Greatness

Diving into lessons and stories from Tim Grover's book: Relentless

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2:40 - Relentless is seizing the moment

6:50 - Relentless is sustained excellence

9:15: Relentless is never satisfied

13:00 - Relentless is about one thing

18:05 - Relentless is calm, cool, and steady

21:20 - Relentless is about being strict with yourself 

23:25 - Relentless is being mentally unstoppable

32:30 Relentless is about attention to detail

36:35 - Relentless is about reinvention

42:30 - Relentless is monotonous

44:25 - Relentless is irrational self-belief

49:45 - Relentless doesn’t care

52:00 - Relentless is about work

55:50 - Relentless is having the right frame of mind

1:02:30- Relentless is making sacrifices/playing the long

1:07:30 - Relentless is a little crazy 

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Diving into the life and greatness of Bruce Lee  from Matthew Polly's  book: Bruce Lee: A Life

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4:40 - First Kung Fu Lesson

5:30 - Ambition is never satisfied/How Bruce viewed winning

9:30 - The importance of being like water

11:05 - How Bruce Lee created his own kung fu style 

14:15 - Bruce's chief aim + the power of giving yourself time

17:55 - Some martial arts motto's

28:30 -  Creating his own style of martial arts + adaptability 

29:15- Bruce Lee on martial arts' most important skill

34:50 - Empty your cup: how to learn more 

37:30 - Bruce and the belief battle

42:30 - Bruce and the belief battle

44:30 - Steal, steal, steal

48:30 - How Bruce used the past as motivation

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Check out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

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Diving into the life and greatness of Ted Tuner from Janet Lowe's book: Ted Turner Speaks

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1:45 - Lesson's on how to win

3:30 - Ted's competitive advantage

5:10 - Ted on what losing means

6:55 - How death helped Ted Turner deal with risk

12:45 - Ted on winning

14:40 - What it means to have fun

16:05 - The ultimate life goal

24:30 - Playing the limitless game

28:20 - Happiness lies in being a good person

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Check out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

You can get some Chasing Greatness Apparel here

Diving into the life and greatness of Pete Carroll from his autobiography: All In

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6:00 - A coach's job

7:30 - Coaching is a two way street

10:00 - Biggest lesson of his career

12:30 - What success was to Pete Carroll

20:10- The turning point/how Pete Carroll found his philosophy

25:10 - The importance of competition/what it is/building an environment of competition

31:00 - Coaching lessons/takeaways

34:45 - How Pete Carroll learned about the power of observation

37:00 - The importance of a philosophy

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Check out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

You can get some Chasing Greatness Apparel here

Diving into the life and greatness of Billie Jean King from her autobiography: All In

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3:40 - Early life lessons


4:50 - How Billie Jean would become a Champion  + Humiliation Become Motivation

9:50 - A key to Billie Jean's Success/how Billie Jean set herself up to be one of the best players ever


11:15 - Playing the long game


12:30 - Denying a chance at fulfilling her dream


14:25 - The practices and methods Billie Jean used before and during tennis matches 


17:00 - On losing and being a champion


19:35 - The powerful practice to make you work harder 


21:40 - Seek to renew yourself when you're hitting home-runs


26:50 - Tennis player to social activist


34:00 - The Battle of the Sexes/match against Bobby Riggs


40:20 - Pre-match checklist/mindset


47:15 - The framework for making decisions + how to make big decisions in life

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Check out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

You can get some Chasing Greatness Apparel here

Diving into the life of one of greatest artist the world has ever seen, Alicia Keys, from her autobiography: More Myself

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5:30 - Becoming the "Next"

When Alicia Keys was sixteen, she started her own girl group with two of her friends called EMbishion. With hopes of being like the Jackson 5, Alicia quickly realized it wasn’t about becoming someone

I now understand that trying to be the “next” anyone is as foolish as it sounds. The shoes you dream of fulfilling have already been worn ragged through their soles. You’ve gotta step into your own kicks and just do you.


