The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in (6 page)

“Did you write these, Tommy?”

“I did, Blake, I did,” he repeated softly, wiping his hands with his Mickey Mouse handkerchief. His face looked serious. His voice was clear.

“Hell on earth is nothing more than ending up in this first grave. Hell on earth is nothing more than having these ten regrets fill your heart just before you die. Nothing will so destroy your spirit than getting to your deathbed standing amid these ten conditions. True human heartbreak is reaching your final moments and realizing that you wasted the most important gift that was given to you—the chance to present your magnificence to the world around. Here’s one of the most important leadership insights I can share with you, Blake:
potential unrealized turns to pain.
And the really sad thing is that the violence of mediocrity and a life poorly lived creeps up on people. It happens so quietly and ever so invisibly. And then—wham—it just tears you apart!” he exclaimed, slapping his hands together in a loud clap.

“One of the big ideas I learned from one of the genius leadership teachers you are about to meet is this one:
success is created through the performance of a few small daily disciplines that stack up over time to produce achievements far beyond anything you could have ever planned for.
These little success habits are so easy to do each day that most people don’t think they’ll make a difference. And so they just don’t do them.”

“So success is actually easy,” I spoke, remembering what Tommy had said by restating it. “Anyone can reach success if they consistently do the right things. And these little choices and small behaviors build up over time. I guess it’s momentum at play. So eventually, anyone can get to the extraordinary place that seemed impossible to reach when they first started. The process sort of makes me think of a farmer. Seeds get planted. The crop gets watered, and the soil gets fertilized. Nothing seems to be happening.”

“And yet the farmer doesn’t give up. The farmer doesn’t run out into the field and start digging to find vegetables,” Tommy offered lightheartedly.

“The farmer has patience and trusts the process. He just has the faith and deep understanding that through his daily efforts, the harvest will come. And then one day, almost out of nowhere, it does.”

“You’re a smart guy, Blake. Awesome metaphor, my friend. Your dad was right. You’ve got a ton of potential. Good on you!” he applauded happily. “We need to be more like farmers,” Tommy repeated to himself. “This one’s good,” I heard him say under his breath.

Not a cloud filled the sky. Birds chirped while the sunlight warmed my face. It really was a great day to be alive.

Tommy continued speaking. “Successful people all perform the same few leadership disciplines. They consistently practice the same few fundamentals. But their seemingly small, insignificant daily acts of excellence stack up over time to a best-in-class career and a world-class personal life. Which brings us to failure.
Failure, on the other hand, is just as easy to slip into. Failure’s is nothing more than the inevitable outcome of a few small acts of daily neglect performed consistently over time so that they take you past the point of no return.
I really encourage you to look into this first grave and do some serious soul searching as to how you plan to occur in the world after today. You definitely don’t want to end up in this first grave. That would be a tragedy. Yes, I’ll agree that meeting here in this cemetery was dramatic,” Tommy admitted. “But I needed to provoke you. To get to you. To move you into a place where you’d throw down your blinders, let go of your excuses, and have a good hard look at yourself. Connecting to the fact that you will die one day is a powerful tool to shift your thinking and awaken your inner leader.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because remembering the shortness of life strips away all the distractions of life and reminds us what’s most important. Visiting your mortality reminds you that your months are numbered.”

“Nine hundred sixty,” I confirmed.

“Yes, Blake. So what’s the point of playing small? What’s the point of fearing failure? What’s the point of worrying about others’ opinions? What’s the point of denying your duty to lead?”

“You succeeded, Tommy. I don’t feel the same at all.”

“That’s because sustained change only happens when we shift at an emotional rather than at a logical level. I wanted to get under your skin and touch your heart rather than just speak to your head. You can hear a good idea one hundred times and fail to make it a piece of who you are until you actually
experience
it viscerally—in your body. Only then does it rise from being just some idea to
a truth
to you. That’s why so many training seminars don’t work to create lasting results. They fail to get
into
us.”

“True,” I agreed. “I’m starting to see things a lot differently. And far more clearly. I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking my job’s not important, my work doesn’t matter, and I’m at some dead end by being at the bookstore.”

“I appreciate the honesty, Blake. And congratulations on not feeling the same. You know, there’s not one dead-end job in this whole wide and unpredictable world of ours—only dead-end
thinking
. And as someone who cares about you, I’ll keep doing my best to challenge you to start playing in the field of mastery. Just remember that any job performed at peak and any work done at wow will lead to rewards far beyond the limited possibilities you may currently have the eyes to see. Just because you can’t currently see all the success that’s available to you in this moment here at the cemetery doesn’t mean it’s not available to you.”

“Great point. Never thought of that.”

“And as I’m suggesting, the real key is to bring some emotion, energy, and passion into the equation. That’s when real breakthroughs happen. I brought you to this place to get you mad, sad, and more than a little frustrated at how small you’ve been playing with your career—and with the treasure that’s called your life. I wanted you to start to take personal responsibility for each of the current conditions you are experiencing. Because the more you own your power to make choices, the more powerful your choices become.”

“I’m already there, Tommy,” I said with heartfelt conviction to my newfound mentor.

“Well, then let me talk about this second grave. Jump in, please,” he said with a brisk wave of his hand toward the other hole, motioning like the maître d’ of a chic restaurant might on the arrival of an A-list guest.

I readily obliged and snapped into action, heading into it with boundless enthusiasm. I expected to find another tablet. Or maybe another silver necklace with some peculiar acronym engraved upon it. But deep into the grave, I found absolutely nothing.

