Transcript of a Robin Sharma motivational talk (YouTube) about leading without a title. Sharma encourages seeing work as creative expression, pursuing mastery through focused practice, taking personal responsibility, managing stress, being outrageously enthusiastic, valuing simple acts of leadership, and giving ‘the extra 1%’. Includes anecdotes (Picasso, Edison, family story) and practical exhortations.
Chapters
Here's an idea for you.
See yourself as an artist when you.
Go to work every day.
See yourself as someone who gets to.
Create a masterpiece through your work, regardless of what you do.
I think every single one of us has a need for creative expression. We all have in our hearts a longing to go to work every day and to create. That's part of what makes us special. Actually, let me put it this way. We all have a creative longing to realize our potential. It's one of the most fundamental of all human hungers.
How do you get there? Go to work every day, See yourself as an artist. Be brilliant at what you do. It makes you feel so good. Focus plus time equals genius. Most people, Edison was asked, you know, Edison is a fascinating guy.
Came close to 2,000 patents in his life. He was asked, what's the secret if you're a genius? You know what he said?
Most people get up every day. They do many things. I get up every day, I do a few. That is the secret of my mastery.
Picasso one day was in a. In a market and a woman saw him. She said, Mr. Picasso, it's great to see you. I'm a huge fan.
He said, nice to meet you. She said, Mr. Picasso.
She pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil.
Mr. Picasso, can you do a little piece of art for me? Can you do a little drawing?
He said, absolutely. Did a beautiful drying. She looked at it, she said, oh, Mr. Picasso, fantastic.
She starts walking away. He goes, ah, my dear lady, that'll be a million dollars.
She said, Mr. Picasso, a million dollars. It took you 30 seconds to do that?
He said, my dear lady, it took me 30 years to do that in 30 seconds.
When we look at the bonos of the world, when we look at the leading sales professions of the world, when we look at the best leaders without title, when we look at the masters of hr, the masters of R and D, we look at the best business.
People, we say, she's gifted, she's smarter than me, she's better with people than me.
She just somehow knows more than me. She's got a better education, she had an easier background, she got lucky.
You've heard the cliche, because it's true. The harder I work, the luckier I get. I'm here today, I'm an ordinary person, but I focused on my craft. I had a burning desire to be excellent.
I love what I do, what I do. This leadership message. Sharing in my books and speaking is.
My oxygen, it's my DNA.
Four in the morning, I get up and I'm working on my craft because I love it.
I love it. I think every single. I know every single one of us can be a genius quicker than you think. Quicker than you think. But if you focus on all things, then to be all things to all people, you can never really get to mastery or specialty. So be stunningly good at what you do on this first big idea of leading without title.
Secondly, and by the way, you know, I have found that there's a lot.
Of stress in our world. Would anyone agree with me? There's a lot of stress in our world.
And sometimes when we become stressed under.
Stress or we're busy being busy, we.
Forget about focusing on what's most important. Let me, if I may, allow me to share with you one of my.
Favorite stories on stress.
I was in a grocery store a little while ago and I saw a mother pushing her baby. And this baby was crying, screaming, like you can't imagine. And I overheard the mother saying, don't scream, Jennifer. Don't yell, Jennifer. Be calm, Jennifer.
So, friends, I couldn't help myself. I walked over to this woman, I said, madam, I can't tell you how impressed I am by the way you're.
Speaking to your baby. And she looks at me and she says, no, I'm Jennifer.
Ladies and gentlemen, every time you blame your background, every time you blame your boss, every time you blame your clients, every time you blame the culture, you are literally giving away your power to influence. You are giving away your power to be the change you want to see in the world. As Gandhi said.
I think it's an impotent way to live, to say it's because of other people and it's because of circumstances that I'm not playing my best game. My life changed when I realized a simple idea, which is.
Life is a mirror and life gives us not what we want.
Life gives us who we are.
It's amazing what happens as you walk out in the world and as you begin to take responsibility for leading without.
Title, for adding more value, for inspiring people more, for innovating where you're planted.
For building relationships, for being the nicest person that you know what begins to happen through an organization and through your life. Absolute personal responsibility.
Fourth point, become outrageously enthusiastic. And again you're going to say, robin, let's hold hands and sing Kumbaya. You know, being enthusiastic isn't important. Next thing you're going to tell me is get up in the morning and look in the mirror and saying, I think I am. I think I am. I Like myself. I like myself. I like myself. I like myself.
But isn't it true that the most enthusiastic person in the room influences people and they elevate people and they encourage people? Another issue of Fortune magazine a little.
While ago did a story on Richard Branson's Necker island conference. He invited all sorts of amazing people. And the reporter in the room said something I've never forgotten.
The reporter said, it was striking to.
Me.
How in each of the conference sessions, the moguls of these giant firms were always the most enthusiastic people in the rooms.
It's amazing to me when I meet world class CEOs, they are the most humble, the most passionate, they are the most engaged, they are the most lively people in the room.
I think it's fundamentally important to be the most enthusiastic person. You know, I think in so many ways, leadership is about inspiring people by your example.
And children are masters of this.
Children know these fundamentals. Just a little point on how children remember the simple things. My son Colby is 13. He turned 13 a few months ago. And I believe a child only turns 13 once. So I wanted to create an unbelievable experience for my son Colby. I. And I'm gonna do the same for Bianca when she turns 13. So I decided to take Colby to New York, and I wanted to do an amazing, amazing weekend for Colby.
So we had food at my favorite.
Restaurant, we stayed at my favorite hotel, we went to FAO Schwartz, we went to the play Wicked. It was absolutely incredible that night, Sunday night, on the way home on the airplane, I said to Colby, I said, colby, what was the most unforgettable thing about our weekend together? A special father and son weekend. You know what he said to me? He said, dad, on Saturday afternoon, when we were sharing that simple pastry on the street, talking and laughing, he said, dad, that was my favorite moment. It's the simple things that are essential to leadership. The simple things that are essential to life. Be the most enthusiastic person you know. And then the final tactic. The final tactic. Give the extra 1%.
Leadership doesn't happen when things are easy. Leadership is about how you show up when everyone else feels like going home at the end of the day. Leadership occurs on the extra mile. Leadership occurs when everyone has laughed at your idea. Leadership occurs when you feel like giving up and you reach into yourself and you pull out what Carmichael, who is Lance Armstrong's coach, said the final 1%. He said, what made Lance Armstrong great was everyone else gave up at the end, but he kept that final 1% in reserve. And when everyone else was exhausted and everyone else felt like giving up.
Lance Armstrong reached deep within, and that final 1% is what made him world class.
