traits that make you strange are the
gifts that make you special and so I
know you’re different because you
wouldn’t be here with me now if you
didn’t feel you’re different
you probably don’t fit in with most
conversations I sure don’t fit in with
most conversations I don’t know a lot
about most things that most people talk
about because I don’t participate in the
majority right I don’t participate in
the news I don’t like to gossip I I like
to encourage people versus diminish
people I like to be productive versus
busy I like to be creative versus
complacent I like to create value versus
take from other people I like to move
into my present and future versus get
stuck in the past I like to be fast
versus move too – too slow I like to be
a leader versus a victim I like to
believe in possibility versus get stuck
in rational thinking because you know
the instinct is so much more powerful
than intellect and all I’m suggesting to
you is simply this it’s the very things
that make you different that make you
authentic and if you don’t fit in I just
want to share with you
I’ve never fit in and the very nature of
anyone who’s living a visionary life and
you are living a visionary life no
matter what you’re doing let’s look at
trapped in labels oh I’m just a coder
I’m just a receptionist in an editor at
a at a restaurant or or in an
organization I’m just a yoga teacher I’m
just a gym manager I’m just a chef in a
restaurant so I’m just a teacher people
always say this when I interact with
them on the social media I’m just an
entrepreneur I’m just a student no
you’re not I’m just a mom I’m just a dad
no you’re not just you’re very special
there are no extra people on the planet
today and I just want to say to you and
validate for you and encourage you those
things that other people might not get
those are your gifts you might be
awkward awesome you see the world
through different lens
Steve Wozniak who was on my stage at the
Titan Summit Zurich the co-founder of
Apple one of the best people I’ve ever
met he would not have been able to
create the Apple platforms and products
that he created if he didn’t see the
world through a different set of eyes
Steve Jobs saw the world through a
different set of eyes Travis kalanick of
uber saw the world through a different
set of eyes Jeff Bezos of Amazon saw
possibility let me have an online store
that initially sells books John F
Kennedy Martin Luther King jr. mother
Teresa Rosa Parks jean-michel Basquiat
Beethoven Michelangelo who did the
Sistine Chapel and in Florence
David Jonas Salk Tesla we could just go
on and on and on and on these people
were misunderstood because the nature of
a genius is to not fit all main reasons
that people do get what they want is
because they don’t actually figure out
what it is and the probability that
you’re going to get what would be good
for you let’s say which would even be
better than what you want right because
you know you might be what wrong about
what you want easily but maybe you could
get what would really be good for you
well why don’t you it well cuz you don’t
try you don’t think okay here’s what I
would like if I could have it and and I
don’t mean I don’t mean in a way that
you manipulate the world to force it to
deliver you goods for status or
something like that that isn’t what I
mean I mean something like imagine that
you were taking care of yourself like
you were someone you actually cared for
and then you thought okay I’m caring for
this person I would like things to go as
well for them as possible
what would their life have to be like in
order for that to be the case well
people don’t do that they don’t sit down
and think all right you know let’s let’s
figure it out you’ve got a life it’s
hard obviously it’s like three years
from now you can have what you need you
got to be careful about it
you can’t have everything you can have
what would be good for you
you have to figure out what it is and
then you have to aim at it well my
experience with people as being is if
they figure out what it is that would be
good for them and then they aim at it
then they get it and it’s strange
because they don’t mess it sad simple
because you know you may formulate an
idea about what would be good for you
and then you take ten steps towards that
and you find out that your formulation
was a bit off and so you have to
reformulate your goal you know you’re
kind of going like this as you move
towards the goal but a huge part of the
reason that people fail is because they
don’t ever set up the criteria for
success and so since success is a very
narrow line and very unlikely the
probability that you’re going to stumble
on it randomly is zero and so there’s a
proposition here in the proposition is
if you actually want something you can
have it now the question then would be
well what do you mean by actually want
an answer is that you reorient your life
in every possible way to make the
probability that that will occur as
certain as possible and that’s a
sacrificial idea right it’s like you
don’t get everything obviously you
obviously but maybe you can have what
you need and maybe all you have to do to
get it is ask but the asking isn’t a
whim or or today’s wish it’s like you
have to be deadly serious about it you
have to think okay like I’m taking stock
of myself and if I was going to live
properly in the world and I was going to
set myself up such that being would
justify itself in my estimation and I
don’t mean as a harsh judge exactly what
is it that I would aim at sit on your
bed one day and ask yourself what’s what
remarkably stupid things am i doing on a
regular basis to absolutely screw up my
life and if you actually ask that
question but you have to want to know
the answer right because that’s actually
what asking the question means it
doesn’t mean just mouthing the words it
means you have to decide that you want
to know you’ll figure that’s out so fast
it’ll make your hair curl
my brain tattoos that I’m become very
well known for is no one will believe in
you until you believe in you and so good
people often become seduced by the
chatter of Thoreau loudest fears and
what I mean by that is we come up with a
great idea let’s say it’s to start a
project that will allow you to lead your
field let’s say it’s an idea for a new
product that will allow you to grow new
company let’s say you come up with an
idea for a new painting if you are an
artist let’s say it’s an idea that will
allow you to take your fitness and your
wellness and your longevity to a whole
new level of wow and pretty shortly
after you come up with the idea your ego
starts screaming because we are good in
our comfort zones but the moment we
start to go blue ocean around our next
level of mastery our fears come up
because we’re going out into the unknown
it’s human you know if you were looking
to look at the psycho biology of it and
you were study the pure biology that
there’s a term called homeostasis human
beings are hard-wired for a steady state
and that kept us alive so literally our
heartbeats around the same amount you
know the 72 beats per minute and our
blood pressure is within a small
bandwidth and that allows us to survive
but what happens is when we come up with
a new idea and when we see a new
opportunity and we start to leave our
comfort zones into the zone of the
unknown where greatness lives we get
scared in the true heroes and the true
Titans and the true masters those people
are not fearless those are people who
have just practiced walking into their
fear and living on the razor’s edge
consistently to the point where they’re
comfortable amid their discomfort that’s
the great opportunity for you not to
avoid fear but to be comfortable in the
unknown to be comfortable when you’re
terrified and that really is what the
great artists the great entrepreneurs
the great titans and the great masters
are very good on doing so the first
reason good people lose
is their faith is not as strong as their
fear or to put it a bit more elegantly
their fears are larger than their faith
and so it would be tactical for you how
do you build more faith while you do
what you’re a frightened to do and it’s
a practice you know a great athlete
practices every morning and a great
producer practices walking into their
fears every single day and what I’m
encouraging you to do is every single
day do one thing that causes your palms
to sweat every single day start training
your brain to hunt for opportunities to
step into that unknown where possibility
lives and if you keep on doing it you’re
literally gonna build some new
neurological hardwiring a new mental a
new pathway in your brain where you
become it becomes easier because as you
know so well all change is hard at first
and it’s messy in the middle and it’s
beautiful at the end this thing you can
do is teach people to write because
there’s no difference between that and
thinking and one of the things that just
blows me away about universities is that
no one ever tells students why they
should write something it’s like well
you have to do this assignment well why
are you writing well you need the grade
it’s like no you need to learn to think
because thinking makes you act
effectively in the world thinking makes
you win the battles you undertake and
those could be battles for good things
if you can think and speak and write you
are absolutely deadly nothing can get in
your way so that’s why you learn to
write it’s like when I can’t believe
that people aren’t just told that it’s
it’s it’s like it’s the most powerful
weapon you can possibly provide someone
with and I mean I know lots of people
who have been staggeringly successful
and watched them throughout my life I
mean those people you don’t want to have
an argument with them they’ll just slash
you into pieces and then not in a
malevolent way it’s like if you’re gonna
make your point and they’re gonna make
their point you better have your points
organized because otherwise you’re gonna
look like and be an absolute idiot you
are not going to get
anywhere and if you can formulate your
arguments coherently and make a
presentation if you can speak to people
if you can lay out a proposal god people
give you money they give you
opportunities you have influence you
want to if you want to have a
world-class company release only magic
another way I could put it only release
Sistine Chapel ceiling level products to
the world Steve Jobs said it beautifully
he said I wanted the icons on the iPhone
to be so beautiful people would want to
lick the screen I had a senior leader
show up at one of my leadership events
and he said you know Robin Steve Jobs
was like that I actually went to his
house and met him shortly before he died
and he didn’t look very well but he
didn’t want to talk about his physical
condition he just wanted to talk about
the product we were launching he was so
mono maniacally focused on the user
experience he literally wanted to
everything to be flawless that was Steve
Jobs is brilliance and obsession I saw
an incredible interview with Johnny I’ve
by Charlie Rose in in that Johnny I’ve
who you know is the design genius behind
a lot of the Apple products he said you
know I knew Steve Jobs and I were
spiritual brothers when we were in a
store one day and Steve Jobs said to me
he goes hey come on over Johnny you got
to see this and I believe from the
interview I believe this is what they
said but they were looking at an arrow
and Steve Jobs said look at how the
sharp point of the arrow is attached to
this part and look how seamless it is
and look at the engineering and I wonder
how they did that and Johnny I’ve said
Steve Jobs was just in the pocket of the
engineering and beauty behind that piece
of artistry
about just raising your standards I may
always tell people if you want to know
how to change your life and give it to
you in three words boring as it sounds
raise your standards and what does that
mean corny as it sounds raise your
standards I’ll thank you for the
breakthrough thought Tony I’m glad I
wasted my time watching this little
email with you but think about it
lasting change is different than a goal
you don’t always get your goals but you
always get your standards maybe it’ll
help you is to think about it this way I
try to explain standards to people with
a different set of words think of it as
everybody in life gets their must they
don’t get their shoulds right think
about it
you must be above a list of shoulds no
they don’t you have a list of the
shoulds things you should do you should
follow through on I I should lose some
weight I should work out more I should
make more calls I should respond more
rapidly to my email whatever you know I
should get into the office earlier I
should be you know more confident
whatever your should list is people love
to have their should list make me met
but it’s kind of like New Year’s
resolutions if it does it’s really
exciting but if it doesn’t which is most
the time it’s a little disappointing but
you kind of know it’s not gonna happen
but when you decide something as a must
for you an absolute must when you cut up
any possible you say I’m gonna find the
way I’m gonna make the way human beings
when they resolve things and they have
make a real resolution inside themselves
which is they raise the standard they
make it a must they find a way think
about in your own life happens you had
some area of your life where you raise
your standard and your life has never
been the same maybe at one time you like
you use smoke cigarettes or you did
something and you did it for years and
you kept trying to change it trying to
change it and kept telling yourself I
should and then one day something
happened something just clicked you over
something took you over that kind of
tipping point and inside yourself you
said no more it was a very very
different experience wasn’t it something
inside has shifted and what was a should
became a must and you’ve never gone back
is there an area like that in your life
you can think of again I ever smoked
cigarettes did you ever eat a certain
way drink a certain form of alcohol and
then finally saying no more you just
don’t go back and notice
this it doesn’t really take any
willpower anymore because somewhere when
we make this click we make something a
must we attach ourselves to it it
becomes part of our identity the one
thing I’ve learned in the last gosh 33
years are working people from now over
100 countries four million people is
human beings absolutely follow through
on who they believe they are and you say
said to me well I’m really gonna work
hard to stop smoking but you know I’ve
been a smoker my whole life and I’m you
know I am a smoker I know your days are
numbered you’re gonna be back smoking
cigarettes again because we all act
consistent with who we believe we are
I tell people the strongest force in the
whole human personality is this need to
stay consistent with how we define
ourselves
if you define yourself as somebody who
is really conservative you’re not gonna
be crazy and act nuts unless you’re
really drunk or something and then you
can say it’s the alcohol when it really
does you finally getting permission to
be yourself the alcohol is your excuse
if you’re a really crazy person you act
crazy outrageous playful you don’t have
conservative because it’s not who you
are
burn often people say well I can’t do
that I’m not that kind of person and I
always say to people really when did you
define yourself I mean really how many
years ago did you come up with what you
could and couldn’t do in your life
I don’t know years ago most people if
they really look at how to living their
life today it’s based on a set of
standards a set of beliefs that they
made choices about 10 20 30 or more
years ago I mean they’re often we made
