Robin Sharma - The Greatness Guide - One of the World's Top Success Coaches Shares His Secrets to Get to Your Best

Author of No. 1 Internation Bestseller

THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI

HarperElement

An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 77–85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2006 This edition published by HarperElement 2006

© Robin S. Sharma 2006

Robin S. Sharma asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

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HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBN: 9780007242870

Ebook Edition © MAY 2012 ISBN: 9780007370504

Version: 2014-09-10

I dedicate this book, with deep respect and great love, to my parents. You not only gave me the gift of life but an unrelenting passion to live it fully. For that I am so very grateful.

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

1. I’m No Guru

2. Harvey Keitel and Windows of Opportunity

3. Nothing Fails like Success

4. Be a Rock Star at Work

5. Your Days Define Your Life

6. Drink Coffee with Gandhi

7. Get Some Skin in the Game

8. Be into Breezes

9. Make Time to Think

10. Leadership Begins on the Extra Mile

11. Mick Jagger and Reference Points

12. Business Is Relationships

13. Life Lessons from SpongeBob SquarePants

14. How to Be a Happier Human

15. Work Hard, Get Lucky

16. Know Your Genius

17. Listen Twice as Much as You Speak

18. Your Customers Buy with Their Hearts

19. Learn to Say No

20. Burn Your Boats

21. Grow Leaders Fast

22. Your Four-Minute Mile

23. Push the Envelope

24. On Obituaries and the Meaning of Life

25. Leadership Isn’t a Popularity Contest

26. What Do You Evangelize?

27. Under the Kimono: My Best Practices

28. Culture Is King

29. Your Schedule Doesn’t Lie

30. Shine as a Parent

31. Be a Merchant of Wow

32. Getting What You Want While Loving What You Have

33. Think like a CEO

34. Act like an Athlete

35. Be Wildly Enthusiastic

36. Success Isn’t Sexy

37. On Cuddle Parties and the Sad State of the World

38. The Value of Good

39. Grace under Pressure

40. To Be More Productive, Relax and Have More Fun

41. The Two Magic Words

42. The Value of Dying Daily

43. Client-Focused vs. Out to Lunch

44. Lead Without Title

45. Do Your Part

46. Do You Play?

47. Avoid the “Four F’s Syndrome”

48. Problems Reveal Genius

49. Love Your Irritations

50. Speak like a Superstar

51. Learning or Decaying

52. Simple Tactics for Superb Relationships

53. Rock Stars as Poets

54. The Innovator’s Mantra

55. Pleasure vs. Happiness

56. The $600 Sandwich

57. Good Business Is Good for Business

58. Build Success Structures

59. The Person Who Experiences Most Wins

60. Brand like Diddy

61. Get Big into Blessings

62. Be Wise, Early Rise

63. Who Made Success a Dirty Word?

64. Get Great at Life

65. The Steve Jobs Question

66. What’s Missing from Your Coolness?

67. No Ask, No Get

68. Sell Your Desk

69. Get Fit to Lead

70. Extreme Leadership and Kids’ Clothing

71. The Seven Forms of Wealth

72. Apply the U2 Standard

73. Learn More to Earn More

74. See Through the Eyes of Understanding

75. The Heart of Your House

76. Become an Inspirational Human Being

77. Make a Dent in the Universe

78. Not All Leaders Are the Same

79. Six Reasons to Set Goals

80. Remember the Boomerang Effect

81. Make People Feel Good

82. Commit to First Class

83. Do a Clean Sweep

84. Follow the Million Dollar Baby Rule

85. The Earth Is Small

86. Guests Are God

87. The Beauty of Time

88. On Mountains and Mastering Change

89. What Happened to “Please”?

90. Bon Jovi and the Power of Focus

91. Do a “101 Things to Do Before I Die” List

92. Spend Time with Your Kids

93. Get Goofy at Work

94. Revere Great Design

95. On Evian Water and You as a Big-Time Dreamer

96. Be like Garth

97. Don’t Give Up

98. Get Big on Self-Care

99. Guess Who Inspires Me?

100. How to Live Forever

101. Lay Claim to Greatness

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About the Publisher

“Life is pure adventure and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.”

Maya Angelou

“I used to think that one day I’d be able to resolve the different drives I have in different directions, the tensions between the different people I am. Now I realize that is who I am. I do feel I’m getting closer to the song in my head. I wasn’t looking for grace. But luckily grace was looking for me.”

Bono, lead singer of U2, as quoted in Rolling Stone

The media sometimes calls me a leadership (or self-help) “guru.” I’m not. I’m just an ordinary guy who happens to have learned ideas and tools that have helped many human beings reach their best lives and many organizations get to world class.

But I must be really clear: I’m no different from you. I have my struggles, my frustrations and my own fears—along with my hopes, goals and dreams. I’ve had good seasons and some deeply painful ones. I’ve made some spectacularly good choices and some outrageously bad mistakes. I’m very human—a work in progress. If I have ideas that you find insightful, please know it’s simply because I spend my days focused on the knowledge you are about to experience. Thinking about practical ways to help you play your biggest game as a human being and reach greatness. Dwelling on how I can help companies get to the extraordinary. Do anything long enough and you’ll get some depth of insight and understanding about it. Then they’ll call you a guru.