The Learning Leader Show

Episode 220: Robert Greene - The Laws Of Power & Mastery

Robert Greene is an American author and speaker known for his books on strategy, power and seduction. He has written five international bestsellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law and Mastery. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, Greene’s books are hailed by everyone from war historians to the biggest musicians in the industry (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).

"Do Not Speak Unless You Can Improve Upon The Silence."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Self Mastery
  • Self Control -- "We are emotional animals, governed by emotions. It can get you in trouble."
  • Self Discipline
  • Flexibility -- Ability to adapt
• Why Napoleon was successful? He had a front line obsession
• Writing a book with 50 Cent
  • "Never let your guard down"
• Law 4 - Always say less than necessary. "Do not speak unless you can improve upon the silence."
  • Learn the power of being quiet
  • If you're upset about an email, do not respond emotionally. Wait 24 hours and then respond with a level head
• Law 9 - Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument. "Demonstrate, do not explicate."
  • Commit to action. Words are devalued
  • "Show them. Don't talk."
• Law 10 - Infection: Avoid The Unhappy and Unlucky
  • You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with
  • "We absorb the energy of other people."
  • Look to "level up" your peer group at all time"
• How to deal with a person in a power position who you do not like or respect?
  • Do not let them see you upset. Do not show them emotion (when they try to rile you up)
• Did President Trump read The 48 Laws of Power? He appears to have used some of the laws to help get elected:
  • Law 6 - Court attention at all cost
  • Law 17 - Keep others in suspended terror. Cultivate an air of unpredictability
  • Law 27 - Play on people's need to believe to create a cult like following
• Very common in business for an "aggressive, loud yeller" to push people around and somehow get promoted... But once they have to actually lead and manage people, they fail miserably
• Rappers, movie stars, athletes quoting (even tattooing) The 48 Laws. How has that impacted you? Great satisfaction, but even more from "regular" people who email him and said his work helped them start a business or quit a bad job.
• "Sometimes you don't know what you're intended to do. It pays to have an open mind." -- Robert didn't write The 48 Laws of Power until he was 38 years old
• "The human brain does not learn unless it is excited"
• Cesar Rodriguez -- "Trust The Process" -- You must get reps, reps, reps in order to achieve any level of excellence
  • Think long term and put in the necessary work to be great
• Advice: "You were born with a purpose. Tap into what makes you different and unique. There is tremendous pressure to fit in. You will have success if you dig deep, be adventurous, try things out. Respect your unique-ness, something great will happen."

"The Human Brain Does Not Learn Unless It Is Excited."

Social Media:

• Read: The 48 Laws Of Power
• Read: Mastery
• Follow Robert on Twitter: @RobertGreene
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

219: Eric Barker - Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

Eric Barker is a thought leader in the field of success. His humorous, practical blog, "Barking Up the Wrong Tree", presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life. Over 300,000 people subscribe to his weekly newsletter and his content is syndicated by Time Magazine, The Week, and Business Insider. He has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, and the Financial Times. Eric is also a sought-after speaker and interview subject, and has been invited to speak at MIT, Yale, West Point, the University of Pennsylvania, NPR affiliates, and on morning television.

To Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: www.RyanHawk.net

www.LearningLeader.com 

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Consistent habits and routines
  • Experiment
  • Evolve
  • Learn/Grow
  • Create a feedback loop
• Steve Martin -- "Being great isn't hard. Being consistent is." -- (Note: Watch the Steve Martin MasterClass) -- Meta principal for how people do things
  • "Hit the ball every time. It's hard."
• Eric started the blog in 2009 -- He read abstracts, academic research
  • He wanted to focus on things that were applicable to being awesome at life
• "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed."
• How he went from unemployed --> MBA in 2009 --> Screenwriter in Hollywood for Disney, Fox --> Successful blog/book
• Advice to people who have a side hustle: "It's a hard road. Give 1 hour per day to it. If you really want to do it, there will be trade offs. You have to measure how you will spend your time and what's important to you."
• Book writing vs Blog writing -- Book = 5 days per week working on. Blog = 2 days per week.
• How can we find work life balance? -- "It did not previously exist for me."
  • How to say NO like Warren Buffett
• Networking -- Who you know is very important... However there is a tradeoff and extroverts waste time "at the water cooler"
• Nice guys, Givers... There is a tight rope between confidence and delusion
  • There is a problem: "Nobody likes narcissism and hubris, but some confident people have those qualities."
• When is it a good idea to quit?
  • "It's unrealistic to never quit. We quit things all the time. Show GRIT on the things that are important to you."
• Make little bets -- Read Little Bets by Peter Sims
• Learning Leader = Humility

"People love having choices... But people hate making choices."