decisions in our youth or very young
about what to believe about what we were
capable of about who we are as a person
and that becomes the glass ceiling if
you will that controls us there’s a
corny metaphor but it’s true I remember
one time I was with my family at the
circus and there was a person there and
they had this big giant elephant and you
look at this elephant and they take this
little rope
opens neck and they drive the stake into
the ground and I mean you look at this
you know that elephant could rip down
the entire tent with almost no effort
and yet the elephant doesn’t struggle
doesn’t try why cuz the elephant’s
conditioned and they take that elephant
conditioned the elephant when it’s a
baby elephant that’s how they train them
when it’s a little baby elephant and it
doesn’t have the power yet they put a
big rope around it and they drive this
huge stake in the ground and the
elephant fights and fights and fights
and one day finally that often decides
I’m not capable pulling this out and
once that becomes the definition of an
identity of anyone an elephant in this
case they don’t even try anymore it’s
just who I am that’s how it is that’s
just the way it is in my life I’d like
to ask you to take a look at any place
you’ve got a limitation ask yourself
when did I decide to accept that
limitation and you may not even see it
as a limitation you might see there just
that’s who I am but so often our lives
we’ve adapted to be a certain way so
that we don’t fail or so that people
will like us or respect us but it’s not
necessarily who we are joy comes when
you’re spontaneous it’s really hard to
be truly happy when you’re not being
yourself and most of us have no clue who
we are and so a big part of my work if
you’ve ever been to an event you know is
to get people to do things spontaneously
without thinking because that’s when the
real you shows up that’s when the energy
comes alive and when you do that when
you start to connect your true nature
suddenly there’s energy available for
you to set a higher standard for what
you want in your life
that’s what this is really all about and
when I talk about standards when I talk
about you know shoulds versus must think
about your own life I know there have
been areas in your life where some point
in time you just shift it and you raise
the standard in your life change because
whatever people have their identity
attached to they live we live who we
believe we are that’s just how it works
it’s just kind of like I give an example
look at your physical body your physical
body today is an absolute reflection of
only one thing
not your goals not your desires but your
standards the identity you have for
yourself if your standard is you’re an
athlete then
a certain amount of strength a muscle
tone and energy that’s available in your
body on a regular basis because that’s
who you are and so you do whatever is
necessary to maintain that identity
again the strongest force and the human
personalities this need to stay
consistent with how we define ourselves
because if you don’t know who you are
you would not act once you lock in on
that identity your brain finds a way to
keep you there if you say you know and
I’m overweight I’ve always been
overweight I’m big-boned and that’s the
story you’ve got and you’re gonna always
find a way to get back there that’s your
settling point that’s your identity
that’s where things lock in if you see
somebody who’s in a really great shape
you ask him do you work out you know the
answer yes how often and they’ll tell
you three times four times five times a
week whatever in a seminar last people
who here works out at least five days a
week and I’m stand-up and you look
around that room and you know that they
work out five times a week as you can
see their body you don’t just get a
result without some kind of action
without some form of ritual ritual
meaning actions you do consistently now
do you think you knows people that are
out there working out five days a week
do they have more time than you do or I
have for anybody else of course not is
that a wife less busy of course not
it’s just a must for them they must work
out that way and they’ve made that turn
their life change so I’m not saying you
have to work out five days a week I’m
just saying whatever you really want
once don’t get met consistently
standards do whatever you identify this
is Who I am and so it’s not so much
about changing your identity as there’s
expanding it you know deciding that you
know instead of your goals to lose ten
pounds which is not compelling what if
your vision was to get back to my
fighting weight you know just this year
this month this next 90 days I’m gonna
transform my body I’m gonna take on a
new challenge I’m gonna find some
technique or strategy there’s a million
of them that can reframe myself where I
want to feel younger stronger more
vibrant than ever before here’s my
reasons because I want the energy to
really make my life work because it’s
tough out there and I want to be
stronger than I’ve ever been before I
want to go in front of the mirror if I’m
naked not you know want to laughs OH
take a good look and go yeah I’m proud
of whatever I see there
whatever it takes something’s gonna make
you laugh smile something’s gonna tease
yourself but something’s gonna move you
to another level if you identify
yourself in a new way and you own that
every day and that becomes the staredown
you live you’ll find the way to make
that standard real money’s the same way
think about it doesn’t matter what’s
happening quote-unquote in the
marketplace people that make money find
a way to make money no matter what don’t
they I mean most people’s standard is to
pay their bills
so that’s what most people find a way to
do even when economic times get tough
most people if that’s their absolute
standard they find a way some people’s
standard is pay their bills and most of
the time and so most of the time they do
some people standard is not just to pay
their bills but to take care of their
family and maybe even some of their
friends and they find a way in fact you
know if some people may be in a family
where they don’t have enough money they
barely have money to pay their bills
they work through guts out and then
somebody their mother their father or
somebody else their sister gets ill and
there’s not enough money to take care of
it nobody else has money in family they
don’t either but they find a way to get
that money to take care of their mother
or father don’t they and pay their bills
they never could do it before why the
situation made them raise their own
standard and not everybody does that
somebody else in the family might have
money and still don’t take care of their
mother it all comes down to the inner
game my friends changing your life is a
change in the inner game the outside
world you can’t control but you have
absolute control over this one if you
learn the dynamics of what shapes you
and identity is one of those simple
clear fundamental basics that if you
start to shift it everything else will
shift in your life as well some people
by the way have to have more than enough
money to do what they want when they
want where they want with whomever they
want contribute the way they want if
that’s there must they find a way I know
that sounds overly simplistic but it’s
true now somebody once said you could
take all the money in the world out of
the hands of everybody out of all the
wealthy people in the world who are
really successful given to other people
it wouldn’t take too long those people
would have it back in their hands it’s
not because they’re manipulate it’s cuz
they have a standard some are manipular
don’t get me wrong but they’ve got a
standard of what they’re gonna find a
way to make
happen I’m just simply saying to you
take those three magic words and live
them raise your standard for the next 90
days your first 90 minutes at work make
it focused on your single most important
project I’ll repeat that again for the
next 90 days the first 90 minutes of
your work day focus mono maniacally on
your single most valuable project I call
it your game-changing move so it might
be it might be creating a new piece of
code that will revolutionize the
marketplace it might be a new product
that when you launch it will fill a need
within your industry that no peer is
currently providing I don’t know what
your game changing move is but this is
your poetry this is your magnum opus for
the next 90 days so what most people do
is you know people who are playing at
victimhood people who are in the ninety
five percent people who are making
excuses about ordinary results in their
life a lot of them are not doing the
things that would give them legendary
results and what they do is they get to
the office and rather than using prime
time for a activities they use their
best hours watching dancing cats on
whatever it is whatever the video
platform is they spend their best hours
surfing the internet looking at blogs
they spend their best hours playing with
notifications reading notifications
chatting with friends who are not really
their friends but really they’re just
bored so they’re distracting themselves
which is just a form of medication
because potential unexpressed turns to
pain and they’re in a lot of pain and
it’s subconscious and they haven’t done
the work to know it so really they’ve
created these drugs of choice like too
much email too much web surfing too much
chit chatting too much looking at funny
looking videos that make them laugh in
the moment that make them feel happy and
give them a short burst of dopamine and
maybe a little bit of serotonin which is
the pleasure neuro trick
neurotransmitter and that’s how they get
through their day and all I’m saying is
there’s so much distraction available to
you out there that if you are not
acutely careful it will dominate your
days what I’m really trying to say is
this a ritual for you to run and dial in
and hardwire to the point of
automaticity that’s the word the
researchers use when a habit becomes
your new normal over 66 days is the 1991
rule and to give it to you again so you
really remember it for the next 90 days
your first 90 minutes create a tight
bubble of total focus so that no one can
distract you turn off your devices put
them in a little plastic bag put some
reminders on your door maybe some
post-it notes that this is my type
bubble of total focus for the next 90
minutes tell your team tell your loved
ones maybe get it put a Do Not Disturb
sign on your door they’ll laugh and
explain it to them that for the next 90
days I will spend 90 minutes away from
distraction away from technology away
from interruptions focusing on my magnum
opus focusing on the genius project that
I want to bring into the world because I
will never mail it in I will always
bring it on and I’m gonna do this for
the next 90 minutes I’m gonna optimize
it and iterate it every day and I’m
gonna bring my full bandwidth because
what makes a genius they all have one
trait in common they were able to spend
extended periods of time in isolation
focused mono maniacally on their most
valuable project I know you stated in
the last lecture that the importance for
setting aims in life and to kind of have
goals to work towards right so my
question was where do you how do you do
that if you don’t know where you want to
go because that’s kind of where I got
stuck on you’re your future off offering
program because okay that’s that’s a
good question that’s a really good
question so there’s this notion in the
Old Testament that morality is following
a sequence of prohibitions there’s a
bunch of bad things you shouldn’t do and
then basically you’re good enough and
I think there’s wisdom in that I think
that’s kind of where children start
right you I mean I love children and all
that but they’re there they’re crazy
little creatures and they need to be you
know civilized and partly what you do is
you you lay prohibitions on them and
mostly what you’re trying to do is lay
prohibitions on them for the behaviors
that if they manifested would make their
life miserable so this is why this thing
that I’ve said the people has become
this crazy internet mean but that’s to
clean up your room and which which is a
lot better more useful than people think
it’s a lot harder to but the thing the
first thing you do I think and I learned
this in part from Solzhenitsyn when he
was trying to iron out his soul when he
was in the gulag because he was trying
to figure out how he got there how he
contributed to how he got there
you know not Stellan and Hitler even
though they were kind of a blade you
know but who as much he could do about
that I think what you have to do and
this is part of humility is you have to
look around you within your sphere of
influence like the direct sphere of
influence and fix the things that
announce themselves as in need of repair
and those are often small things you
know and they can be like your room put
it in order because the thing is it
isn’t exactly so important that your
room is in order although it is what’s
important is that you learn how to
distinguish between chaos and order and
to be able to act in a manner that
produces order and I think you can you
can do something as simple as just sit
on your bed and think okay
there’s probably like five things I
could do today so that tomorrow morning
is slightly better than this morning was
at least or at least I’m not falling
behind and those will usually be it’s
like having to eat a toad in the morning
right it’s like it’s not gonna be
something you want to do there’ll be
things you’re trying to avoid there’s
snakes essentially but if you ask
yourself like you’re asking someone
which i think is a form of prayer if you
ask yourself instead of telling yourself
you know what is it that I could do to
set things more right today that I would
actually do it’s usually some small
thing because he’s not that disciplined
you know then you can go do it and then
you we put the world together a little
more when you do that
and that spreads out but he also put
your you also construct yourself into
something that’s better able to call
order forth from chaos and that makes
you just incrementally stronger and then
the next day you can maybe take on a
slightly larger task and like you get
the benefit of compound interest if you
do that it’s a tremendously powerful
technique and they think if you do that
at some point instead of just having to
fix things up that are not good you’ll
start to get a glimmer of the positive
things that you could do you know the
positive things that you could do that
would actually constitute a vision now
that’s what I would recommend getting
things is not gonna make you happy
that’s good news in a tough economy it’s
a good reminder you know it doesn’t
matter what you get doesn’t matter
whether it be money or opportunity all
those things might excite you for the
moment you know even a relationship as
magnificent it may be might be exciting
for a while but if you don’t keep
growing that relationship isn’t gonna
stay exciting so the secret to real
happiness is progress progress equals
happiness and if we can make progress on
a regular basis we feel alive and that’s
why at the beginning of the year we get
this thing like okay I can have this
fresh start I could really do what my
soul desires I could expand I could grow
I can improve I could change or maybe
better than change I could progress see
think about that progress isn’t
aliveness to it doesn’t it you don’t
have to work at changing people say all
the time that allow I’m working on
changing don’t worry about it the work
on changing changes automatic your
body’s gonna change whether you want it
or not as the years go by you no matter
how hard you work there’s gonna be some
