THE

GREATNESS
GUIDE2
101 WAYS
TO REACH THE

NEXT LEVEL
ROBIN SHARMA

JAICO

PUBLISHING HOUSE

Ahmedabad Bangalore Bhopal Chennai

Delhi Hyderabad Kolkata Mumbai

Published by Jaico Publishing House

A-2 Jash Chambers, 7-A Sir Phirozshah Mehta Road
Fort, Mumbai - 400 001
[email protected]
www.jaicobooks.com
Robin Sharma
Published in arrangement with
HarperCollinsPublishersLtd
Toronto, Canada
THE GREATNESS GUIDE 2
ISBN 978-81-7992-814-1
First Jaico Impression: 2008
Sixth Jaico Impression: 2009
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any
information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Printed by
Rashmi Graphics
#3, Amrutwel CHS Ltd., C.S. #50/74
Ganesh Galli, Lalbaug, Mumbai-400 012
E-mail: [email protected]

CONTENTS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

Be the Best You ...................................................................... 2

Invisible Fences ...................................................................... 4
The Power of Simple ............................................................. 6
Be So Good They Cant Ignore You ....................................... 8
The Success Expansion Principle ......................................... 10
Wear Shiny Shoes ................................................................. 12
Listen Carefully .................................................................... 14
Dream like David ................................................................. 16
Do It Now ............................................................................ 18
JBN ( Just Be Nice) ................................................................ 20
There Are No Mistakes ........................................................ 22
The Blank Slate of Tomorrow ............................................. 24
Get Great at Gratitude ......................................................... 26
Take Charge Fast .................................................................. 28
Ideas Are Worthless ............................................................. 30
Open Your Eyes .................................................................... 32
Symbols of Glory ................................................................. 34
Be Unreasonable .................................................................. 36
Not All Leaders Are the Same.............................................. 38
I Learn from My Mistakes (Sometimes) .............................. 40
Ask Powerful Questions ....................................................... 42
Be Breathtakingly Humble .................................................. 44
Be a Cool Brand ................................................................... 46

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24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47

Cherish Conflict ................................................................... 48

The Responsibility Meter ..................................................... 50
A Lust for Growth ................................................................ 52
Credit Doesnt Matter .......................................................... 54
The Brilliance of Acceptance ............................................... 56
Be a Beautiful Thinker ......................................................... 58
Opinions Dont Matter......................................................... 61
Are You Jokeable? ................................................................. 62
How to Get Power ............................................................... 64
Habits Are Hip ..................................................................... 66
Find Perfect Moments .......................................................... 68
The Paradox of Praise.......................................................... 70
Luck Versus Law .................................................................. 72
Camels Back Syndrom ........................................................ 74
Burn the Extra 1 Percent ...................................................... 76
Remember Reciprocity ........................................................ 78
Say What You Mean ............................................................. 80
Richard Branson and Outrageous Optimism ...................... 82
Beware of Victimspeak ........................................................ 84
Im Stretching Too ............................................................... 86
Stop Trying So Hard ............................................................ 88
The Mirror Test.................................................................... 90
Find Uncomfortable Friends ................................................ 92
Innovate Where You Are ..................................................... 94

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48
49
50
51
52
53
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55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71

Pride in Parenting................................................................. 96
The Hidden Machinery........................................................ 98
Dont Wait for Change ........................................................100
First Principles for Great Relationships ..............................102
Worry Versus Reflection .....................................................104
Believe in Others .................................................................106
The Best Practice Is Practice ...............................................108
Pain Serves You Well ...........................................................110
Your Teams Only as Good as You ......................................112
Music Makes Life Better......................................................114
Dont Fight for Your Excuses ..............................................116
ABC (Always Be Connecting) .............................................118
What Separates You? ...........................................................120
Time Passes Too Fast ..........................................................122
What Happened to Quiet? ..................................................124
A Stainless Character ..........................................................126
Set People Free ....................................................................128
A Day of Listening ..............................................................130
Smart Companies Compete for Emotion ...........................132
Youll Know When You Know ............................................134
Be a Hero ............................................................................136
Why Plan? ..........................................................................138
Ask to Get ...........................................................................140
Do New Things ...................................................................142

