The Greatness Guide: One of the World's Most Successful Coaches Shares His Secrets for Personal and Business Mastery by Robin Sharma Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robin Sharma
your stars and attract other ones. And wouldn’t that be perfect?
29
Your Schedule Doesn’t Lie
There’s an old phrase that says “what you’re doing speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.” You can say that your primary value involves putting your family first, but if time with your family is not all over your schedule, well then the
truth
of the matter is that your family life isn’t your priority. You can say that being in world-class physical condition is another top value but if I don’t see five or six workouts etched into your weekly schedule, then the reality to be confronted is that your health just isn’t as important as you profess it to be. You can argue that self-development is an essential pursuit to you because the better you are, the more effective you’ll be. Show me your schedule and I’ll discover the truth. Because your schedule doesn’t lie.
There can be no authentic success and lasting happiness if your daily schedule is misaligned with your deepest values. That’s a big idea that has been so helpful to so many of the executive clients that I coach. If there is a gap between what you do and who you are, you are out of integrity. I call it The Integrity Gap. The greater the chasm between your daily commitments and your deepest values, the less your life will work (and the less happiness you will feel). Why? Because you are not walking your talk. Because your video is not congruent with your audio.Because you are committing the crime of self-betrayal. Worst crime of all. And the witness that lives within the deepest part of you—your conscience—sees it.
Your schedule is the best barometer for what you truly value and believe to be important.
Your schedule is the best barometer for what you truly value and believe to be important. Too many people talk a good talk. But talk is cheap. Less talk and more do. Show me your schedule and I’ll show you what your priorities are. I used to be a litigation lawyer. Witnesses in the courtroom could say what they wanted to. But the evidence never lied.
30
Shine as a Parent
I’ve had coaching clients fly their private jets to the small airport near our office in Toronto and show up at our first meeting saying something like: “Robin, I have all the money I’ll ever need and a bunch of homes scattered around the world along with a ton of public acclaim. But I’m desperately unhappy.” I ask why. “Because I lost my family while I built my business. My wife left me and my kids don’t even know me … that breaks my heart,” is how the reply usually goes.
Put your family, along with your health, at the top of your priority list. Family matters. What’s the point of getting to your dreams but being alone? And few things are more important than being an extraordinary parent. Kids grow up unbelievably fast. Blink and they’re gone—living lives of their own. It seems like only a year or two ago that I witnessed my daughter’s birth. Now she’s 9 and spends much of her free time playing with her best friend Max (a cocker spaniel desperately in need of some training). It seems like yesterday my son was in a stroller with the chubby cheeks of a baby and the sounds of an infant. Now he’s 11, reading even more voraciously than I do and sharing his vision for his future (he wants to be a venture capitalist). Sure it’s a little sad watching your children grow up so quickly.I guess all I can do is stay devoted to them and be generous with my time (my children have always been my number-one priority). Here are some ideas for you to shine in the incredibly important role of parent:
Try not to teach your fears to your kids. Introduce your children
to what’s possible.
L EAD BY EXAMPLE .
The best way to influence your kids is to walk the talk. Model the behavior you wish to see. Don’t preach the beauty of books and learning and then head into your family room to watch three hours of MTV. Those little eyes
29
Your Schedule Doesn’t Lie
There’s an old phrase that says “what you’re doing speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.” You can say that your primary value involves putting your family first, but if time with your family is not all over your schedule, well then the
truth
of the matter is that your family life isn’t your priority. You can say that being in world-class physical condition is another top value but if I don’t see five or six workouts etched into your weekly schedule, then the reality to be confronted is that your health just isn’t as important as you profess it to be. You can argue that self-development is an essential pursuit to you because the better you are, the more effective you’ll be. Show me your schedule and I’ll discover the truth. Because your schedule doesn’t lie.
There can be no authentic success and lasting happiness if your daily schedule is misaligned with your deepest values. That’s a big idea that has been so helpful to so many of the executive clients that I coach. If there is a gap between what you do and who you are, you are out of integrity. I call it The Integrity Gap. The greater the chasm between your daily commitments and your deepest values, the less your life will work (and the less happiness you will feel). Why? Because you are not walking your talk. Because your video is not congruent with your audio.Because you are committing the crime of self-betrayal. Worst crime of all. And the witness that lives within the deepest part of you—your conscience—sees it.
Your schedule is the best barometer for what you truly value and believe to be important.
Your schedule is the best barometer for what you truly value and believe to be important. Too many people talk a good talk. But talk is cheap. Less talk and more do. Show me your schedule and I’ll show you what your priorities are. I used to be a litigation lawyer. Witnesses in the courtroom could say what they wanted to. But the evidence never lied.
30
Shine as a Parent
I’ve had coaching clients fly their private jets to the small airport near our office in Toronto and show up at our first meeting saying something like: “Robin, I have all the money I’ll ever need and a bunch of homes scattered around the world along with a ton of public acclaim. But I’m desperately unhappy.” I ask why. “Because I lost my family while I built my business. My wife left me and my kids don’t even know me … that breaks my heart,” is how the reply usually goes.
Put your family, along with your health, at the top of your priority list. Family matters. What’s the point of getting to your dreams but being alone? And few things are more important than being an extraordinary parent. Kids grow up unbelievably fast. Blink and they’re gone—living lives of their own. It seems like only a year or two ago that I witnessed my daughter’s birth. Now she’s 9 and spends much of her free time playing with her best friend Max (a cocker spaniel desperately in need of some training). It seems like yesterday my son was in a stroller with the chubby cheeks of a baby and the sounds of an infant. Now he’s 11, reading even more voraciously than I do and sharing his vision for his future (he wants to be a venture capitalist). Sure it’s a little sad watching your children grow up so quickly.I guess all I can do is stay devoted to them and be generous with my time (my children have always been my number-one priority). Here are some ideas for you to shine in the incredibly important role of parent:
Try not to teach your fears to your kids. Introduce your children
to what’s possible.
L EAD BY EXAMPLE .
The best way to influence your kids is to walk the talk. Model the behavior you wish to see. Don’t preach the beauty of books and learning and then head into your family room to watch three hours of MTV. Those little eyes
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