Greatness

Diving into my favorite stories and lessons we can learn from the legend himself Steve Jobs from Walter Isaacson book, Steve Jobs, and article, The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs

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"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."

- Steve Jobs

1:15 - Life has no speed limit

6:10 - Just get started

8:30 - Have a philosophy/motto for life

13:10 - Steal like an artist

16:50 - Do the greatest thing possible

19:15 - Focus

23:45 - Collaboration is creativity

25:15 - You are mortal

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Diving into a short story on scientist Jennifer Doudna and what I like to call the Obsession Test.

Check out Walter Isaacson's book, The Code Breaker, for more on Doudna and how she is changing the world.

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“I’m someone who’s thinking about science all the time. I’m always focused on what’s cooking in the lab, the next experiment, or the bigger question to pursue. I was always obsessed with what my next experiment was going to be.”

- Jennifer Doudna

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Diving into the life and greatness of writer and runner Haruki Murakami from his book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

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“I didn’t start running because somebody asked me to become a runner. Just like I didn’t become a novelist because someone asked me to. One day, out of the blue, I wanted to write a novel. And one day, out of the blue, I started to run— simply because I wanted to. I’ve always done whatever I felt like doing in life. People may try to stop me, and convince me I’m wrong, but I won’t change.”

- Haruki Murakami

1:15 - Follow your instincts

8:45- Life responds to subtraction

10:05- Becoming a writer/pursuing the itch

11:45 - A framework for big decisions

14:45 - The key to willpower and discipline

17:45 - Daily routine + choose your consequences

19:50 - Leave some juice in the tank

21:15 - Marathons and personal responsibility

26:00 - Have a motto/mantra

29:45 - Running and writing advice for life

31:45 - How to do great work

36:10 - Lesson/Takeaways

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Diving into what history can tell us about the truth of specialization, and other factors that play a role in doing great work.

Check out David Epstein's book, Range, for more on how generalists are winning in a specialized world

 “Everyone progresses at a different rate, so don’t let anyone else make you feel behind. You probably don’t even know exactly where you’re going, so feeling behind doesn't help…Approach your own personal voyage and projects like Michelangelo approached a block of marble, willing to learn and adjust as you do, and even to abandon a previous goal and change direction entirely should the need to arise.”

- David Epstein

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Diving into the life and greatness of Stephen King from his book, On Writing

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“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”

0:50 - Imitation precedes creatio

3:30 - Where ideas come from

Good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.

7:20 - First efforts don't work

By the time I was fourteen, the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing. 

10:25 - You need someone who believes in you

Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you, makes a lot of difference. They don’t have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough.

14:20 - Success and struggles

19:50 - Source of King's success

When I’m writing, I write every day. That includes Christmas, the Fourth of July, and my birthday.

26:12 - Writing advice that is life advice

If you don’t want to work your ass off, you have no business trying to write well.

31:20 - Lessons and takeaways

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You can check out my book, website, and apparel below:

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Diving into the story of how Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, and Sophia Jex Blake became the world's first women doctors from Olivia Campbell's book, Women in White Coats

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You can check out my book, website, and apparel below:

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Diving into the life and greatness of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots from Jeff Benedict's book, The Dynasty.

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1:20 - Trust your instincts

3:50 - Tom Brady's journey

“In sport, you have to go for the throat. Because if all friendly, they come back and beat your ass. So kill them. Take their heart.”

9:55 - Turbulent start

14:30 - Brady takeover

18:10 - Be bold

20:25 - Building a culture of excellence

23:15 - Brady and obsession

“If you’re going to compete against me, you better be willing to give up your life because I’m giving up mine.”

28:30 - The secret to the success: accountability

29:55 - The difficult years

“What are you willing to do and what are you willing to give up to be the best you can be?"

34:05 - Patriots motto

35:00 - Lessons/Takeaways

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You can check out my book, website, and apparel below:

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Book: Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence 
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Diving into the lessons you can learn from some of the world's greatest coaches.

"Sometimes when I’m filling out forms, I list my profession as 'magician.' I’m not trying to be mischievous. It’s just that when I think about the ego-balancing act NBA coaches have to perform, making magic may be the best way to describe what we do…Because I can’t pretend to be an expert in leadership theory. But what I do know is that the art of transforming a group of young, ambitious individuals into an integrated championship team is not a mechanistic process. It’s a mysterious juggling act that requires not only a thorough knowledge of the time honored laws of the game but also an open heart, a clear mind, and a deep curiosity about the ways of the human spirit.

- Phil Jackson

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2:20 - Vince Lombardi

9:50 - Phil Jackson

15:30 - John Wooden

21:45 - Pete Carroll

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You can check out books on each coach below:

When Pride Still Mattered - Vince Lombardi
Win Forever - Pete Carroll
Wooden - John Wooden
Eleven Rings - Phil Jackson

If you love reading, you can check out my book, Chasing Greatness

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Diving into the story of the first man to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean and what we can learn from his historic feat.

Check out A. Scott Berg book, Lindbergh, for more on the life and greatness of Charles Lindberg

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Book: Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence 
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Diving into the life and greatness of Tiger Woods from James Patterson's book, Tiger, Tiger, and Jeff Benedict's book, Tiger Woods

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3:40 - Young Tiger

By eleven months old, when most kids are just learning to walk, Tiger Woods picked up a golf club crafted to his size and hit a golf ball perfectly into the net.

6:30 - Mom's advice

“In sport, you have to go for the throat. Because if all friendly, they come back and beat your ass. So kill them. Take their heart.”

9:25 - Father's influence

"The psychological training that my father used inured me to whatever I might have to deal with in golf. He taught me to be completely unaware of my surroundings, while maintaining complete focus on the task at hand."

11:30 - The goal at 15

"I want to be the Michael Jordan of golf. I’d like to be the best ever.”

12:10 - Work = Play

Practicing golf was never a chore or something Tiger felt obligated to do. He looked forward to being alone on the range or the course with his clubs.

15:35 - Golf was a drug

"I love this game to death. It’s like a drug I have to have."

20:50- Earn the right to be confident

Confidence stems from one thing, relentless work. If you’re lacking confidence, ask yourself if you’ve put in the work to have confidence

23:45- Pure obsession

By the spring of 1997, Tiger was consumed with practicing and working out. A typical practice day for him entailed hitting six hundred balls, working on his shirt game and putting, playing a round (Sometimes on his own), and working out in the gym for two or three hours

27:35- Relentless reinvention 

“I was in it to find the answer to one question. How good can I be?

33:20 - What made Tiger great

1. Constant evolution and reinvention 
2. Obsession to the craft
3. Self-belief 
4. High capacity for pain 

37:55- The Comeback
With every fiber in my body I’ve got to make you the best football player that I can make you. And I’ll try. And I’ll try. And if I don’t succeed on the first day. I’ll try again. And I’ll try again. And you’ve got to give everything that is in you.

42:15 - Lessons/Takeaways

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You can heck out my book, website, and apparel below:

Website
Book: Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence 
Apparel