6:25 - Study the Greats

As she was growing up, Alicia started to study the greats before her,

I drew inspiration from the musical geniuses in my mother’s record collection, as well as the collection I’d started for myself. I studied every note of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going on.”

9:35 - The Performance Mindset

At every showcase, I played my music like it was the only chance I’d ever get to land a contract, because in my view, it was. I’d grown up seeing my life through a single lens: survival. And from that vantage point, opportunity is never a promise. Rather, it is a hope and a hustle.

10:40 - The Battle of College vs Music

18:00 - The Creative Process

I’m often asked where my melodies and lyrics come from. I may never fully comprehend how a song sprouts from nothingness into existence, and truthfully, I’m not tempted to decode the mystery. I hope to be constantly surprised, in amazement of how the tiny seed of a possible chord or lyric miraculously sprints to life…I don’t create from a set of rules or formulas. I tap into my true feelings and experiences and allow them to guide me. 

22:50 - Dealing with Fame

My world was so filled with the steady clanking of appointments and appearances and press interviews and pandemonium, I could no longer even hear my own thoughts. I longed for solitude, for space and breathing room without the thought that someone else might be impacted.

26:10 - Oprah's Lessons

You know what a resounding yes feels like. It’s undeniable Nothing going to stop you from doing it. You’re excited. You don’t have to convince yourself to move forward. You simply know this is the right thing. And that’s what I live by
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For many years, I looked for someone outside of myself to dream up and create what only I could. I eventually realized that no one else can see your big picture. Only you can know the journey you’re on. Others can contribute, and you should definitely surround yourself with smart people who lift you higher and share in your vision. But the truth is, even with wise counsel, only you know what your next step should be. All my best decisions in life have come when I’ve turned to what felt like the best move for me.”

28:10 - Alicia's Pre-Performance Mindset

Before every performance, Alicia Keys asks herself,

Do you want to be good, or do you want to be great

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Check out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

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Alicia Keys Grammy Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPbwJQ1XR4c

Diving into a short story on the Roman Philosopher, Seneca, from my book: Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence
 

Diving into the life of one of greatest athletes the world has ever seen, LeBron James, from Jeff Benedict's book: LeBron

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1:00 - LeBron's upbringing

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly… 

5:15 - The advice that shaped how LeBron played the game

Lebron paid attention whenever his coach wanted to talk shop about basketball. On this occasion, coach Dru encouraged him to integrate his teammates into the offense. “Bron, if you pass the ball, everyone is going to want to play with you.” Lebrons seized that last part of the sentence–everyone is going to want to play with you…For a kid who has spent so much time alone, there was nothing Lebron wanted more than to be wanted.

6:00 - The Dream

In school, when his teacher passed out a blank note card at the beginning of the year and instructed the students to write down three things they wanted to be when they grew up, Lebron wrote,

NBA Player

NBA Player

NBA Player

8:45 - Make it visible

The last thing he saw before going to sleep each night and the first thing he saw when he woke up each morning were images of Michael Jordan looking down on him from the walls of his bedroom. To Lebron, Jordan was the ultimate athlete. 

10:10 - T-Mac's Advice

When you get on the court, you have no friends. No matter who you’re playing, you gotta kill’em.

15:00 - Playing philosophy

I go for the winning play. The winning play when two guys come at you and a teammate is open is to give it up. It’s as simple as that.

18:25 - The Decision

The world’s most celebrated basketball player couldn’t foresee that by the end of the night he would be the most hated athlete in all of sports.

23:00- Proving vs Improvement

I lost touch with who I was as a basketball player and a person. I got caught up in everything that was going on around me, and I felt like I had to prove something to people, and I don’t know why. Everything was tight, stressed.

23:50 - Losing is Winning

The best thing that happened to me last year was us losing the Finals. It humbled me…I knew I was going to have to change as a basketball player and I was going to have to change as a person. 

29:10 - Make It Visible 

A excerpt on LeBron from my book, Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

Diving into the unique journal of Marcus Aurelius when he was the most powerful man in the world from the book: Meditations
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2:40 - On a morning practice

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly… 

7:25 - Protect your thoughts

The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.