changes going on there if the economy is
gonna change no matter what you want it
to do the weather is gonna change
relationships are gonna change
everything in life is always changing we
have to work on change change is
automatic but progress is not so if you
want to make real progress then you
really got to look at your life in a
different way you gotta say I gotta take
control of this process and not just
hope that’s gonna work out like people
do who make a resolution
you’ve heard me talk about the 2x 3x
mindset so to double your income and
your impact triple your investment
including your time investment in two
core areas your personal mastery and
your professional capabilities you see
when you work on your personal mastery
you awaken your mind set your heart set
your health set in your soul set and
when you get those four interior
empires to world-class you become a
force of nature out in the world and you
do epic things so you want to work on
your personal mastery like you’re doing
here with me right now by listening to
this episode and then the second thing
you want to do is you want to work on
your professional capability you want to
be the heavyweight champion of your game
you want to dial in your sport whether
your sport is entrepreneurship whether
your sport is being a chef whether your
sport is being a coder whether your
sport is being a manager whether you’re
an entrepreneur a CEO an astronaut a
poet I don’t know what it is but when
you focus on your personal mastery and
your professional capability and you
really work on those I’m talking about
hours every day if you are serious about
leading the field what starts to happen
is this you become a vastly more
valuable person you become very aware
and that’s why I say education is
inoculation against disruption that’s
why I suggest you with great love and
respect leadership belongs to the
learners Maya Angelou said it
beautifully she said when you know
better you can do better with better
awareness you can make better choices
and with better choices you’re gonna see
better results I mean it’s the awareness
that you bring to every day based on
your learning based on your investments
in training well what does that do it
gives you the ability to a to make
better choices better decisions and you
look at a great life it’s just a series
of beautiful choices done daily stacked
on over time and so when you get great
awareness heightened awareness or acute
awareness of what it means to be a
leader and
performer and a player an awesome human
being an epic producer a fit human being
a loving human it just goes it on would
that awareness via your learning you can
make better decisions every day better
choices every five years we have a
review for our strategy now our strategy
is always to look at the 30 years and 10
years every strategic decisions we make
we have to ask one question this
decision we make solve society problem
because we believe the bigger social
problem you solved the more successful
you are so if we do this cannot solve
any social problems we don’t do it
second there is this project is going to
be successful in 10 years if is it’s
going to be successful in 10 years let’s
do it if it’s going to be successful in
one year or one mouth not what I say
forget about it because why you can be
successful in one year or one mouth so
we all have to put param and five years
ago we had a big debate about 10 years
later 20 years what are the things this
China Society the world leaf want so we
say happiness and health to age strategy
to happiness and health we believe Holi
you know the movie industry bring people
happy because today nobody is happy
rich people not happy poor people not
happy you know at least when I watch
movie after you’re happy but right so I
think we should have partner with the
Hollywood especially like a lot of you
know we have a different way of living
and in China the movie we have a lot of
heroes but China movies heroes always
dead the American me movie hero never
die
if all the heroes die who want to be the
hero so my movie I want to make the hero
live right so this is this is I think we
should learn a lot and it’s only about 2
years so we have another eight years ago
I want to make our company that it’s not
ecommerce it’s something that giving
people inspirations given people because
I learned a lot for example I will say
that my favorite movie forest the gum
you know life is tough this is I learned
and that inspired me that is why when
people call me crazy stupid pass the 70
years you’re crazy I do you something
never work
you’re stupid how can do that model
Emma’s in this model eBay this model why
Alibaba this model I told myself
Forrester gum said go ahead I would care
about what the other people and the
other thing Forrest Gump said nobody
make money out of the catching whales
people make money by catching shrimps so
we serve small business very not so many
times you have a modicum of talent in an
area may be just enough talent to
appreciate people who are really called
to that area it doesn’t mean that you
need to necessarily go out and do that
thing you must understand that the
purpose is it’s an underlying chemistry
that makes you live your life it may not
be you may not have a strong time let me
give an example cuz I’m a Samana let me
give you a talented the musician I can
play the piano not well enough to be
maestro but I have a modicum of talent
in that area but that was not my purpose
it but many many times we start working
in an area that we have talent but it’s
not our purpose I tell my kids this you
may start out doing something that it’s
not the thing you were created to do it
may only be the thing that leads to the
thing you were created to do
understand what I’m saying so you can’t
don’t stop at where you are as if it
were the destination when in fact in
reality it may be the transportation
that brings you into that thing you were
created to do I think it’s very
important sometimes to look at old older
work and it can give you ideas for you
know the present work and or even its
ideas for the future it’s kind of
important to sometimes go back and I
felt that same way about seeing the
films with my son I was glad I went back
and it kind of inspired some things for
the future and it was basically a good
experience you have to own your own
happiness take it away from other people
demanding that they make you happy your
kids are not gonna make you happy your
spouse is not gonna make you happy a big
house is not gonna make you happy on
your own happiness would be responsible
for doing those things that bring joy
into your own heart independently of
life and people and money and all of
that stuff it doesn’t necessarily give
you a happiness you have to take
responsibility of that peace and that
joy that lives inside of your heart and
not inside of your stuff I personally I
love restrictions because it forces you
to create you know in this kind of like
boundaries and maybe you think of neat
ideas and with because of these
restrictions it’s always in a film you
wish that you could be doing something
else it’s just like having a it becomes
you want to escape and I think it’s like
this pressure and responsibility is just
a yearning to be doing doing anything
you know when going anywhere so many
times going to the studio in the morning
I wish the driver would you know become
crazy and take me anywhere but when you
get there you’re back in it and working
in spite of the restrictions it’s such a
fantastic process and it’s creating and
creating is the coolest thing that we
can do enjoy the journey not the
destination
a lot of us delay our happiness when I
get to this level when I get my degree
when I get the kids when I get married
I’m gonna be happy enjoy the journey
enjoying the whole step the whole
process every day that you get up to
strive for whatever it is you’re after
you know I’m a goal-oriented guy yeah
and so you don’t celebrate when you get
to the finish line celebrate all along
the way so they all along the way yeah
for me what has happened is the heavy
you know weight of anxieties and fears
those things have gotten less and less
and less and for me life has gotten to
be more like a game and the things that
used to you know almost kill me don’t
kill me so much and enjoyment of doing
gets so beautiful and the ideas are
flowing more and more and that the
thrill of it all the thrill of it all I
appreciate people more I see people and
I see their faces and I I feel like I
they seem familiar and I just don’t have
so many problems and life gets more and
more beautiful
and I still love the same things you
know painting and making films it just
gets better and better
that’s by experience
[Music]
when you finish a film your job
basically is over and when you you have
a desire to share your work and so you
put it out into the world and you
realize that yes you can help the film
some by giving interviews or you can go
to some places and and have talks but
basically the film is on its own and you
can’t tell whether it’s going to go good
or going to go bad if it’s important
that you believe in your work and and
that’s the most important thing
assume that the person you are listening
to might know something you don’t this
is a chapter about conversation and
about the different forms conversation
takes and so chapter about humility and
it’s a chapter about listening and the
humility element is it took me a long
time to understand why there’s religious
injunctions supporting humility but to
even understand what the word really
meant and that sort of technical sense
and it means something like this it
means what you don’t know is more
important than what you know and that’s
a lovely thing too then then what you
don’t know can start to be your friend
you see people are very defensive about
what they know and for the reasons we’ve
already discussed but the thing is you
don’t know enough and the Riu can tell
you don’t know enough because your life
is not what it could be and neither is
the life of the people around you you
just don’t know enough and so what that
means is that every time you encounter
some evidence that you’re ignorant
someone points it out you should be
happy about that because you think oh
you just told me how I’m wrong it’s like
great like maybe I had to sift through a
lot of nonsense to get through the real
message that you’re telling me but if
you could actually tell me some way that
I’m wrong and then maybe give me a hint
about how to not be wrong like that well
then I wouldn’t have to be wrong like
that anymore that that would be a good
thing and and you can you can you can
embark on that adventure by listening to
people and if you listen to people they
will tell you they’ll tell you amazing
things if you listen to them and many of
those things are little tools that you
can put in your toolkit like Batman
and then you can go out into the world
and use those tools and you don’t have
to fall blindly into a pit quite as
often and so the humility element is
well do you want to be right or do you
want to be learning
and it’s deeper than that it’s do you
want to be that the tyrannical king
who’s already got everything figured out
or do you want to be the continually
transforming hero or fool for that
matter who’s getting better all the time
and that’s actually a choice you know
it’s a deep choice and it’s better to be
the self transforming fool who’s humble
enough to make friends with what he or
she doesn’t know and to listen when
people talk and listening is a
transformative exercise like if if you
listen to the people in your life for
example if you actually listen to them
they’ll tell you what’s wrong with them
and how to fix it and what they want
they can’t even help it if you start
listening because people are so shocked
if you actually listen to them that they
tell you also those sorts of things that
they might not have even intended to
things they don’t even know and then you
can you can work with that
that’s a gentle meditation it’s
obviously the most important thing to do
day in and day out transcending is the
key to a better and better life and this
idea is catching on more and more in the
world the receptivity to Transcendental
Meditation is growing by leaps and
bounds thanks to so many in this room
and someone else others around the world
it’s really happening it’s built for the
human being and transcending our nervous
system is built to transcend an
experience that unbounded eternal
infinite immortal immutable ocean of
pure consciousness within its money in
the bank meditate regularly
my challenge in our generation is it
gradually to entertainment through
television through media through every
way possible we are living in a
generation of the dumbing down of ideas
because we have traded effectiveness for
busyness statistics say yes somebody
oughta clap no matter we are busier than
any other generation we have seen in the
last three to four hundred years we are
so busy where we are a busier than a
wall within a one-armed wallpaper hanger
richest BSE bill you’ll get it later
don’t worry about anything it hits in a
minute we are just as busy as we can be
and we think because we’re busy we’re
effective but I want you to challenge
your schedule for a minute and ask
yourself are you are you really being
effective or is your life cluttered with
all kinds of stuff that demands you and
drains you and taxes you and stops you
from being your highest and best self
and are you substituting busyness and
all the chaos that goes along with
business from being effective let me
tell you a bunch of scientists got
together they begin to do some research
and they begin to determine that 80% of
the things we do are busy things that we
do in an area that is not effective that
the average person only spends 20% of
their time doing the thing that they are
really gifted at creative and passionate
about excited to do and the rest of it
is all the dismal dumb stuff that we all
have to do in order to survive just
crazy stuff that we’re doing wonder what
would happen if we would go from doing
80% of things that are busy but not
effective and 20% of the things that are
really effective if we would switch
those numbers around
and only give 20% of our time to the
things that we have to do and 80% of our
time to the thing that we were created
to do wonder what would happen to your
life now think about it a minute there’s
a lot of things you could take from it I
could make it you could take my suit I
got another one you can take my car I
could get another one you could take my
house I could get another house but when
you take my time you have taken
something from me
that is totally irreplaceable we take
all kind of classes for money management
we know how to manage our money we know
how to repair our houses we’re working
on our hair and our bodies and all of
this kind of stuff we do everything
except the most important thing is to
value our time it takes time to be
creative you were meant to be creative
you were created in the likeness and the
image of a creator and in that likeness
and in that image you have creativity if
you had time you would be creative but
in the absence of time and with busyness
and clutter the following baby y’all got
music playing on your phone all kinds of
stuff and no matter what kind of song
you put on after why you hate to hear it
because every time you hear that sound
you know it’s somebody else one
something else from you this taking you
away from what you are gifted and
creative to when God created this planet
he created up several species now if
you’re an atheist it’s okay call it the
force let me just say God for now set up
say God the forest God the forest let’s
just say God right now God creates the
planet Earth and first of all he creates
