The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in (24 page)

“You’re suggesting negative thinking is a disease?”

“Of course it is, Blake. It’s an obvious sign of an unhealthy mind. When your mind is healthy, your stained-glass window is clear. You have strikingly awakened into the genius that you are and the brilliance you are meant to become. People who
laugh at the concept of positive thinking should make a study of sports heroes, of legendary champions. Superstars deeply understand that the way you run your brain matters. They manage their thinking impeccably, focusing only on victory and paying no attention to the threat of adversity. And even when they get knocked down, they reprocess the event to see it as a gift. They see what others call failure as a chance to grow stronger and to begin over with an attitude that will make things even better. And again, remember that when you allow even one negative thought to run through your mind, you’ve actually started the process of it drawing other negative thoughts to it.”

“Like a single germ that draws in others, eventually creating a feeding frenzy,” I confirmed.

“Yes, Blake. The great leader Gandhi said it so well when he noted: ‘I will not allow others to walk through my mind with their dirty feet.’ So any time your mind shifts into negative thinking, gently guide it back to thoughts that will support your commitment to show leadership and pure excellence. Any time your mind focuses on difficulties, train it to concentrate only on opportunities. Please also remember that you’ll get your expectations. Another way to put it is that your expectations at work and within your life become self-fulfilling prophecies. The results you expect are the results you’ll see. That’s an
incredibly
important thing to remember. If your expectation is that people at work will not support you and will let you down, then you will behave in a way that is aligned with that belief. So you’ll be closed and protect your turf. You’ll work in a silo rather than collaborate and show teamwork. Your very behavior will cause your coworkers to feel you are cold, competitive, and not really trustworthy. And so of course, they will not support you. Your expectation will have become self-fulfilling. And very real. I’ll give you another example, Blake. If you have an expectation that you will never be able to become a superstar at the bookstore where you work,
then there’s no way in the world you will behave in a way that will allow you to fly.
We never act in a way that is inconsistent with the way we see ourselves
. Human beings just don’t behave in a way that’s not congruent with their expectations.”

“And their stained-glass windows,” I contributed quickly.

“Correct,” stated Jet with strong encouragement. “Each one of your thoughts is creative. You really cannot afford the luxury of even one negative thought because every one of them creates something and leads to some result in your outer world. Every thought you think generates a consequence.”

“I haven’t given much thought to my thinking. It’s all been so automatic. I thought I had no control over my thoughts—they just popped into my mind.”

“Most of us think that, Blake. We’ve been thinking the same thoughts for so long that our thinking feels like a deeply ingrained habit that we believe we have no control over. Because we’ve run our old story and our historical mental programs for so many years, they’ve become automatic and unconscious. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have power over them. And it doesn’t mean we can’t change them into habits of mind that serve our leadership potential. We can! We have absolute dominion over our thoughts. And the more personal responsibility you take for every one of your thoughts, the more powerful a thinker—and a leader—you will become. One thing that makes us fully human is our ability to think about our thinking, you know. Right now, in this very moment, you can sit quietly and inquire about the beliefs that run and thoughts that fill your mind each day. And as you spend more time in silent inquiry, you will build greater awareness of the thoughts you think. And with greater awareness around the ones that no longer serve you, you can make better choices. And with better choices, of course, you will experience better results. As you know better, you can do better.”

“So my thoughts are creative?”

“Uh-huh,” replied Jet. “And as the legendary founder of Mo-town Records, Berry Gordy Jr., once said, ‘A winner is a winner before he’s become a winner.’ By becoming a superb thinker and believing in your greatness you will literally create what you are thinking. The statesman Benjamin Disraeli said it so well: ‘To believe in the heroic makes heroes.’ Unchain your brain and just watch what ridiculously wonderful things begin to happen.”

“Perfect. And I love the idea of spending some time each day in ‘silent inquiry,’ as you put it,” I offered.

“Here’s what I suggest you do
every
morning if you are really serious about awakening your inner leader so that you begin to see stellar results in your outer life, Blake: get up an hour earlier every day and spend sixty minutes in self-development. This is your morning recalibration ritual—a regular period you give yourself for preparation and practice. Just like pro athletes train daily so they win on the playing field, this is your private time to prepare and practice, so you’re at your absolute best once you step onto the playing field of business when you get to work. Blake, before a jet takes off, the pilots run a ritual. They check the flight plan, they set the controls, and they evaluate the instrument panel. Only then are they ready to fly. Same metaphor applies to any Leader Without a Title. If you want to fly and radiate your genius, you need to have an early morning preparation ritual. This is the time to reset yourself. To lock in to your flight plan for the day. To reconnect with your core values. To renew, regenerate, and reground. It’s a period to work on your mind, strengthen your body, nourish your emotional life, and fuel your spiritual dimension. This daily discipline alone will work miracles for you in your career and within every other area of your life. It will boost your motivation. It will restore work-life balance. It will bring back a ton of passion and help you see your world through the eyes of wonder again. Remember, when you feel
great and your interior life is at its best, everything you touch is influenced by that stand for personal mastery.”

Jet then escorted me into one of the treatment rooms. Tommy followed. “Blake, you’re in for quite a treat,” Tommy said with a big smile.

“Ever had a massage, Blake?” Jet asked as he pulled open the sheets on the table.

“Nope,” I replied, feeling a little unsure of what I was about to experience.

“Well, allow me to give you one. I know it’s been an intense day for you, so a good massage will really relax you.”

“Okay,” I replied as I lay down on the massage table. Jet began to massage my neck and back. The stress I’d been carrying for years seemed to instantly melt away. Tommy was right. Jet had hands of magic.