8:10 - On being harmed

Choose not to be harmed-and you won't feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed – and you havent been.

Nothing that goes on in anyone’s else’s mind can harm you. Nor can shifts and changes in the world around you. Then where is harm to be found? In your capacity to see it. Stop doing that and everything will be fine

9:40 - A couple rules/practices to follow

Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary’

When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one's energy, that one's modesty, another's generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we're practically showered with them. It's good to keep this in mind.

14:15 On revenge

The best revenge is to not be like that.

17:00 - Keep your philosophy ready

Doctors keep their scalpels and other instruments handy, for emergencies. Keep your philosophy ready too ready to understand heaven and earth.

18:15 - On asking for help

Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what?”

19:00 - On worrying about your reputation

Or is it your reputation that’s bothering you? But look at how soon we’re all forgotten.

So many who were remembered already forgotten, and those who remembered them are long gone.

One Final Note/Challenge

Just as you overhear people saying that ‘the doctor prescribed such-and-such for him’ (like riding, or cold baths, or walking barefoot…), say this: ‘Nature prescribed illness for me’ Or blindness. Or the loss of a limb. Or whatever. There ‘prescribed’ means something like ‘ordered, so as to further his recovery.’ And so too here. What happens to each of us is ordered. It furthers our destiny.

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Check out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

Diving into the lessons and stories of how Howard Schultz helped turn Starbucks around from his book: Onward
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0:00  - Opening

“I’ve come to think that I am at my best as a leader when Starbucks is being challenged or fighting for survival. I’m comfortable with, and in a way enjoy, the rugged, steep ascent. That is my nature. And while I would not want to constantly battle against the odds, the raw feeling of accomplishing something that others did not think possible, or leading people beyond where they thought they could go, is extremely gratifying.”

2:30 - The Goal

As a business leader, my quest has never been just about winning or making money; it has also been about building a great, enduring company, which has always meant trying to strike a balance between profit and social conscience

5:20  - Mastering the Craft

We’re taking time to perfect our espresso. Great espresso requires practice. That’s why we’re dedicating ourselves to honing our craft.

6:55 - Decision-Making

The only filters to our thinking should be: will it make the people proud? Will this make the customer experience better? And will this enhance Starbucks in the minds and hearts of our customers?

11:15  - The Power of One

Like a doctor who measures a patient’s height and weight every year without checking blood pressure or heart rate, Starbucks was not diagnosing itself at a level of detail that would help ensure its long-term health. We predicted future success on how many stores we opened during a quarter instead of taking the time to determine whether each of those stores would in fact be profitable. We thought in terms of millions of customers, and thousands of stores instead of one customer, one partner, and one cup of coffee at a time…We forgot that “ones” add up.

13:45 - On Being an Entrepreneur

But the entrepreneurial journey is not for everyone. Yes, the highs are high and the rewards can be thrilling. But the lows can break your heart. Entrepreneurs must love what they do to such a degree that doing it is worth sacrifice, at times, pain. But doing anything else, we think, would be unimaginable.


18:05 - On Innovation

I’ve always believed that innovation is about rethinking the nature of relationships, not just rethinking products. 

19:30 - No Magic Pills

Our success would only be won by many. Transforming Starbucks was a complex puzzle we were trying to piece together, where everything we did contributed to the whole. We just had to focus on the right, relevant things for our partners, for our customers, for our shareholders, and our brand.


21:00 - Lessons Learned

Grow with discipline. Balance intuition with rigor. InnovaTe around the core. Don’t embrace the status quo. Find new ways to see. Never expect a silver bullet. Get your hands dirty. Listen with empathy and over communicate with transparency. Tell your story, refusing to let others define you. Use authentic experiences to inspire. Stick to your values, they are your foundation. Hold people accountable but give them the tools to succeed. Make the tough choices; it’s how you execute that counts. Be decisive in times of crisis. Be nimble. Find truth in trials and lessons in mistakes. Be responsible for what you see, hear, and do. Believe.

One Final Note

Starbucks is not a coffee company that serves people, it’s a people company that serves coffee. 

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