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72
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79
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90
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92
93
94
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On Personal Mastery...........................................................144
Be Unpopular ......................................................................146
Own Your Greatness ...........................................................148
Be like Coldplay ..................................................................150
Stop Sleeping So Much .......................................................152
Go Perpendicular ................................................................154
Do Your Life ........................................................................156
Give to Get ..........................................................................158
Be like J.K. ...........................................................................160
Whatever Happened to Commitment? ..............................162
Get Excited or Get Upset ....................................................164
Build Bridges, Not Fences ...................................................166
Fail Faster ............................................................................168
Angels in Your Evolution ....................................................170
Lead by Example .................................................................172
Be an Idea Factory ...............................................................174
Speak Your Truth ................................................................176
Leadership Begins at Home ................................................178
Respect Rules ......................................................................180
Learn from Michael J. Fox ...................................................182
The Journeys as Good as the End ......................................184
What Is Success?..................................................................186
Your Highest Freedom ........................................................188
Go Hollywood ....................................................................190

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96
97
98
99
100
101

On the Burden of Greatness ...............................................192

Live an Intense Life .............................................................194
Make Your Mark..................................................................196
Create Your Body of Work .................................................198
Big like Mandela ..................................................................200
Will You Be Great Today? ...................................................202

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Our lives begin to end the day

we become silent about things that matter.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

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1
BE THE BEST YOU
Warren Buffet once observed, There will never be a better you
than you. Brilliant insight. From a brilliant guy. There will never
be a better me than me. And there will never be a better you than
you. Some might try to copy the way you think, speak and act.
But no matter how hard they try, they will only be a second-best
you. Because you are unique. Only one of you alive today. Among
the billions of us. Makes you stop and think, doesnt it? Makes
you realize you are pretty special. No, very special. And that there
really isnt any competition.
And so today, what will you do with you as you march out
into a world that needs people playing at extraordinary with
their lives more than ever before? Will you exert more of your
hidden potential? Will you liberate more of your natural creativity? Will you uncover more of your authenticity? And will
you be more of the you that you are meant to be? Just wondering. Because there will never be a better time to be the best
you than today. And if not now, then when? Makes me think
of what the philosopher Herodotus once said: It is better by
noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the

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evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for

fear of what may happen. So beautifully said.

There will never be a better time

to be the best you than today.

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2
INVISIBLE FENCES
Im sitting here at the airport in Los Angeles. Was here to speak
to a group of General Electrics high-potential employees. About
Leading Without Title. About standing for world-class. About
their outright Greatness in all they do.
After the presentation I reflected on why so many of us play
small in the core areas of our lives. Why we avoid change. Why we
dont innovate and express the creative genius that resides within
each one of us. Why we refuse to accept the call on our lives. And
why so many of us refrain from being remarkable. The answer I
came up with? Invisible Fences.
Heres what Im talking about: I took a drive out into the countryside last week. To breathe. To renew. To think. I saw a sign from
a dog training company on someones lawn. It spoke of an Invisible Fence. Its a system that sets an invisible boundary that the dog
cant get past. The dog eventually becomes conditioned so that even
when that fence is gone, it will not run beyond it. The dog sets up
imaginary limits that determine its reality. Were like that too. As we
grow up, we adopt negative beliefs and false assumptions and sabotaging fears from the world around us. These become our Invisible

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Fences. We believe they are real. When we bump up against them

at work (and in life), we retreat. We believe the boundary is true. So
we shrink from all we are meant to be/do/have. The illusion seems
so real. But its not. Please remember that.
So I invite you to question your Invisible Fences. Be aware of
them. Observe them. Challenge them. So that when one confronts
you, rather than running away from it, you exercise the force of
will and talent of heart to run through it. Toward the poetic possibilities your life is meant to be. Because what you resist will persist. But what you befriend, you will transcend.