which a lot of people and different
organizations want a perfect social
economic world where everything is free
don’t worry about a thing you’re taking
care of there’s no extra imagination
necessary because all I can be given to
you so he creates the oyster eases
oyster I’m giving you a free house to
live in I’m calling it a shell I’m gonna
put at the bottom of the ocean to
protect you from your enemies you have
food
all the food you want protection
everything you want the perfectly taken
care of while you’re in your measly
little life as an oyster but you’re not
gonna go anywhere your stay there at the
bottom the ocean but you’re totally got
your free food free clothing for
everything one then God created
something called the Eagle Eagle whole
different species eagle you want a house
you go out and build it take the top of
a mountain take the top of a tree go out
and build your own house you want some
food to eat no problem go out there and
find it eagle and the eagle flies
through miles and the winter time of
rain sleet snow and wind just to feed
its young did you know the Eagle fails
ninety-five percent of the time a total
failure it’s so big and cumbersome that
when it comes upon its prey they’re wild
they should off in a different direction
and it misses 5% of the time it succeeds
and what does succeed to do it succeeded
to be the strongest bird in the sky the
only one that we know of anywhere in the
world that could fly into the thermals
of a hurricane and ride them to have fun
now the eagle unlike the oyster can go
any where it wants anywhere it wants ya
Gamble’s it does is on its own but it
goes wherever it wants now that eagle
and not the oyster is the emblem of
America and also on the flag of many
many countries you wouldn’t be in this
room right now if you weren’t Eagles
don’t only imagine start doing it thank
you peace love and happiness all of you
thank you very much let me tell you some
of the stuff you’ve been through don’t
pay any attention it is just a sign that
the baby is coming you’re on the verge
of birthday you’re on the verge of
birthday you
the verge of birthday you’re about to
give birth I want you to touch everybody
you can reach and tell them the baby is
coming the baby is coming the baby is
coming the baby is coming the baby is
coming the baby is coming the baby is
coming the baby is coming you don’t want
to leave me now the baby is coming you
don’t want to walk out on me now the
baby is coming my my most creative
moment yet I haven’t produced my dream
yet I don’t care whether you’re 30 40 50
60 70 there’s something bound inside of
you that’s still kicking inside of you
that wants to get out and it wants to
live
and watch to laugh the whole reason
you’re here today is because there’s
something in you that needs to be fed
that needs to be starred that needs to
be electrified
[Applause]
[Applause]
she was going to listen they’re gonna
miss it they’re gonna miss the greatest
part of you the greatest part of your
destiny the greatest part of your
creativity it took everything you went
through yesterday to get you ready for
what you are about to do today you are
standing on the verge of a Great
Awakening or you wouldn’t be here if I’m
talking to you make some noise it is fun
[Applause]
believe their businesses in you
companies in you concepts in you books
to be written paintings to be drawn
concepts to be birth ideas creative
concepts there’s something that you
could do that you could think in your
life that would radically change your
life somebody could take the hand you’ve
been built and win with it same
circumstances same ideas they would do
it through what they thought about your
life but we don’t need somebody cuz we
got you we got you you’re the one you
are the one I want you to join hands do
something for just a minute I’m telling
you right now if you are going to birth
your dream you’re calling your passion
and the second half of your life you
can’t draw back when life gets tough
you’ve got to stand up to it and push
get that person by the head because
there’s something inside of them that is
about to happen squeeze their hand
and when I count to three I want every
man and every woman that’s got a concept
that’s got an idea
I want you to push with all of your
might until dreams and concepts and
ideas start to birth out of you in the
middle of the night you will need pens
and pads by your bed tonight
close your eyes to get up in the middle
of the night and start writing down all
the stuff
[Applause]
it’s all in the mindset when you get up
in the morning you do what you normally
do
I would eventually say a lot of you here
probably turn on your cellphone’s your
computers and what’s the latest email
what’s the latest text that comes in you
start your day off like that that’s your
mindset try this get up in the morning
do whatever you have to do don’t turn
the computer on don’t turn the TV on go
right back to bed again either lay there
or sit there and just bring the universe
to you here’s how you do it you just be
it’s virtually impossible when you first
do it because the thousand thoughts come
through your head we’re human beings so
what you do is your city in bed look at
the wall look at the off TV set look at
the ceiling look at the door look at
something in the room to get your
attention and just look at it and just
be for a couple of minutes not 10
minutes not 20 minutes not two days just
be when your mind wanders find another
spot in the room to look at you’re back
in present time even for a couple of
minutes now go about your day don’t
think about what you’re gonna do for
that split few minutes
you’re now becoming part of a universe
which is also part of global thinking
you’re just harmless you’re like a
rabbit rabbit isn’t virtuous it’s just
just can’t do anything except get eaten
it’s not virtuous if you’re a monster
and you don’t act monstrously then
you’re virtuous but you also have to be
a monster while you see this all the
time Harry Potter’s like that too it’s
like he’s he’s flawed he’s hurt he’s got
evil in him he can talk to snakes man he
breaks rules all the time all the time
he’s not at obedient at all but you know
he has a good reason for breaking the
rules and if he couldn’t break the rules
him and his little clique of rule
breaking you know troublemakers if they
didn’t break the rules
they wouldn’t attain the highest goal so
it’s very
earlier but it’s it’s very there it’s a
very very very very common mythological
notion you know the hero has to be the
hero has to be a monster but a
controlled monster Batman is like that
you know I mean it’s it’s everywhere
it’s it’s the Tor story you always hear
if I had email I would be inundated I
choose not to have email or ever turn a
computer on now all my companies are
state of the art technologically
advanced if I want something printed out
it’s printed out for me but I do this
out of choice I’d rather make a phone
call to you or write you a letter and
communicate the way you deserve to be
communicated with and no disrespecting
people on email and I’d be so inundated
my gosh I’d be on that computer all day
long I prefer to have that personal
touch and it seems to work with all the
companies I have that I’m quite active
in but I have great presence running
most of them thank God a very bless our
right to take care of the details but
I’m still hands on in many many of the
businesses here and it’s I can work
better that way and it goes down to this
pay attention to the vital few ignore
the trivia many if I’d email no
disrespect there be a lot of trivia on
there I be answering I try and pay
attention to the vital for you I think
northern trivia
what do you differentiate those those
two categories to be like where would
let’s say you’re president be and where
would like the head of a sales division
be are they are two sides of that
equation no what it is is if it’s one of
my companies you could call me directly
but people know call me directly if you
have to but don’t bother me with
something someone else can handle then
they do it works really really fine
works really well but what’s important
would be obviously presence of company
anyone that’s involved with me either
filling tropically the main people
feeling properly are the main people my
business is or places or countries I
want to reach out to of the head of a
country will call me I’ll call them
right back you know things are very very
significant insignificant are I’ll give
you an example
in my life it has been significant I’m
hit up every months for hundreds of
requests send me a hundred dollars send
me a two million dollars you have all
the money share it with me and I just I
don’t even touch it I can’t I
I’m swarmed I do so much philanthropy
now everyone expects that whether it’s a
two million dollar mortgage or hey I
want to start a new business send me
fifty thousand dollars because you have
money I don’t that people should do it
well that’s not true
I spend millions on philanthropic work
but I do it through our foundation where
it really makes sense not where I have
to go through it all so my question is
how do you begin to set up that system
so that you have the and I’ll call it a
luxury in some ways of communicating as
you see fit when you see fit with those
key decision-makers well for starters
I’m the chairman of the board okay of
the major company so I no detail what’s
going on from the chairman of the
board’s point of view I also know that
the people that I’ve hired can do what
they’re doing much better than I can and
I know what I need to know and so do
they so they could pick up the phone and
call me JP we just did this or look what
we’re doing here I also attend meetings
on a regular basis to see where we’re at
and where we’re going and meet with
marketing people meet with promotional
people meet with our educational people
sports marketing people to get a
hands-on feel for what we’re doing where
we’re going and those really important
meetings icing and to help make the
decision speak to my kids like you
really go and do that is that great is
that gonna make a difference are you
sure that’s what you want to spend your
time doing so that competitive thing
that just opened up a big door because
that’s one of the things I want to
instill in you guys I’m looking at and
and and and and I shaped my career
sometimes I use it I used the muse of
LeBron James LeBron and he motivates me
every day I see him he’s he’s up at 6:00
in the morning he’s playing his music
he’s loving what he’s doing he’s
conscious he’s he’s working out at 6:00
in the morning you don’t have to really
work out at 6:00 in the morning he’s
working out at 6:00 in the morning
harder than everybody else that’s one of
the keys that’s why you’ll say I’m
number one a lot this is a fact I wanted
more than enough almost everybody in
here
I wanna I wanted more than almost
everybody in here that’s what I’m
talking about you gotta stand up for
yourself and be able to compete that’s
right and you got to put the work that
it’s gonna take to do it I don’t know if
you’re gonna do the same work as I’m
gonna do I’m gonna read up on it I’m
gonna say they’re gonna be like yo let’s
go to live tonight be like I’m not gonna
live tonight I gots to get to the back
hey you let’s yo let’s let’s smoke some
I can’t now I’m not smoking them rich
alright now I gotta get to the back
there’s a time and a place for
everything there’s a time and a place
for everything but you have to be ready
we got the same 24 hours you got to use
your time wisely and you have to be
ready to really really do the things
other people aren’t trying to do work
most of my life in high school there was
Stewart’s cleaners after school would go
there I would put the drape on the
hanger the sleeve on the hanger and the
janitor of all the cleaners clean
everything up I worked for a dollar in a
quarter an hour
the only reason was a dollar and a
quarter in hours because the steward had
to pay that it was required by law or
he’d be giving me 50 cents an hour who’s
a very tight very tight wad guy so I
come in one day after school and he says
to me to go to work he says Johnny come
here want to talk to us okay taja stirry
says Johnny I was upstairs yesterday and
I napped after I finished working I was
tired and I dropped my watch on the
floor I put on the tape one on the floor
and I went down I picked it up and I
noticed under the cot I was lying on
there was no dust
I moved the cot there was no dust I
looked behind the filing cabinets there
was no dust or whatsoever
zero dust you really are a great janitor
I said it’s my job to do what I do when
I do it not when someone else is looking
tie this guy in the world gave me a 25
cent raise two dollar 50 where I went to
high school I was high as fake kid and
maybe a dolphin the neighborhood we
didn’t have a lot of million
stays what it was was if people if
humans can imagine doing what you have
to do when nobody is watching you you’re
doing is if someone is right there
watching you and in your free time
you’re not trying to elongate something
you’re doing what you should do without
people watching you do it rule number
two is uh treat yourself like you’re
someone that you care about and that
that’s a deeper chapter I would say like
chapter one is kind of comical but it’s
also got this serious scientific end for
example and it’s practical like most of
the rules are chapter two is a bit of a
meditation on why see I read this I read
this cite this piece of work by Jung a
long while back and he it was a
meditation on the injunction to treat
your neighbor as as you would like to be
treated
something like that and what Jung
pointed out which I really liked was
that that wasn’t an injunction to be
nice to other people
it was an invitation to reciprocity it
was something like this is like you
should figure out how you would like to
be treated like you were taking care of
yourself not how you would like people
to respond to you it’s more important
than that it’s like imagine you had a
child that you really cared for and
someone said well people will treat this
child exactly like you want them to but
you have to figure out what that is and
so then you’d have to sit down for like
a month and you’d think okay well how do
you want your child to be treated you
don’t want everyone just to be nice to
him you know you want people to
challenge them and you want people to
discipline them and you want people to
tell them when he is wrong it’s like you
don’t just want everyone to be nice
that’s that’s pathetic it’s pathetic
isn’t there’s no challenge in that and
so well you want to treat other people
like you would like to be treated well
then you have to figure out how would
you like to be treated well you’d like
people to fawn all over you and just lay
everything at your feet it’s like no
that’s that’s not something you’d wish
for for someone that you were taking
care of and then then there’s an
additional problem which is it’s often
the case that people will treat other
people better than they treat themselves
that happens extremely frequently so one
of the things I pointed out chapter two
was that if you have a dog and you take
him to a vet and the
that gives you your prescription
medicine you’ll go buy the medicine and
you will give it to the dog and you will
do it properly but if you go yourself to
a doctor and you get a prescription
there’s one that there’s a 30% chance
you won’t even pick up the medication
you need to take care of yourself
because you’re in the best position to
do that and it’s necessary for you to
take care of yourself despite the fact
that we’re mortal and vulnerable and
self-conscious and capable not only
capable of doing terrible things but
actually do them despite all that you
you’re still you still have that
responsibility
