The Greatness Guide, Book 2: 101 More Insights to Get You to World Class (3 page)

Just read these immensely important words of celebrated designer Bruce Mau that I need to share with you: “Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.”

We are shaped by our conversations. We are influenced by the ideas we hear and the people we meet. (Big idea: Every person you meet knows at least one thing you don’t; don’t let them leave without learning it.) Listening is a master skill for personal and professional excellence. Leaders listen. Staggeringly well. Mau’s absolutely right: When we go deep into listening to the person we are communicating with, when we allow them to share what they know, we have the opportunity to get behind their eyeballs and learn, grow and evolve into our highest and best. And if you are lucky enough to be talking to the right person—at the right time—that single conversation might be the one that changes the way you think, feel and behave forever. Their stardust will rub off on you. And you’ll be transformed. For good.

There’s a man I wish you could meet. I was introduced to him while I was in Mexico City to deliver a speech to business and social leaders. He moved me with his story. And he humbled me by his courage.

David Mejia was born without ears. Doctors predicted he would suffer from poor hearing throughout his childhood and that he would be unlikely to live a full adult life. His youth was riddled with operation after operation, a great deal of pain, and the hurtful taunts of classmates who made fun of his appearance. But David persevered. Greatness, in so many ways, is determined by whether you persist through failure or let it consume you. David dreamed. He worked hard. And he believed. Because he knew he was meant to do extraordinary things.

David Mejia has been blessed. With a powerful mind. With a big heart. With a strong spirit. And with wonderful parents, who told him on a near-daily basis that if he looked for the best from life, he would find it. They encouraged him never to play victim. Told him to find the opportunity amid his challenges. And so he has. Masterfully.

The man I met in Mexico City is a leader. A hero. An inspiration. Why? Because he has taken what life sent him and turned
what most of us would spend our days crying about into gold. He now has prosthetic ears. He’s healthy and remarkably vital. He has achieved superb success in his career. He has found great love and joy. He has more friends than most people I know (far more than me). And he is stunningly positive in a world where people who have nothing to complain about spend most of their time complaining about trivialities.

You can curse the darkness, or you can light a candle and show up as a leader. Life is all about how you exercise the choices available to you. And your daily choices stack up to craft your destiny. Day by day. Week by week. Month by month. Year by year. David Mejia knows how to make the choices that will raise him to his own personal mountaintop. So do you.

Woke up this morning with the following line from Mick Jagger’s solo album
Goddess in the Doorway
screaming through my head: “No use getting misty eyed, it all screams by so fast.” True. Life really does scream by.

Why postpone what you can do today to some time off in the distance? Why put off playing your greatest game as a human being to some point in the future? Why delay having a remarkably good time until you are old? The other day I read about a young woman who was reflecting on her retirement savings plan. She said, “I want to make sure I’ve saved up a lot—that way I can have at least some fun at the end of my life.” I don’t get it. Why wait until you are old to love living?

I’m in no way suggesting that you neglect the importance of planning for your future. Take the long view and prepare for a full life. As always, it’s a balance. Do your plans. Save for retirement. Be strategic. But at the same time, live in the moment. Play full out. Take daily risks. Smart. Emirates Airlines has an ad that asks: “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” Smart.

So fill your days with color. Hunt for the best that this very day will bring. Laugh a lot. Love a lot. Dream a lot. And if there’s an opportunity that the coming hours present to you—and we both know there will be—seize it. Because life screams by. So fast.

Question for you: Why don’t we see being “noticeably nice” written into any job descriptions? There’s a ton of stuff in those descriptions about what needs to get done each day, but nice is just an accessory, it seems. An add-on. An afterthought. I don’t get it.

I believe that being nice is, in many ways, the very lifeblood of a world-class business. Being nice to teammates (so they love coming to work each day) attracts and retains superb talent. Being nice to your suppliers (so they go to the wall for you) is excellent for operations. And being nice to your customers (so they keep coming back) is the best way to grow your community of loyal and passionate followers. Nice is what builds enduring businesses. Here’s an example.

Went to my local deli yesterday. Felt like some protein and veggies for lunch. I was in an ultra-creative mode and wanted to feed my brain well. I decided on a portion of turkey and a snow pea salad. I asked for what I wanted. The young woman behind the counter replied with a smile, “The rule is to sell the turkeys whole but I’m going to go see if I can break it for you.” A minute later, I had my piece of turkey. She added with a wink, “I’ll give
you the one with the most seasoning—you’ll love it.” And on it went. Helping me. Wowing me. Being stunningly kind to me. A delicious experience of exceptional customer service. Because she was uncommonly nice.

Guess where I had lunch today? I returned there because, like most human beings, I do business with people who treat me well. Who doesn’t want to help the nice ones succeed? Nice got my loyalty. It got my repeat business. It generated an evangelist. To world-class businesses, nice matters. So JBN. Daily.