Simon Sinek’s Life Advice Will Change Your Future | MotivationArk
I Define Myself by who I am not what I do and I think one of the big challenges that a lot of people face is they intertwine their identity with their work I am a lawyer I am a fitness coach or whatever you know somebody wants to do and then if you lose that job by your choice or not your own choice or if you have great success and you get older and you decide to leave retire or do something else I see a lot of people have an identity crisis because they no longer do the thing they did and so I don't mind what I do because I get to be an optimist in everything that I do and the way I live my life is I live completely focused with a vision that is extremely far away completely I'll never get there know I imagine a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do and for me the objective is to figure out all the ways that I can to start moving close Clos and closer towards that [Music] War I never ever imagined that I would be an author I was never one of those people who thought I had a book in them you know and after every book I've written I've said okay that's probably my last one and I said that after the first one but here I am an author because the opportunity showed up that I thought oh this is a good way to move towards that Vision right then people would invite me to speak about my ideas and I thought okay never ever wanted to be a public speaker I actually more of a behind the scenes person I've never desired to be on the front of a prenium but when the opportunities presented themselves I thought well this is a very good way for me to spread this message and to spread this vision and so so when you ask me what do I do I do anything that I need to do to advance towards that Vision I like testing things in real life you know many of my ideas are from real life scenarios where it's not like practice practice practice okay it's ready for the real world now you know there have been more than one occasion where I've walked out on stage and go okay they brought me into to talk about this but I'm having some new ideas are you guys okay if I try talking about this it might completely fail just wanted to get some you know some and like people especially you pick your audiences you pick a room full of entrepreneurs you know they're fine with it and then I would try new things I think what makes it work is very often when we do these things we show up with a selfish disposition right I hope they like me I hope they like my work I hope they buy my book I hope they go to my website I hope they follow me on social media and we act that way people can tell and so I've I've learned early to show up with a givers mentality I don't care if if they like me I don't care if they buy a book I don't care if they follow me on social media or not all I know is is I have something that I think is really valuable and I'm going to give it to you I want to give it to you and I believe I'm giving it to you with all of my Gusto and all of my energy and so like I I remember you know people would apologize because they you know they said there's going to be this size event and like only half the number of people showed up and they're apologizing and I know a lot of speakers who would get angry you promis me this size audience and I was like well I just feel sorry for the people who didn't show up because the people who did show up were going to get all of me you know I hold back nothing and I think when you show up with a giver's heart and I literally will say that before I go out on a stage I will literally say under my breath before I step on the stage you're here to give I will remind myself that what I'm about to do is is an act of generosity I think I have something pretty and I want to share it and people can tell people can tell and so you you have a wide birth when you show up with a giver's heart you can make mistakes and you can stumble over your words and you can talk a little bit too much like I am right now and people are just fine with it so I I think you know we're highly attuned social animals and if you show up to give you can believe it or not you can you can experiment a lot many years ago I had a a meeting at the Pentagon of all places with a big fancy General and I was waiting in the in the foyer just waiting for for him and somebody comes to get you yeah and you have hway talk because walking quietly down a hallway is too uncomfortable and so you have hallway talk which is nonsense it's things like how's you know hot day out today or did you have an easy trip totally you know it's just it's just nonsense and as soon as you walk into the room that ceases right well that's what happened to me the general came to get me and we were walking back to his office and the hallway talk ensued and he said you know Simon um I had everyone in my office read your book and I said my publisher thanks you and he said tell them not to bother I had them read my copy so I learned total Book Sales one total impact huge versus I go to an event and they give away 500 free copies of my book but they use them as you know coasters and door stops total Book Sales 500 total impact zero and so I had to learn that it's not always easy to measure the impact that we have in the short term now I know over the long term Book Sales do are a reflection of the value of my ideas and whether people want them otherwise it would just stop selling like I know over the time but in the short term literally it tells me nothing and I think too many of us confuse that the shortterm impacts that we're having are producing long-term value or conversely having no short-term impact means we're having no value and so I treat it like exercise I know that proc the process matters so for example you can't go to the gym for 9 hours and get into shape it literally doesn't work right no matter how much effort you put in but if you work out every single day for 20 minutes guaranteed 100% you will get into shape when will you get into shape no clue no one knows over time and everyone's different some people little quicker some people little slower and yet we are 100% sure 100% it'll 100% work I just don't know when and we're also obsessed with predicting when it has to be this quarter it has to be the end of the year it has to be when we pay taxes it has whatever it is like you know and and I got very comfortable saying I know that if I stick to the process work out every day for 20 minutes I know 100% it's going to work and I have to get comfortable that I have no control over when sometimes quicker sometimes slower you want to get into shape you have to have the discipline to do it you want to be healthy you have to have the discipline to do do it and so and you have to get comfortable that you cannot predict when success happens you just have to believe that the process works and you stick to the process that's all I