gifts that make you special and so I
know you’re different because you
wouldn’t be here with me now if you
didn’t feel you’re different
you probably don’t fit in with most
conversations I sure don’t fit in with
most conversations I don’t know a lot
about most things that most people talk
about because I don’t participate in the
majority right I don’t participate in
the news I don’t like to gossip I I like
to encourage people versus diminish
people I like to be productive versus
busy I like to be creative versus
complacent I like to create value versus
take from other people I like to move
into my present and future versus get
stuck in the past I like to be fast
versus move too – too slow I like to be
a leader versus a victim I like to
believe in possibility versus get stuck
in rational thinking because you know
the instinct is so much more powerful
than intellect and all I’m suggesting to
you is simply this it’s the very things
that make you different that make you
authentic and if you don’t fit in I just
want to share with you
I’ve never fit in and the very nature of
anyone who’s living a visionary life and
you are living a visionary life no
matter what you’re doing let’s look at
trapped in labels oh I’m just a coder
I’m just a receptionist in an editor at
a at a restaurant or or in an
organization I’m just a yoga teacher I’m
just a gym manager I’m just a chef in a
restaurant so I’m just a teacher people
always say this when I interact with
them on the social media I’m just an
entrepreneur I’m just a student no
you’re not I’m just a mom I’m just a dad
no you’re not just you’re very special
there are no extra people on the planet
today and I just want to say to you and
validate for you and encourage you those
things that other people might not get
those are your gifts you might be
awkward awesome you see the world
through different lens
Steve Wozniak who was on my stage at the
Titan Summit Zurich the co-founder of
Apple one of the best people I’ve ever
met he would not have been able to
create the Apple platforms and products
that he created if he didn’t see the
world through a different set of eyes
Steve Jobs saw the world through a
different set of eyes Travis kalanick of
uber saw the world through a different
set of eyes Jeff Bezos of Amazon saw
possibility let me have an online store
that initially sells books John F
Kennedy Martin Luther King jr. mother
Teresa Rosa Parks jean-michel Basquiat
Beethoven Michelangelo who did the
Sistine Chapel and in Florence
David Jonas Salk Tesla we could just go
on and on and on and on these people
were misunderstood because the nature of
a genius is to not fit all main reasons
that people do get what they want is
because they don’t actually figure out
what it is and the probability that
you’re going to get what would be good
for you let’s say which would even be
better than what you want right because
you know you might be what wrong about
what you want easily but maybe you could
get what would really be good for you
well why don’t you it well cuz you don’t
try you don’t think okay here’s what I
would like if I could have it and and I
don’t mean I don’t mean in a way that
you manipulate the world to force it to
deliver you goods for status or
something like that that isn’t what I
mean I mean something like imagine that
you were taking care of yourself like
you were someone you actually cared for
and then you thought okay I’m caring for
this person I would like things to go as
well for them as possible
what would their life have to be like in
order for that to be the case well
people don’t do that they don’t sit down
and think all right you know let’s let’s
figure it out you’ve got a life it’s
hard obviously it’s like three years
from now you can have what you need you
got to be careful about it
you can’t have everything you can have
what would be good for you
you have to figure out what it is and
then you have to aim at it well my
experience with people as being is if
they figure out what it is that would be
good for them and then they aim at it
then they get it and it’s strange
because they don’t mess it sad simple
because you know you may formulate an
idea about what would be good for you
and then you take ten steps towards that
and you find out that your formulation
was a bit off and so you have to
reformulate your goal you know you’re
kind of going like this as you move
towards the goal but a huge part of the
reason that people fail is because they
don’t ever set up the criteria for
success and so since success is a very
narrow line and very unlikely the
probability that you’re going to stumble
on it randomly is zero and so there’s a
proposition here in the proposition is
if you actually want something you can
have it now the question then would be
well what do you mean by actually want
an answer is that you reorient your life
in every possible way to make the
probability that that will occur as
certain as possible and that’s a
sacrificial idea right it’s like you
don’t get everything obviously you
obviously but maybe you can have what
you need and maybe all you have to do to
get it is ask but the asking isn’t a
whim or or today’s wish it’s like you
have to be deadly serious about it you
have to think okay like I’m taking stock
of myself and if I was going to live
properly in the world and I was going to
set myself up such that being would
justify itself in my estimation and I
don’t mean as a harsh judge exactly what
is it that I would aim at sit on your
bed one day and ask yourself what’s what
remarkably stupid things am i doing on a
regular basis to absolutely screw up my
life and if you actually ask that
question but you have to want to know
the answer right because that’s actually
what asking the question means it
doesn’t mean just mouthing the words it
means you have to decide that you want
to know you’ll figure that’s out so fast
it’ll make your hair curl
my brain tattoos that I’m become very
well known for is no one will believe in
you until you believe in you and so good
people often become seduced by the
chatter of Thoreau loudest fears and
what I mean by that is we come up with a
great idea let’s say it’s to start a
project that will allow you to lead your
field let’s say it’s an idea for a new
product that will allow you to grow new
company let’s say you come up with an
idea for a new painting if you are an
artist let’s say it’s an idea that will
allow you to take your fitness and your
wellness and your longevity to a whole
new level of wow and pretty shortly
after you come up with the idea your ego
starts screaming because we are good in
our comfort zones but the moment we
start to go blue ocean around our next
level of mastery our fears come up
because we’re going out into the unknown
it’s human you know if you were looking
to look at the psycho biology of it and
you were study the pure biology that
there’s a term called homeostasis human
beings are hard-wired for a steady state
and that kept us alive so literally our
heartbeats around the same amount you
know the 72 beats per minute and our
blood pressure is within a small
bandwidth and that allows us to survive
but what happens is when we come up with
a new idea and when we see a new
opportunity and we start to leave our
comfort zones into the zone of the
unknown where greatness lives we get
scared in the true heroes and the true
Titans and the true masters those people
are not fearless those are people who
have just practiced walking into their
fear and living on the razor’s edge
consistently to the point where they’re
comfortable amid their discomfort that’s
the great opportunity for you not to
avoid fear but to be comfortable in the
unknown to be comfortable when you’re
terrified and that really is what the
great artists the great entrepreneurs
the great titans and the great masters
are very good on doing so the first
reason good people lose
is their faith is not as strong as their
fear or to put it a bit more elegantly
their fears are larger than their faith
and so it would be tactical for you how
do you build more faith while you do
what you’re a frightened to do and it’s
a practice you know a great athlete
practices every morning and a great
producer practices walking into their
fears every single day and what I’m
encouraging you to do is every single
day do one thing that causes your palms
to sweat every single day start training
your brain to hunt for opportunities to
step into that unknown where possibility
lives and if you keep on doing it you’re
literally gonna build some new
neurological hardwiring a new mental a
new pathway in your brain where you
become it becomes easier because as you
know so well all change is hard at first
and it’s messy in the middle and it’s
beautiful at the end this thing you can
do is teach people to write because
there’s no difference between that and
thinking and one of the things that just
blows me away about universities is that
no one ever tells students why they
should write something it’s like well
you have to do this assignment well why
are you writing well you need the grade
it’s like no you need to learn to think
because thinking makes you act
effectively in the world thinking makes
you win the battles you undertake and
those could be battles for good things
if you can think and speak and write you
are absolutely deadly nothing can get in
your way so that’s why you learn to
write it’s like when I can’t believe
that people aren’t just told that it’s
it’s it’s like it’s the most powerful
weapon you can possibly provide someone
with and I mean I know lots of people
who have been staggeringly successful
and watched them throughout my life I
mean those people you don’t want to have
an argument with them they’ll just slash
you into pieces and then not in a
malevolent way it’s like if you’re gonna
make your point and they’re gonna make
their point you better have your points
organized because otherwise you’re gonna
look like and be an absolute idiot you
are not going to get
anywhere and if you can formulate your
arguments coherently and make a
presentation if you can speak to people
if you can lay out a proposal god people
give you money they give you
opportunities you have influence you
want to if you want to have a
world-class company release only magic
another way I could put it only release
Sistine Chapel ceiling level products to
the world Steve Jobs said it beautifully
he said I wanted the icons on the iPhone
to be so beautiful people would want to
lick the screen I had a senior leader
show up at one of my leadership events
and he said you know Robin Steve Jobs
was like that I actually went to his
house and met him shortly before he died
and he didn’t look very well but he
didn’t want to talk about his physical
condition he just wanted to talk about
the product we were launching he was so
mono maniacally focused on the user
experience he literally wanted to
everything to be flawless that was Steve
Jobs is brilliance and obsession I saw
an incredible interview with Johnny I’ve
by Charlie Rose in in that Johnny I’ve
who you know is the design genius behind
a lot of the Apple products he said you
know I knew Steve Jobs and I were
spiritual brothers when we were in a
store one day and Steve Jobs said to me
he goes hey come on over Johnny you got
to see this and I believe from the
interview I believe this is what they
said but they were looking at an arrow
and Steve Jobs said look at how the
sharp point of the arrow is attached to
this part and look how seamless it is
and look at the engineering and I wonder
how they did that and Johnny I’ve said
Steve Jobs was just in the pocket of the
engineering and beauty behind that piece
of artistry
about just raising your standards I may
always tell people if you want to know
how to change your life and give it to
you in three words boring as it sounds
raise your standards and what does that
mean corny as it sounds raise your
standards I’ll thank you for the
breakthrough thought Tony I’m glad I
wasted my time watching this little
email with you but think about it
lasting change is different than a goal
you don’t always get your goals but you
always get your standards maybe it’ll
help you is to think about it this way I
try to explain standards to people with
a different set of words think of it as
everybody in life gets their must they
don’t get their shoulds right think
about it
you must be above a list of shoulds no
they don’t you have a list of the
shoulds things you should do you should
follow through on I I should lose some
weight I should work out more I should
make more calls I should respond more
rapidly to my email whatever you know I
should get into the office earlier I
should be you know more confident
whatever your should list is people love
to have their should list make me met
but it’s kind of like New Year’s
resolutions if it does it’s really
exciting but if it doesn’t which is most
the time it’s a little disappointing but
you kind of know it’s not gonna happen
but when you decide something as a must
for you an absolute must when you cut up
any possible you say I’m gonna find the
way I’m gonna make the way human beings
when they resolve things and they have
make a real resolution inside themselves
which is they raise the standard they
make it a must they find a way think
about in your own life happens you had
some area of your life where you raise
your standard and your life has never
been the same maybe at one time you like
you use smoke cigarettes or you did
something and you did it for years and
you kept trying to change it trying to
change it and kept telling yourself I
should and then one day something
happened something just clicked you over
something took you over that kind of
tipping point and inside yourself you
said no more it was a very very
different experience wasn’t it something
inside has shifted and what was a should
became a must and you’ve never gone back
is there an area like that in your life
you can think of again I ever smoked
cigarettes did you ever eat a certain
way drink a certain form of alcohol and
then finally saying no more you just
don’t go back and notice
this it doesn’t really take any
willpower anymore because somewhere when
we make this click we make something a
must we attach ourselves to it it
becomes part of our identity the one
thing I’ve learned in the last gosh 33
years are working people from now over
100 countries four million people is
human beings absolutely follow through
on who they believe they are and you say
said to me well I’m really gonna work
hard to stop smoking but you know I’ve
been a smoker my whole life and I’m you
know I am a smoker I know your days are
numbered you’re gonna be back smoking
cigarettes again because we all act
consistent with who we believe we are
I tell people the strongest force in the
whole human personality is this need to
stay consistent with how we define
ourselves
if you define yourself as somebody who
is really conservative you’re not gonna
be crazy and act nuts unless you’re
really drunk or something and then you
can say it’s the alcohol when it really
does you finally getting permission to
be yourself the alcohol is your excuse
if you’re a really crazy person you act
crazy outrageous playful you don’t have
conservative because it’s not who you
are
burn often people say well I can’t do
that I’m not that kind of person and I
always say to people really when did you
define yourself I mean really how many
years ago did you come up with what you
could and couldn’t do in your life
I don’t know years ago most people if
they really look at how to living their
life today it’s based on a set of
standards a set of beliefs that they
made choices about 10 20 30 or more
years ago I mean they’re often we made
decisions in our youth or very young
about what to believe about what we were
