Robin Sharma's Blog

It's All About How You End

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 10:00:25 -0500

One of the traits of high performers is that they have a dazzling ability to finish well. Jordan's shot in the final moments to clinch the championship. Joe Carter's stunning grand slam to win the World Series. Lance Armstrong's come from behind finish to own The Tour de France. Champions are made not by how they start but by how they show up under pressure. And at the end.

The kids and I went to a hockey game on Friday night. For most of the first three periods, the home team was winning. The players were focused. The energy was high. The fans were thrilled. It was beautiful.

Then something fascinating happened. It was the last minute of the game. The other team pulled their goalie so that they had an extra man on offense. People started leaving-expecting the home team to win and rushing to avoid the inevitable traffic jam outside of the arena. The home team started high-fiving each other. Laughs and smiles appeared on their faces. They sensed victory was close. Imminent.

Then, with about 22 seconds left in the game, something unimaginable happened. The other team scored. Incredible. This tied the game and sent it into a sudden death extra period of only 5 minutes (this just means whoever got the next goal would win the game).

You know how this story ended. Sure enough, buoyed by their fearless comeback, the visiting team scored. And they won the game. A stunning upset.

Please apply this as a cautionary tale to the way you do business. And the way you lead life. Complacency is the beginning of failure. Coasting is the DNA of disaster. Keeping your eye off the ball (puck in this case) is an invitation for defeat. And assuming that you'll win if you don't stay on your A game is a dangerous assumption. Because you could lose it all. In about 22 seconds.

When Do You Change?

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 07:54:00 -0500

Old adage: "people don't change when they see the light. People change when they feel the heat."

Why wait until disaster confronts you before you pull back from the noise and rethink. Rethink who you are, where you are going, why you are going there and what you want your life to look like – and stand for. Please remember: leaders and high performers are those who do the things weak performers don't like doing-even though they don't like doing them either. They rise above their feelings of the moment - and do what's right versus what's easy. And that's how they get to great.

Voice What You Resist

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:05:36 -0500

By not speaking of what we resist and fear we actually strengthen what we resist and fear. But when we have the courage to speak of what makes us most uncomfortable, we begin the process of releasing it's steely grip over who we are and all we can become.

Our fear simply wants us to acknowledge versus deny it. Why? Because it comes as a gift. To teach us. To show us where we play small. And when we validate versus pretend it's not there, it recognizes that we've recognized it. And it can then leave.

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:02:21 -0500

You know I'm not into the word "competition". First, there truly can never be a better Best You than you. Second, the real game is being better than who you were yesterday versus the others who populate your space. Thinking about your competition is a waste of time and a loss of minutes that you could be using to innovate and arrive at new forms of excellence.

Having said that, please allow me to wade in on The Ultimate Competitive Advantage. Yes, in my written and spoken work I've said this a lot...because I think it's such a mission-critical practice for leadership, success (and time management): get up early.

People will copy your brand and your ideas and the why you do what you do that makes you as good as you are. But few humans will ever reach into the bigness that lives within them - and get out of bed at 5 am. And to those who do, a whole universe of high performance, true achievement and outright joy awaits.

Getting up early is such a beautiful thing. Makes you feel strong and focused and great. And you deserve to feel like that.

Business is People

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:03:08 -0500

Great line in today's New York Times from Scott Rockfeld of Microsoft - speaking to Google's upcoming release of the G1 phone to compete with the iPhone:

"Nobody meets, falls in love and celebrates their 50th anniversary all at once. Success...depends on solid relationships over time."

Wise man.