“Here,” Tommy said, handing me a shovel. “You’ll need to do some digging for this one. But rich rewards always flow from honest effort and hard work. You’ll
love
what you’re about to find.”

I started to dig.

“Quicker, Blake. We’ve got things to do and people to meet. We don’t have all day,” Tommy shouted, his arms crossed and his expression revealing that he was having fun.

Soon I hit something. I got down on my knees and started pushing away the dirt with my bare hands. As I brushed away more soil, I noticed something that sparkled extraordinarily in the morning sun. I carefully picked up the object and looked up at Tommy in disbelief. At the bottom of this second grave was
another tablet. But this one was made of what appeared to be pure gold.

“Is this what I think it is, Tommy?” I asked, stunned.

“Solid gold, my friend. Now read it, please. You’re ready to understand what the inscription says.”

The golden tablet had the following title, marked in the same block lettering: “The 10 Human Victories.”

Tommy spoke up. “I’ve painted a picture of what hell on earth looks like, Blake. Now we need to be a lot more positive and discuss the place I sense you’re quickly moving toward, a state where all things are possible and there are zero chains on the difference you can make.”

“And how do I get to this place, Tommy?”

“Just do the things I’ve been encouraging you to do. And Lead Without a Title.
By infusing leadership into everything you do and each thing you touch, you can live remarkably. You truly can realize your original genius. You really can be one of the great ones.
Read the rewards that you are
guaranteed
to get if you embrace the philosophy I’ve been sharing. I’m so excited for you.”

I read the list:

1.
You reach your end full of happiness and fulfillment on realizing that you are all used up—having spent the fullness of your talents, the biggest of your resources, and best of your potential doing great work and leading a rare-air life.

2.
You reach your end knowing that you played at a standard of concentrated excellence and held yourself to the most impeccable of standards in each thing that you did.

3.
You reach your end in noisy celebration for having the boldness of spirit to have regularly confronted your largest fears and realized your highest visions.

4.
You reach your end and recognize that you became a person who built people up versus one who tore people down.

5.
Your reach your end with the understanding that while your journey may have not always been a smooth one, whenever you got knocked down you instantly got back up—and at all times, never suffered from any loss of optimism.

6.
You reach your end and bask in the staggering glory of your phenomenal achievements along with the rich value you have contributed to the lives of the people you were lucky to serve.

7.
You reach your end and adore the strong, ethical, inspirational, and empathetic person you grew into.

8.
You reach your end and realize that you were a genuine innovator who blazed new trails instead of following old roads.

9.
You reach your end surrounded with teammates who call you a rock star, customers who say you’re a hero, and loved ones who call you a legend.

10.
You reach your end as a true Leader Without a Title, knowing that the great deeds you did will endure long after your death and that your life stands as a model of possibility.

We both sat down on the lush grass that surrounded the graves. The words Tommy had written were at once brilliant, beautiful, and basic. My life had become so filled with worries and senseless acts of distraction that I’d lost sight of the truth of what was most important. I’d lost sight of all I could do, right where I was. I’d forgotten the power I had to make change happen. And I’d disconnected from the hidden genius I was built to become.

Tommy’s point was so well taken: I could choose to continue as I’d been doing these past years—coasting through life and succumbing to the curse of small, daily neglect. And if I did, I’d end up in that first grave, a wasted victim of the costs set out on the tablet of slate. Or I could choose the higher road. I could stand for leadership, excellence, and enthusiasm within my work
and in my life. I could begin to Lead Without a Title and go for the rewards on the golden tablet. One choice would lead me into a form of living hell. The other, Tommy assured me, would lead me to the place of my dreams. I knew which choice I’d make. And so sitting there on the grass, with my strangely attired mentor sitting next to me and the two fresh graves resting in front of me, I made it.

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

—DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
.

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.

—
ALICE WALKER

T
OMMY GENTLY PLACED THE TABLET
of gold in the trunk of the Porsche and fired up the engine. Sounded like poetry to my ears. I followed him in my car as we made our way back into Manhattan.

After a couple of hours of driving, Tommy stopped in front of one of the best hotels in New York, a favorite haunt of fashionistas and those who appreciated all things stylish. He handed the doorman a twenty-dollar bill to valet park his car and led me through the small yet impressive lobby filled with beautiful models, European travelers, and books on modern design. We
went up to the third floor and walked down the dark corridor. “I want you to meet the first of the four teachers I’ll introduce you in this special day we have together, Blake. Her name is Anna and she comes from Argentina originally. She’s a lovely woman. So very kind. Really industrious. Ever so passionate. And deeply wise. Anna has a strong understanding about what it truly means to be a leader and the whole Lead Without a Title concept. Actually, she was the one who first taught it to me,” Tommy shared as we arrived at room 404. I could hear someone singing inside.

“Buenos dias, Tommy,” chirped the lovely woman with a gorgeous smile who opened the door. I guessed she was in her late forties. Yet she exuded a remarkable youthfulness and a noticeable sexiness. She was wearing a black-and-white uniform, the sort that high-end hotel housekeepers usually wear. Her light brown skin was flawless and her near-perfect teeth impressively white. She appeared enthusiastic yet graceful, and very much at ease with herself. And she had adorned her hair with a beautiful white flower, an original touch that made her appear even more radiant.

“Buenos dias, Anna,” Tommy replied as he gently kissed one of her cheeks and gave her a warm hug.

“Was that you singing?” he asked.

“Of course it was. You know how happy I am when I do my work. It makes me want to sing. And when I sing, I begin to have even more fun. It’s all so wonderful,” she beamed.