Social Media:

• Read: Barking Up The Wrong Tree
• Follow Eric on Twitter: @bakadesuyo
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 216: Jim Collins -- How To Go From Good To Great

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode #218: David Hornik - Why Givers Win

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Great story-tellers -- Every message is better told as a story
  • Great sales people
• Why generous people win in the long run -- David is naturally generous
• He answers every email
• VC's invest in people more than investing in a product
• The story of Danny Shader and their daughters' soccer team
  • The many conversations which led to working together after Danny initially turned David down because he thought he was "too nice" -- Why he was wrong
• The aspect of the job that David doesn't like -- Narcissistic people - "You don't have to be that way"
• "In the long run, doing the things you like, with the people you like, will be better"
• What percentage of your job do you love? -- "North of 80% of it. I've been doing this for 17 years. You have to do it with people you enjoy. If not, it's terrible."
• Do you have a boss? -- "Not really"
• How to handle a bad loss? -- "We lost $35m at one point. A lot of sleepless nights. It was very hard. This business is not all about succeeding."
• Why doesn't David use hard end dates on his term sheets like all other VC's? "Investing is a big decision."
• How to differentiate from other VC's?
  • Money is all the same, does not differentiate
  • "It's about help, guidance. I tell them to speak with every person I've ever worked with. Ask them what they think."
  • "I genuinely care about people I work with"
• "The Lobby" -- David's annual conference -- "The best values from conferences are the relationships with other attendees."
  • Do work outside at a table in Hawaii -- It promotes better work
  • Best advice for hosting and event?  "Maniacally curate the guest list. It has to be full of givers. If takers are there, it won't work."
  • Start the conference with a fun game
  • Do NOT gather in conference rooms (Hence the name "The Lobby") - The best conversations happen during the breaks in the lobby
  • Goal is to break even on the event. The budget is more than $1m -- Get sponsors, the guests all pay
• "The goal in life is to have a good time... To have a good life. What's the point otherwise?"
• "My goal is to surround myself with great people and enjoy my life. See what's out there if you don't like what you're doing."
• Making a lot of money... Impact? "If I make more, I can give more away."

217: JJ Redick - "You've Never Arrived. You're Always Becoming."

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JJ Redick is an iconic and legendary basketball player from Duke University. He is their all time leading scorer.  JJ was the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft (Orlando Magic).  He's going in to his 12th NBA season.  He recently signed a 1 year, $23 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.  He graduated from Duke with a major in history and a minor in cultural anthropology. He is an extremely thoughtful leader and someone I loved talking to...

The Learning Leader Show

"There was never any sense that I was done accomplishing things. You've never arrived. You're always becoming."

Show Notes:

• Sustained Excellence:
  • Passion for what they do
    • Coach K has this at Duke, Steve Ballmer has this with Microsoft as well
  • They master the small stuff -- Read The Carrot Seed
    • Being in the weeds everyday
    • Diligence to be in the weeds
  • Adaptability
    • Coach K doesn't have a system. He adapts to his current players. It changes every year. Same is true for Bill Belichick and Greg Popovich
    • "How do I maximize this team's personnel?"
    • "Each year you have to adapt"
• The power of receiving a daily devotional 
• "There was never any sense that I was done accomplishing things."
• The importance of coaches, parents, and friends to never let JJ feel entitled. They would call him out if needed
  • 2nd half of the ACC championship when he was acting like a brat. Chris Collins called him out
• How do we develop GRIT in our children if we're able to provide anything they could ever want?
  • "The biggest thing I learned from my Dad was he went to work everyday. Then he came home and would work on the house, the yard, and work more. He showed me how to work."
  • Live under your means
  • "Stuff doesn't matter, we care more about having great experiences as a family"
• Falling Upward -  "to reach the second half of your journey, you need to fail" -- It's necessary
• Working in an imperfect environment -- "Mastering mechanics in an imperfect environment"
  • "You can't master it unless you've done it over and over and over"
    • "It's very rare that anyone works in a perfect environment" -- You must be able to adapt
• Mindset going in to free agency? "Wanted stability. Had 15 minutes to decide on the 76ers offer."
• Being an "over thinker."  "Addicted to information" -- How does that impact him as a shooter?
  • "I am addicted to information. I am a deep dive person."
• How to handle a slump? --"You have to enjoy the mundane. I love going in the gym and shooting over and over." (Angela Duckworth -- GRIT)
• Goal setting process -- Each year, write down a list of what you want to accomplish
  • Some examples: Win an NBA championship, get a sleeve (arm) tattoo, have a son, go on a great European vacation.
    • Setting life goals every year -- "How do we include other people on this journey?"
    • A "Words of Wisdom" file on his phone
• Life after basketball
  • General Manager in front office or creating a media company to tell interesting stories. Building something. Anthony Bourdain is the blueprint. He uses food to tell interesting stories
  • OR the idea of completely reinventing himself. "That idea is both terrifying and exciting at the same time."
  • "The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” 
• Building relationships and networks in a variety of places
• Working with and learning from LeBron James and Maverick Carter

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” 

Social Media:

• Read: The Carrot Seed 
• See why over 280,000 people follow JJ on Twitter: @JJRedick 
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

More Learning:

Episode 073: Jay Bilas - World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 078: Kat Cole - From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

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