As we grow up, we adopt negative beliefs

and false assumptions and sabotaging
fears from the world around us. These
become our Invisible Fences.

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3
THE POWER OF SIMPLE
I learn so much from my children. Not only are they my heroes
they are two of my best teachers. They have shown me how to live
in the moment, helped me to see life as an adventure and taught
me how to open my heart. And theyve taught me so many lessons
on The Power of Simple. These days, Im all about simple. A simple message about everyone being a leaderno matter what they
do or who they are. Simple ideas and tools (that actually work) to
help people and organizations get to world class. And living a far
simpler life (because, at heart, Im a very simple man). Simple, to
me, is so powerful (Google co-founder Sergey Brin made the point
superbly when he said that at his company Success will come
from simplicity.) Which brings me to Colby, my son.
We went to New York City a few weeks ago. A shared experience that wed planned for a long time; it was all about celebrating
his thirteenth birthday (a kid only becomes a teenager once). We
hung out in SoHo. Went toy shopping at FAO Schwarz. Had a beautiful lunch at Bread (one of my favorite lunch places on earth). And
saw the great play Wicked. A weekend full of precious pleasures and
unforgettable memories. Between a father and his son.

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Sunday night, on the flight home, I asked my young buddy,

What did you like best about our weekend? He sat silently.
Thought deeply. Then he smiled. Dad, you know that hot dog
you bought me on the street yesterday? I loved that the most.
The Power of Simple.

Success will come from simplicity.

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4
BE SO GOOD THEY CANT IGNORE YOU
Heres comedian Steve Martins advice to young comics: Be so
good they cant ignore you. Love it. Life favors the devoted. The
more you give to life, the more life sends back. Its just not possible
for you to be great at what you do, always reaching for your brilliance and standing for excellence, and not win in the end. ( Jerry
Garcia of The Grateful Dead once said, You do not merely want
to be the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones
who do what you do.)
Sometimes discouragement sets in. Happens to all of us. We
try hard, stay true to our dreams and pursue our ideals. Yet nothing happens. Or so it seems. But every choice matters. And every
step counts. Life runs according to its own agenda, not ours. Be
patient. Trust. Be like the stonecutter, steadily chipping away, day
after day. Eventually, a single blow will crack the stone and reveal
the diamond. An enthusiastic, dedicated person who is ridiculously good at what they do just cannot be denied. Seriously.
Steve Martins insight speaks to me deeply. Be so good
they cant ignore you. (Management guru Peter Drucker made
the point slightly differently when he observed: Get good or get

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out.) Apply that philosophy at work. Apply it at home. Apply it

in your community. Apply it to your world. Having the courage to
present your gifts and your highest capacities will yield magnificent rewards. Life is always fair in the end. Trust it.

Life is always fair in the end. Trust it.

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5
THE SUCCESS EXPANSION PRINCIPLE
Heres a powerful idea that just might revolutionize the way you
work and live if you embrace it at a DNA level: Your life will
expand or contract in direct relationship to your willingness to
walk directly toward the things that you fear. Do your fears and
youll shine. Run away from them and you shrink from greatness.
Reminds me of what Frank Herbert wrote in Dune: I must not
fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total
obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and
through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to
see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only
I will remain.
So amazing what happens when you encounter a situation that makes you feel uncomfortable/insecure/scared and
yet, instead of heading for the metaphorical exit door, you stay
strong and do the thing you know you should do. First, you realize that the fear was mostly a hallucination. And second, you get
some kind of unexpected reward for your bravery, because on the
other side of every fear door lie gorgeous gifts, including personal
growth, confidence and wisdom. Ive seen it time and time again.

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Its a law of life, I guess. So run toward fear. Start small. Slow and
steady always wins the race. And watch the success you so dearly
deserve begin to show up. When you most need it.

On the other side of every fear door

lie gorgeous gifts.

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