capable of about who we are as a person
and that becomes the glass ceiling if
you will that controls us there’s a
corny metaphor but it’s true I remember
one time I was with my family at the
circus and there was a person there and
they had this big giant elephant and you
look at this elephant and they take this
little rope
opens neck and they drive the stake into
the ground and I mean you look at this
you know that elephant could rip down
the entire tent with almost no effort
and yet the elephant doesn’t struggle
doesn’t try why cuz the elephant’s
conditioned and they take that elephant
conditioned the elephant when it’s a
baby elephant that’s how they train them
when it’s a little baby elephant and it
doesn’t have the power yet they put a
big rope around it and they drive this
huge stake in the ground and the
elephant fights and fights and fights
and one day finally that often decides
I’m not capable pulling this out and
once that becomes the definition of an
identity of anyone an elephant in this
case they don’t even try anymore it’s
just who I am that’s how it is that’s
just the way it is in my life I’d like
to ask you to take a look at any place
you’ve got a limitation ask yourself
when did I decide to accept that
limitation and you may not even see it
as a limitation you might see there just
that’s who I am but so often our lives
we’ve adapted to be a certain way so
that we don’t fail or so that people
will like us or respect us but it’s not
necessarily who we are joy comes when
you’re spontaneous it’s really hard to
be truly happy when you’re not being
yourself and most of us have no clue who
we are and so a big part of my work if
you’ve ever been to an event you know is
to get people to do things spontaneously
without thinking because that’s when the
real you shows up that’s when the energy
comes alive and when you do that when
you start to connect your true nature
suddenly there’s energy available for
you to set a higher standard for what
you want in your life
that’s what this is really all about and
when I talk about standards when I talk
about you know shoulds versus must think
about your own life I know there have
been areas in your life where some point
in time you just shift it and you raise
the standard in your life change because
whatever people have their identity
attached to they live we live who we
believe we are that’s just how it works
it’s just kind of like I give an example
look at your physical body your physical
body today is an absolute reflection of
only one thing
not your goals not your desires but your
standards the identity you have for
yourself if your standard is you’re an
athlete then
a certain amount of strength a muscle
tone and energy that’s available in your
body on a regular basis because that’s
who you are and so you do whatever is
necessary to maintain that identity
again the strongest force and the human
personalities this need to stay
consistent with how we define ourselves
because if you don’t know who you are
you would not act once you lock in on
that identity your brain finds a way to
keep you there if you say you know and
I’m overweight I’ve always been
overweight I’m big-boned and that’s the
story you’ve got and you’re gonna always
find a way to get back there that’s your
settling point that’s your identity
that’s where things lock in if you see
somebody who’s in a really great shape
you ask him do you work out you know the
answer yes how often and they’ll tell
you three times four times five times a
week whatever in a seminar last people
who here works out at least five days a
week and I’m stand-up and you look
around that room and you know that they
work out five times a week as you can
see their body you don’t just get a
result without some kind of action
without some form of ritual ritual
meaning actions you do consistently now
do you think you knows people that are
out there working out five days a week
do they have more time than you do or I
have for anybody else of course not is
that a wife less busy of course not
it’s just a must for them they must work
out that way and they’ve made that turn
their life change so I’m not saying you
have to work out five days a week I’m
just saying whatever you really want
once don’t get met consistently
standards do whatever you identify this
is Who I am and so it’s not so much
about changing your identity as there’s
expanding it you know deciding that you
know instead of your goals to lose ten
pounds which is not compelling what if
your vision was to get back to my
fighting weight you know just this year
this month this next 90 days I’m gonna
transform my body I’m gonna take on a
new challenge I’m gonna find some
technique or strategy there’s a million
of them that can reframe myself where I
want to feel younger stronger more
vibrant than ever before here’s my
reasons because I want the energy to
really make my life work because it’s
tough out there and I want to be
stronger than I’ve ever been before I
want to go in front of the mirror if I’m
naked not you know want to laughs OH
take a good look and go yeah I’m proud
of whatever I see there
whatever it takes something’s gonna make
you laugh smile something’s gonna tease
yourself but something’s gonna move you
to another level if you identify
yourself in a new way and you own that
every day and that becomes the staredown
you live you’ll find the way to make
that standard real money’s the same way
think about it doesn’t matter what’s
happening quote-unquote in the
marketplace people that make money find
a way to make money no matter what don’t
they I mean most people’s standard is to
pay their bills
so that’s what most people find a way to
do even when economic times get tough
most people if that’s their absolute
standard they find a way some people’s
standard is pay their bills and most of
the time and so most of the time they do
some people standard is not just to pay
their bills but to take care of their
family and maybe even some of their
friends and they find a way in fact you
know if some people may be in a family
where they don’t have enough money they
barely have money to pay their bills
they work through guts out and then
somebody their mother their father or
somebody else their sister gets ill and
there’s not enough money to take care of
it nobody else has money in family they
don’t either but they find a way to get
that money to take care of their mother
or father don’t they and pay their bills
they never could do it before why the
situation made them raise their own
standard and not everybody does that
somebody else in the family might have
money and still don’t take care of their
mother it all comes down to the inner
game my friends changing your life is a
change in the inner game the outside
world you can’t control but you have
absolute control over this one if you
learn the dynamics of what shapes you
and identity is one of those simple
clear fundamental basics that if you
start to shift it everything else will
shift in your life as well some people
by the way have to have more than enough
money to do what they want when they
want where they want with whomever they
want contribute the way they want if
that’s there must they find a way I know
that sounds overly simplistic but it’s
true now somebody once said you could
take all the money in the world out of
the hands of everybody out of all the
wealthy people in the world who are
really successful given to other people
it wouldn’t take too long those people
would have it back in their hands it’s
not because they’re manipulate it’s cuz
they have a standard some are manipular
don’t get me wrong but they’ve got a
standard of what they’re gonna find a
way to make
happen I’m just simply saying to you
take those three magic words and live
them raise your standard for the next 90
days your first 90 minutes at work make
it focused on your single most important
project I’ll repeat that again for the
next 90 days the first 90 minutes of
your work day focus mono maniacally on
your single most valuable project I call
it your game-changing move so it might
be it might be creating a new piece of
code that will revolutionize the
marketplace it might be a new product
that when you launch it will fill a need
within your industry that no peer is
currently providing I don’t know what
your game changing move is but this is
your poetry this is your magnum opus for
the next 90 days so what most people do
is you know people who are playing at
victimhood people who are in the ninety
five percent people who are making
excuses about ordinary results in their
life a lot of them are not doing the
things that would give them legendary
results and what they do is they get to
the office and rather than using prime
time for a activities they use their
best hours watching dancing cats on
whatever it is whatever the video
platform is they spend their best hours
surfing the internet looking at blogs
they spend their best hours playing with
notifications reading notifications
chatting with friends who are not really
their friends but really they’re just
bored so they’re distracting themselves
which is just a form of medication
because potential unexpressed turns to
pain and they’re in a lot of pain and
it’s subconscious and they haven’t done
the work to know it so really they’ve
created these drugs of choice like too
much email too much web surfing too much
chit chatting too much looking at funny
looking videos that make them laugh in
the moment that make them feel happy and
give them a short burst of dopamine and
maybe a little bit of serotonin which is
the pleasure neuro trick
neurotransmitter and that’s how they get
through their day and all I’m saying is
there’s so much distraction available to
you out there that if you are not
acutely careful it will dominate your
days what I’m really trying to say is
this a ritual for you to run and dial in
and hardwire to the point of
automaticity that’s the word the
researchers use when a habit becomes
your new normal over 66 days is the 1991
rule and to give it to you again so you
really remember it for the next 90 days
your first 90 minutes create a tight
bubble of total focus so that no one can
distract you turn off your devices put
them in a little plastic bag put some
reminders on your door maybe some
post-it notes that this is my type
bubble of total focus for the next 90
minutes tell your team tell your loved
ones maybe get it put a Do Not Disturb
sign on your door they’ll laugh and
explain it to them that for the next 90
days I will spend 90 minutes away from
distraction away from technology away
from interruptions focusing on my magnum
opus focusing on the genius project that
I want to bring into the world because I
will never mail it in I will always
bring it on and I’m gonna do this for
the next 90 minutes I’m gonna optimize
it and iterate it every day and I’m
gonna bring my full bandwidth because
what makes a genius they all have one
trait in common they were able to spend
extended periods of time in isolation
focused mono maniacally on their most
valuable project I know you stated in
the last lecture that the importance for
setting aims in life and to kind of have
goals to work towards right so my
question was where do you how do you do
that if you don’t know where you want to
go because that’s kind of where I got
stuck on you’re your future off offering
program because okay that’s that’s a
good question that’s a really good
question so there’s this notion in the
Old Testament that morality is following
a sequence of prohibitions there’s a
bunch of bad things you shouldn’t do and
then basically you’re good enough and
I think there’s wisdom in that I think
that’s kind of where children start
right you I mean I love children and all
that but they’re there they’re crazy
little creatures and they need to be you
know civilized and partly what you do is
you you lay prohibitions on them and
mostly what you’re trying to do is lay
prohibitions on them for the behaviors
that if they manifested would make their
life miserable so this is why this thing
that I’ve said the people has become
this crazy internet mean but that’s to
clean up your room and which which is a
lot better more useful than people think
it’s a lot harder to but the thing the
first thing you do I think and I learned
this in part from Solzhenitsyn when he
was trying to iron out his soul when he
was in the gulag because he was trying
to figure out how he got there how he
contributed to how he got there
you know not Stellan and Hitler even
though they were kind of a blade you
know but who as much he could do about
that I think what you have to do and
this is part of humility is you have to
look around you within your sphere of
influence like the direct sphere of
influence and fix the things that
announce themselves as in need of repair
and those are often small things you
know and they can be like your room put
it in order because the thing is it
isn’t exactly so important that your
room is in order although it is what’s
important is that you learn how to
distinguish between chaos and order and
to be able to act in a manner that
produces order and I think you can you
can do something as simple as just sit
on your bed and think okay
there’s probably like five things I
could do today so that tomorrow morning
is slightly better than this morning was
at least or at least I’m not falling
behind and those will usually be it’s
like having to eat a toad in the morning
right it’s like it’s not gonna be
something you want to do there’ll be
things you’re trying to avoid there’s
snakes essentially but if you ask
yourself like you’re asking someone
which i think is a form of prayer if you
ask yourself instead of telling yourself
you know what is it that I could do to
set things more right today that I would
actually do it’s usually some small
thing because he’s not that disciplined
you know then you can go do it and then
you we put the world together a little
more when you do that
and that spreads out but he also put
your you also construct yourself into
something that’s better able to call
order forth from chaos and that makes
you just incrementally stronger and then
the next day you can maybe take on a
slightly larger task and like you get
the benefit of compound interest if you
do that it’s a tremendously powerful
technique and they think if you do that
at some point instead of just having to
fix things up that are not good you’ll
start to get a glimmer of the positive
things that you could do you know the
positive things that you could do that
would actually constitute a vision now
that’s what I would recommend getting
things is not gonna make you happy
that’s good news in a tough economy it’s
a good reminder you know it doesn’t
matter what you get doesn’t matter
whether it be money or opportunity all
those things might excite you for the
moment you know even a relationship as
magnificent it may be might be exciting
for a while but if you don’t keep
growing that relationship isn’t gonna
stay exciting so the secret to real
happiness is progress progress equals
happiness and if we can make progress on
a regular basis we feel alive and that’s
why at the beginning of the year we get
this thing like okay I can have this
fresh start I could really do what my
soul desires I could expand I could grow
I can improve I could change or maybe
better than change I could progress see
think about that progress isn’t
aliveness to it doesn’t it you don’t
have to work at changing people say all
the time that allow I’m working on
changing don’t worry about it the work
on changing changes automatic your
body’s gonna change whether you want it
or not as the years go by you no matter
how hard you work there’s gonna be some
changes going on there if the economy is
