete. They’ve spent the best hours of the best years of their lives making the sacrifices demanded by BIW. They got up early. They trained relentlessly. They practiced ferociously. While others watched television, they watched game tapes. While others ate pizza, they ate salads. While others were in warm beds, they were out running on cold days. But they were willing to do it. For their chance at greatness. To have a peek at their genius. And to realize more of their leadership best. Look at any superstar. Each of these people has one thing in common. They focused on getting really good at their craft for more than ten years. They paid the price that success demands. They did whatever it took to get the job done. And so now the world calls them ‘special’ or ‘gifted.’ Not true at all!”

‘A powerful idea is absolutely fascinating and utterly useless until we choose to use it,’ wrote Richard Bach.

Yes, that first step is the hardest. But once you take it, it’ll only get easier.

Daily ripples of excellence—over time—become a tsunami of success.

“I remember reading that the space shuttle uses more fuel during its first three minutes after liftoff than during its entire voyage around the earth,” I observed.

The Daily 5

Dr. Seuss: ‘Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.’

Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us ‘To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.’ ”

Oscar Wilde noted: ‘Be Yourself. Everyone else is taken.’

‘Of course, I have weak thoughts and my ego tries to get me off track every single day. This happens because I’m a human being. But I also have my authentic side, which is my essential nature and all I really am. That part of me creates the noble and brave thoughts—and keeps me on track to become my greatest self. So it’s almost as if I have two dogs inside me. A good dog that wants to lead me to where I dream of going, and that bad dog that tries to take me off my ideal path.’ ‘So which one wins?’ asked the young student. ‘That’s easy,’ replied the elder. ‘The one I feed the most.’ ”

Rather than defining their success by what they get, they define their success by what they give.

INSTANT ACTION STEP

“Just keep in mind that difficult days never last, but strong people always do. That hard conditions are nothing more than chances to become heroic. And that challenging times in both business and in life are incredible opportunities to transform mess into success,”

‘I may not be rich, but I have a rich life.’

my deployment in Iraq was actually a period of profound personal growth upon which I really could use to build an even brighter future. I wouldn’t have been ready to make all the changes I was now in the process of making if I hadn’t endured those experiences. And all of the challenges of my past could be seen as preparation for the oncoming leadership in my future.

One intelligent insight can inspire you to make a decision that shifts you into a revolutionary new way of performing.

The fear you move through when you go to the edge of your limits actually causes your limits to expand.

“What you resist will persist, but what you befriend you begin to transcend,

I learned early on that the only way I’d get good at skiing super-hard terrain was to ski super-hard terrain regularly.

Most people hide in their shells when the going gets rough. They retreat into their bunkers. They push away anything that pulls them the least bit out of their comfort zone. And sadly, in so doing, they also push away their chances for growth, mastery, and lasting achievement. The brave don’t run. Never forget that, dude. The brave eat their fear before their fear eats them.”

“Resisting the opportunities that change brings is a tragic way to live. And the saddest way to die.”