“During your Personal Leadership Hour every morning, there are seven practices I suggest you do, Blake. You don’t have to do all seven every day. Actually, doing all seven of these peak-performance habits will be next to impossible. But I wanted to share them with you because they form what I call the Personal Leadership Toolbox. These seven best practices—the Seven Fundamentals—are the most powerful tools for anyone serious about awakening their inner leader and working at wow. By engaging in them consistently during your morning training period, you will experience dazzling results at the bookstore—as well as in every other dimension of your life. Conversely, if you neglect doing even one of these 7 Fundamentals regularly, mediocrity will start to settle in, and an enemy called ‘average’ will become your constant companion.”

Jet started to knead my back more forcefully. “You’ve got a bunch of knots here, Blake. I really recommend that you get a massage more often. Your health and energy levels will soar. And you’ll feel a whole lot happier.”

“I’ll definitely second that,” offered Tommy enthusiastically as he leaned against a wall and played with his hair, while glancing down at his SpongeBob SquarePants watch.

“When the quality of your work is anything less than world class, you can trace this back to a failure to be doing one of the Seven Fundamentals,” Jet continued.

“So what are the seven best practices that I need to be doing?” I asked, still relaxing on the table.

“Here,” said Jet. “I have them on a card for you. Take this with you. And every morning during your Personal Leadership Hour pick a few of the best practices from this list to perform. And by the way, I
strongly
urge you to begin your hour of self-development at five a.m. every day. As I suggested earlier, it’ll take you about forty days to install this new habit. For forty days you’ll feel some stress, you’ll be grumpy, and you’ll be tired. You’ll come up with excuses like ‘This isn’t healthy for me’ or ‘I just wasn’t born with early-rising genes,’ ” Jet said as he laughed. “But remember, nothing’s wrong—it’s just a necessary part of the process of growing and rewiring a new habit. After forty days, getting up at five a.m. to do your interior work so that you become a more powerful person will be second nature.”

“Five a.m.?” I asked in disbelief. “Reminds me a bit of basic training.”

“It
is
basic training, Blake. Basic training to get to your leadership best,” came his succinct reply.

I glanced at the card as Jet turned up the lights in the massage treatment room.

1.
Learning
. Read from books that will inspire you, strengthen your character, and remind you of the examples of the greatest leaders of our world. Also, listen to audio books on
subjects ranging from business excellence, team building, and innovation to wellness, relationships, and personal motivation.

2.
Affirmations
. One of the single best ways to rescript limiting beliefs and failure programs within your mind is through the consistent repetition of positive statements about the leader you want to become and the achievements you commit to create. For example, reciting the affirmation “Today I am focused, excellent, and stunningly passionate in all I do” a number of times at the beginning of your day will create the mind-set of a champion and a winning emotional state for you.

3.
Visualization
. The mind works through pictures. Every great accomplishment—from the tallest skyscraper here in New York City to the most stunning inventions of American geniuses like Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin—began with a series of pictures set in the imagination of their creators. All outer achievements begin within the mind. All progress is nothing more than invisible creativity made visible. So during your Personal Leadership Hour, make time to close your eyes and—like any good elite athlete does—envision yourself realizing your goals, playing at your best, and fully awakening your inner leader.

4.
Journaling
. Writing in a journal is a remarkably strong way to become a clearer thinker, to build massive amounts of self-awareness, and to record your intended outcomes. During your hour of personal development, note your insights, feelings, hopes, and dreams. Also process through any frustrations you might be experiencing and go deep into your fears. The fears you embrace are the fears you’ll release. Really get to know yourself and reconnect with all the talent within you that’s just waiting to be unleashed. Your journal is also a place to express gratitude for all you have and to memorialize
your journey through life. Your life is a gift. And so it’s worth recording.

5.
Goal Setting
. Setting and then reconnecting with your goals on a regular basis is a powerful success discipline. Your goals will create a fantastic amount of focus in your career and within your life. Goals generate hope and positive energy. And when you experience adversity—and we all do from time to time—clearly articulated goals offer you a North Star to guide you out of the rough seas into calmer waters. Goals also ensure that you live life deliberately and productively versus reactively and accidentally. Avoid that walking coma I spoke of earlier.

6.
Exercise
. I’ll speak more about the importance of moving your body daily to achieve peak performance at work, but for now just remember that doing something physical each day boosts brain function, fuels far higher energy levels, helps you manage stress more effectively, and keeps you in the game longer.

7.
Nutrition
. What you eat determines how well you’ll perform. Leadership is influenced by your diet. By eating like a winner, your energy will remain at peak and your moods will stay positive. Please also remember that by eating less food you’ll be able to do better work.

“Really superb suggestions, Jet,” I said with tremendous appreciation as the three of us walked back into the stylish waiting room. The massage had left me feeling incredibly good. And Jet’s Seven Fundamentals for Personal Leadership were ever so practical. I now had a series of disciplines I could choose from and practice during my Personal Leadership Hour to perform at world class throughout my day. I also made the commitment to myself to rise at 5:00 a.m. every morning. I sensed that this habit alone would create wonderful results in terms of my self-confidence,
my ability to be in control of my day, and my overall level of well-being. I shared my willingness to get up early each day with Jet. He was delighted.

“Give yourself one of the best gifts a Leader Without Title can give himself. The blessing of getting up at five a.m. every morning. So many of the most productive leaders of our world have had this routine, Blake.
The way you start your day determines how well you will live your day
. And what you do in your first hour sets you up to either succeed or fail in the hours that follow. Carve out the first hour of your day to spend building your personal leadership capabilities. Hey, by the way, it’s also key to consider that your first thought on waking up and your last thought before going to sleep have a big influence on what goes on between them,” Jet noted.