gonna change no matter what you want it
to do the weather is gonna change
relationships are gonna change
everything in life is always changing we
have to work on change change is
automatic but progress is not so if you
want to make real progress then you
really got to look at your life in a
different way you gotta say I gotta take
control of this process and not just
hope that’s gonna work out like people
do who make a resolution
you’ve heard me talk about the 2x 3x
mindset so to double your income and
your impact triple your investment
including your time investment in two
core areas your personal mastery and
your professional capabilities you see
when you work on your personal mastery
you awaken your mind set your heart set
your health set in your soul set and
when you get those four interior
empires to world-class you become a
force of nature out in the world and you
do epic things so you want to work on
your personal mastery like you’re doing
here with me right now by listening to
this episode and then the second thing
you want to do is you want to work on
your professional capability you want to
be the heavyweight champion of your game
you want to dial in your sport whether
your sport is entrepreneurship whether
your sport is being a chef whether your
sport is being a coder whether your
sport is being a manager whether you’re
an entrepreneur a CEO an astronaut a
poet I don’t know what it is but when
you focus on your personal mastery and
your professional capability and you
really work on those I’m talking about
hours every day if you are serious about
leading the field what starts to happen
is this you become a vastly more
valuable person you become very aware
and that’s why I say education is
inoculation against disruption that’s
why I suggest you with great love and
respect leadership belongs to the
learners Maya Angelou said it
beautifully she said when you know
better you can do better with better
awareness you can make better choices
and with better choices you’re gonna see
better results I mean it’s the awareness
that you bring to every day based on
your learning based on your investments
in training well what does that do it
gives you the ability to a to make
better choices better decisions and you
look at a great life it’s just a series
of beautiful choices done daily stacked
on over time and so when you get great
awareness heightened awareness or acute
awareness of what it means to be a
leader and
performer and a player an awesome human
being an epic producer a fit human being
a loving human it just goes it on would
that awareness via your learning you can
make better decisions every day better
choices every five years we have a
review for our strategy now our strategy
is always to look at the 30 years and 10
years every strategic decisions we make
we have to ask one question this
decision we make solve society problem
because we believe the bigger social
problem you solved the more successful
you are so if we do this cannot solve
any social problems we don’t do it
second there is this project is going to
be successful in 10 years if is it’s
going to be successful in 10 years let’s
do it if it’s going to be successful in
one year or one mouth not what I say
forget about it because why you can be
successful in one year or one mouth so
we all have to put param and five years
ago we had a big debate about 10 years
later 20 years what are the things this
China Society the world leaf want so we
say happiness and health to age strategy
to happiness and health we believe Holi
you know the movie industry bring people
happy because today nobody is happy
rich people not happy poor people not
happy you know at least when I watch
movie after you’re happy but right so I
think we should have partner with the
Hollywood especially like a lot of you
know we have a different way of living
and in China the movie we have a lot of
heroes but China movies heroes always
dead the American me movie hero never
die
if all the heroes die who want to be the
hero so my movie I want to make the hero
live right so this is this is I think we
should learn a lot and it’s only about 2
years so we have another eight years ago
I want to make our company that it’s not
ecommerce it’s something that giving
people inspirations given people because
I learned a lot for example I will say
that my favorite movie forest the gum
you know life is tough this is I learned
and that inspired me that is why when
people call me crazy stupid pass the 70
years you’re crazy I do you something
never work
you’re stupid how can do that model
Emma’s in this model eBay this model why
Alibaba this model I told myself
Forrester gum said go ahead I would care
about what the other people and the
other thing Forrest Gump said nobody
make money out of the catching whales
people make money by catching shrimps so
we serve small business very not so many
times you have a modicum of talent in an
area may be just enough talent to
appreciate people who are really called
to that area it doesn’t mean that you
need to necessarily go out and do that
thing you must understand that the
purpose is it’s an underlying chemistry
that makes you live your life it may not
be you may not have a strong time let me
give an example cuz I’m a Samana let me
give you a talented the musician I can
play the piano not well enough to be
maestro but I have a modicum of talent
in that area but that was not my purpose
it but many many times we start working
in an area that we have talent but it’s
not our purpose I tell my kids this you
may start out doing something that it’s
not the thing you were created to do it
may only be the thing that leads to the
thing you were created to do
understand what I’m saying so you can’t
don’t stop at where you are as if it
were the destination when in fact in
reality it may be the transportation
that brings you into that thing you were
created to do I think it’s very
important sometimes to look at old older
work and it can give you ideas for you
know the present work and or even its
ideas for the future it’s kind of
important to sometimes go back and I
felt that same way about seeing the
films with my son I was glad I went back
and it kind of inspired some things for
the future and it was basically a good
experience you have to own your own
happiness take it away from other people
demanding that they make you happy your
kids are not gonna make you happy your
spouse is not gonna make you happy a big
house is not gonna make you happy on
your own happiness would be responsible
for doing those things that bring joy
into your own heart independently of
life and people and money and all of
that stuff it doesn’t necessarily give
you a happiness you have to take
responsibility of that peace and that
joy that lives inside of your heart and
not inside of your stuff I personally I
love restrictions because it forces you
to create you know in this kind of like
boundaries and maybe you think of neat
ideas and with because of these
restrictions it’s always in a film you
wish that you could be doing something
else it’s just like having a it becomes
you want to escape and I think it’s like
this pressure and responsibility is just
a yearning to be doing doing anything
you know when going anywhere so many
times going to the studio in the morning
I wish the driver would you know become
crazy and take me anywhere but when you
get there you’re back in it and working
in spite of the restrictions it’s such a
fantastic process and it’s creating and
creating is the coolest thing that we
can do enjoy the journey not the
destination
a lot of us delay our happiness when I
get to this level when I get my degree
when I get the kids when I get married
I’m gonna be happy enjoy the journey
enjoying the whole step the whole
process every day that you get up to
strive for whatever it is you’re after
you know I’m a goal-oriented guy yeah
and so you don’t celebrate when you get
to the finish line celebrate all along
the way so they all along the way yeah
for me what has happened is the heavy
you know weight of anxieties and fears
those things have gotten less and less
and less and for me life has gotten to
be more like a game and the things that
used to you know almost kill me don’t
kill me so much and enjoyment of doing
gets so beautiful and the ideas are
flowing more and more and that the
thrill of it all the thrill of it all I
appreciate people more I see people and
I see their faces and I I feel like I
they seem familiar and I just don’t have
so many problems and life gets more and
more beautiful
and I still love the same things you
know painting and making films it just
gets better and better
that’s by experience
[Music]
when you finish a film your job
basically is over and when you you have
a desire to share your work and so you
put it out into the world and you
realize that yes you can help the film
some by giving interviews or you can go
to some places and and have talks but
basically the film is on its own and you
can’t tell whether it’s going to go good
or going to go bad if it’s important
that you believe in your work and and
that’s the most important thing
assume that the person you are listening
to might know something you don’t this
is a chapter about conversation and
about the different forms conversation
takes and so chapter about humility and
it’s a chapter about listening and the
humility element is it took me a long
time to understand why there’s religious
injunctions supporting humility but to
even understand what the word really
meant and that sort of technical sense
and it means something like this it
means what you don’t know is more
important than what you know and that’s
a lovely thing too then then what you
don’t know can start to be your friend
you see people are very defensive about
what they know and for the reasons we’ve
already discussed but the thing is you
don’t know enough and the Riu can tell
you don’t know enough because your life
is not what it could be and neither is
the life of the people around you you
just don’t know enough and so what that
means is that every time you encounter
some evidence that you’re ignorant
someone points it out you should be
happy about that because you think oh
you just told me how I’m wrong it’s like
great like maybe I had to sift through a
lot of nonsense to get through the real
message that you’re telling me but if
you could actually tell me some way that
I’m wrong and then maybe give me a hint
about how to not be wrong like that well
then I wouldn’t have to be wrong like
that anymore that that would be a good
thing and and you can you can you can
embark on that adventure by listening to
people and if you listen to people they
will tell you they’ll tell you amazing
things if you listen to them and many of
those things are little tools that you
can put in your toolkit like Batman
and then you can go out into the world
and use those tools and you don’t have
to fall blindly into a pit quite as
often and so the humility element is
well do you want to be right or do you
want to be learning
and it’s deeper than that it’s do you
want to be that the tyrannical king
who’s already got everything figured out
or do you want to be the continually
transforming hero or fool for that
matter who’s getting better all the time
and that’s actually a choice you know
it’s a deep choice and it’s better to be
the self transforming fool who’s humble
enough to make friends with what he or
she doesn’t know and to listen when
people talk and listening is a
transformative exercise like if if you
listen to the people in your life for
example if you actually listen to them
they’ll tell you what’s wrong with them
and how to fix it and what they want
they can’t even help it if you start
listening because people are so shocked
if you actually listen to them that they
tell you also those sorts of things that
they might not have even intended to
things they don’t even know and then you
can you can work with that
that’s a gentle meditation it’s
obviously the most important thing to do
day in and day out transcending is the
key to a better and better life and this
idea is catching on more and more in the
world the receptivity to Transcendental
Meditation is growing by leaps and
bounds thanks to so many in this room
and someone else others around the world
it’s really happening it’s built for the
human being and transcending our nervous
system is built to transcend an
experience that unbounded eternal
infinite immortal immutable ocean of
pure consciousness within its money in
the bank meditate regularly
my challenge in our generation is it
gradually to entertainment through
television through media through every
way possible we are living in a
generation of the dumbing down of ideas
because we have traded effectiveness for
busyness statistics say yes somebody
oughta clap no matter we are busier than
any other generation we have seen in the
last three to four hundred years we are
so busy where we are a busier than a
wall within a one-armed wallpaper hanger
richest BSE bill you’ll get it later
don’t worry about anything it hits in a
minute we are just as busy as we can be
and we think because we’re busy we’re
effective but I want you to challenge
your schedule for a minute and ask
yourself are you are you really being
effective or is your life cluttered with
all kinds of stuff that demands you and
drains you and taxes you and stops you
from being your highest and best self
and are you substituting busyness and
all the chaos that goes along with
business from being effective let me
tell you a bunch of scientists got
together they begin to do some research
and they begin to determine that 80% of
the things we do are busy things that we
do in an area that is not effective that
the average person only spends 20% of
their time doing the thing that they are
really gifted at creative and passionate
about excited to do and the rest of it
is all the dismal dumb stuff that we all
have to do in order to survive just
crazy stuff that we’re doing wonder what
would happen if we would go from doing
80% of things that are busy but not
effective and 20% of the things that are
really effective if we would switch
those numbers around
and only give 20% of our time to the
things that we have to do and 80% of our
time to the thing that we were created
to do wonder what would happen to your
life now think about it a minute there’s
a lot of things you could take from it I
could make it you could take my suit I
got another one you can take my car I
could get another one you could take my
house I could get another house but when
you take my time you have taken
something from me
that is totally irreplaceable we take
all kind of classes for money management
we know how to manage our money we know
how to repair our houses we’re working
on our hair and our bodies and all of
this kind of stuff we do everything
except the most important thing is to
value our time it takes time to be
creative you were meant to be creative
you were created in the likeness and the
image of a creator and in that likeness
and in that image you have creativity if
you had time you would be creative but
in the absence of time and with busyness
and clutter the following baby y’all got
music playing on your phone all kinds of
stuff and no matter what kind of song
you put on after why you hate to hear it
because every time you hear that sound
you know it’s somebody else one
something else from you this taking you
away from what you are gifted and
creative to when God created this planet
he created up several species now if
you’re an atheist it’s okay call it the
force let me just say God for now set up
say God the forest God the forest let’s
just say God right now God creates the
planet Earth and first of all he creates
which a lot of people and different
organizations want a perfect social
economic world where everything is free
don’t worry about a thing you’re taking
care of there’s no extra imagination
necessary because all I can be given to
you so he creates the oyster eases
oyster I’m giving you a free house to
live in I’m calling it a shell I’m gonna
put at the bottom of the ocean to
protect you from your enemies you have
food
all the food you want protection
everything you want the perfectly taken
care of while you’re in your measly
little life as an oyster but you’re not
gonna go anywhere your stay there at the
bottom the ocean but you’re totally got
your free food free clothing for
everything one then God created
something called the Eagle Eagle whole
different species eagle you want a house
you go out and build it take the top of
a mountain take the top of a tree go out
and build your own house you want some
food to eat no problem go out there and
find it eagle and the eagle flies
through miles and the winter time of
rain sleet snow and wind just to feed
its young did you know the Eagle fails
ninety-five percent of the time a total
failure it’s so big and cumbersome that
when it comes upon its prey they’re wild
they should off in a different direction
and it misses 5% of the time it succeeds
and what does succeed to do it succeeded
to be the strongest bird in the sky the
only one that we know of anywhere in the
world that could fly into the thermals
of a hurricane and ride them to have fun
now the eagle unlike the oyster can go
any where it wants anywhere it wants ya
Gamble’s it does is on its own but it
goes wherever it wants now that eagle
and not the oyster is the emblem of
America and also on the flag of many
many countries you wouldn’t be in this
room right now if you weren’t Eagles
don’t only imagine start doing it thank
you peace love and happiness all of you
thank you very much let me tell you some
of the stuff you’ve been through don’t
pay any attention it is just a sign that
the baby is coming you’re on the verge
of birthday you’re on the verge of
birthday you
the verge of birthday you’re about to
give birth I want you to touch everybody
you can reach and tell them the baby is
coming the baby is coming the baby is
coming the baby is coming the baby is
coming the baby is coming the baby is
coming the baby is coming you don’t want
to leave me now the baby is coming you
don’t want to walk out on me now the
baby is coming my my most creative
moment yet I haven’t produced my dream
yet I don’t care whether you’re 30 40 50
60 70 there’s something bound inside of
you that’s still kicking inside of you
that wants to get out and it wants to
live
and watch to laugh the whole reason
you’re here today is because there’s
something in you that needs to be fed
that needs to be starred that needs to
be electrified
[Applause]
[Applause]
she was going to listen they’re gonna
miss it they’re gonna miss the greatest
part of you the greatest part of your
destiny the greatest part of your
creativity it took everything you went
through yesterday to get you ready for
what you are about to do today you are
standing on the verge of a Great
Awakening or you wouldn’t be here if I’m
talking to you make some noise it is fun
[Applause]
believe their businesses in you
companies in you concepts in you books
to be written paintings to be drawn
concepts to be birth ideas creative
concepts there’s something that you
could do that you could think in your
life that would radically change your
life somebody could take the hand you’ve
been built and win with it same
circumstances same ideas they would do
it through what they thought about your
life but we don’t need somebody cuz we
got you we got you you’re the one you
are the one I want you to join hands do
something for just a minute I’m telling
you right now if you are going to birth
your dream you’re calling your passion
and the second half of your life you
can’t draw back when life gets tough
you’ve got to stand up to it and push
get that person by the head because
there’s something inside of them that is
about to happen squeeze their hand
and when I count to three I want every
man and every woman that’s got a concept
that’s got an idea
I want you to push with all of your
might until dreams and concepts and
ideas start to birth out of you in the
middle of the night you will need pens
and pads by your bed tonight
close your eyes to get up in the middle
of the night and start writing down all
the stuff
[Applause]
it’s all in the mindset when you get up
in the morning you do what you normally
do
I would eventually say a lot of you here
probably turn on your cellphone’s your
computers and what’s the latest email
what’s the latest text that comes in you
start your day off like that that’s your
mindset try this get up in the morning
do whatever you have to do don’t turn
the computer on don’t turn the TV on go
right back to bed again either lay there
or sit there and just bring the universe
to you here’s how you do it you just be
it’s virtually impossible when you first
do it because the thousand thoughts come
through your head we’re human beings so
what you do is your city in bed look at
the wall look at the off TV set look at
the ceiling look at the door look at
something in the room to get your
attention and just look at it and just
be for a couple of minutes not 10
minutes not 20 minutes not two days just
be when your mind wanders find another
spot in the room to look at you’re back
in present time even for a couple of
minutes now go about your day don’t
think about what you’re gonna do for
that split few minutes
you’re now becoming part of a universe
which is also part of global thinking
you’re just harmless you’re like a
rabbit rabbit isn’t virtuous it’s just
just can’t do anything except get eaten
it’s not virtuous if you’re a monster
and you don’t act monstrously then
you’re virtuous but you also have to be
a monster while you see this all the
time Harry Potter’s like that too it’s
like he’s he’s flawed he’s hurt he’s got
evil in him he can talk to snakes man he
breaks rules all the time all the time
he’s not at obedient at all but you know
he has a good reason for breaking the
rules and if he couldn’t break the rules
him and his little clique of rule
breaking you know troublemakers if they
didn’t break the rules
they wouldn’t attain the highest goal so
it’s very
earlier but it’s it’s very there it’s a
very very very very common mythological
notion you know the hero has to be the
hero has to be a monster but a
controlled monster Batman is like that
you know I mean it’s it’s everywhere
it’s it’s the Tor story you always hear
if I had email I would be inundated I
choose not to have email or ever turn a
computer on now all my companies are
state of the art technologically
advanced if I want something printed out
it’s printed out for me but I do this
out of choice I’d rather make a phone
call to you or write you a letter and
communicate the way you deserve to be
communicated with and no disrespecting
people on email and I’d be so inundated
my gosh I’d be on that computer all day
long I prefer to have that personal
touch and it seems to work with all the
companies I have that I’m quite active
in but I have great presence running
most of them thank God a very bless our
right to take care of the details but
I’m still hands on in many many of the
businesses here and it’s I can work
better that way and it goes down to this
pay attention to the vital few ignore
the trivia many if I’d email no
disrespect there be a lot of trivia on
there I be answering I try and pay
attention to the vital for you I think
northern trivia
what do you differentiate those those
two categories to be like where would
let’s say you’re president be and where
would like the head of a sales division
be are they are two sides of that
equation no what it is is if it’s one of
my companies you could call me directly
but people know call me directly if you
have to but don’t bother me with
something someone else can handle then
they do it works really really fine
works really well but what’s important
would be obviously presence of company
anyone that’s involved with me either
filling tropically the main people
feeling properly are the main people my
business is or places or countries I
want to reach out to of the head of a
country will call me I’ll call them
right back you know things are very very
significant insignificant are I’ll give
you an example
in my life it has been significant I’m
hit up every months for hundreds of
requests send me a hundred dollars send
me a two million dollars you have all
the money share it with me and I just I
don’t even touch it I can’t I
I’m swarmed I do so much philanthropy
now everyone expects that whether it’s a
two million dollar mortgage or hey I
want to start a new business send me
fifty thousand dollars because you have
money I don’t that people should do it
well that’s not true
I spend millions on philanthropic work
but I do it through our foundation where
it really makes sense not where I have
to go through it all so my question is
how do you begin to set up that system
so that you have the and I’ll call it a
luxury in some ways of communicating as
you see fit when you see fit with those
key decision-makers well for starters
I’m the chairman of the board okay of
the major company so I no detail what’s
going on from the chairman of the
board’s point of view I also know that
the people that I’ve hired can do what
they’re doing much better than I can and
I know what I need to know and so do
they so they could pick up the phone and
call me JP we just did this or look what
we’re doing here I also attend meetings
on a regular basis to see where we’re at
and where we’re going and meet with
marketing people meet with promotional
people meet with our educational people
sports marketing people to get a
hands-on feel for what we’re doing where
we’re going and those really important
meetings icing and to help make the
decision speak to my kids like you
really go and do that is that great is
that gonna make a difference are you
sure that’s what you want to spend your
time doing so that competitive thing
that just opened up a big door because
that’s one of the things I want to
instill in you guys I’m looking at and
and and and and I shaped my career
sometimes I use it I used the muse of
LeBron James LeBron and he motivates me
every day I see him he’s he’s up at 6:00
in the morning he’s playing his music
he’s loving what he’s doing he’s
conscious he’s he’s working out at 6:00
in the morning you don’t have to really
work out at 6:00 in the morning he’s
working out at 6:00 in the morning
harder than everybody else that’s one of
the keys that’s why you’ll say I’m
number one a lot this is a fact I wanted
more than enough almost everybody in
here
I wanna I wanted more than almost
everybody in here that’s what I’m
talking about you gotta stand up for
yourself and be able to compete that’s
right and you got to put the work that
it’s gonna take to do it I don’t know if
you’re gonna do the same work as I’m
gonna do I’m gonna read up on it I’m
gonna say they’re gonna be like yo let’s
go to live tonight be like I’m not gonna
live tonight I gots to get to the back
hey you let’s yo let’s let’s smoke some
I can’t now I’m not smoking them rich
alright now I gotta get to the back
there’s a time and a place for
everything there’s a time and a place
for everything but you have to be ready
we got the same 24 hours you got to use
your time wisely and you have to be
ready to really really do the things
other people aren’t trying to do work
most of my life in high school there was
Stewart’s cleaners after school would go
there I would put the drape on the
hanger the sleeve on the hanger and the
janitor of all the cleaners clean
everything up I worked for a dollar in a
quarter an hour
the only reason was a dollar and a
quarter in hours because the steward had
to pay that it was required by law or
he’d be giving me 50 cents an hour who’s
a very tight very tight wad guy so I
come in one day after school and he says
to me to go to work he says Johnny come
here want to talk to us okay taja stirry
says Johnny I was upstairs yesterday and
I napped after I finished working I was
tired and I dropped my watch on the
floor I put on the tape one on the floor
and I went down I picked it up and I
noticed under the cot I was lying on
there was no dust
I moved the cot there was no dust I
looked behind the filing cabinets there
was no dust or whatsoever
zero dust you really are a great janitor
I said it’s my job to do what I do when
I do it not when someone else is looking
tie this guy in the world gave me a 25
cent raise two dollar 50 where I went to
high school I was high as fake kid and
maybe a dolphin the neighborhood we
didn’t have a lot of million
stays what it was was if people if
humans can imagine doing what you have
to do when nobody is watching you you’re
doing is if someone is right there
watching you and in your free time
you’re not trying to elongate something
you’re doing what you should do without
people watching you do it rule number
two is uh treat yourself like you’re
someone that you care about and that
that’s a deeper chapter I would say like
chapter one is kind of comical but it’s
also got this serious scientific end for
example and it’s practical like most of
the rules are chapter two is a bit of a
meditation on why see I read this I read
this cite this piece of work by Jung a
long while back and he it was a
meditation on the injunction to treat
your neighbor as as you would like to be
treated
something like that and what Jung
pointed out which I really liked was
that that wasn’t an injunction to be
nice to other people
it was an invitation to reciprocity it
was something like this is like you
should figure out how you would like to
be treated like you were taking care of
yourself not how you would like people
to respond to you it’s more important
than that it’s like imagine you had a
child that you really cared for and
someone said well people will treat this
child exactly like you want them to but
you have to figure out what that is and
so then you’d have to sit down for like
a month and you’d think okay well how do
you want your child to be treated you
don’t want everyone just to be nice to
him you know you want people to
challenge them and you want people to
discipline them and you want people to
tell them when he is wrong it’s like you
don’t just want everyone to be nice
that’s that’s pathetic it’s pathetic
isn’t there’s no challenge in that and
so well you want to treat other people
like you would like to be treated well
then you have to figure out how would
you like to be treated well you’d like
people to fawn all over you and just lay
everything at your feet it’s like no
that’s that’s not something you’d wish
for for someone that you were taking
care of and then then there’s an
additional problem which is it’s often
the case that people will treat other
people better than they treat themselves
that happens extremely frequently so one
of the things I pointed out chapter two
was that if you have a dog and you take
him to a vet and the
that gives you your prescription
medicine you’ll go buy the medicine and
you will give it to the dog and you will
do it properly but if you go yourself to
a doctor and you get a prescription
there’s one that there’s a 30% chance
you won’t even pick up the medication
you need to take care of yourself
because you’re in the best position to
do that and it’s necessary for you to
take care of yourself despite the fact
that we’re mortal and vulnerable and
self-conscious and capable not only
capable of doing terrible things but
actually do them despite all that you
you’re still you still have that
responsibility
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