inspire
Simon Sinek
teacher. golden circle creator. why advisor.
Simon Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. He created a simple model, The Golden Circle, that codifies what makes the most inspiring people and organizations so successful. www.startwithwhy.com
We’re social animals. Our survival, happiness, and safety depend on others – not only those we elect to look after us, but the average human next to us. That’s really interesting to me. Every day I ask myself how we can amplify that so we feel safer, more fulfilled, and more willing to explore because we trust the people around us and they trust us.
Five years ago, I hit rock bottom as a struggling young entrepreneur. Superficially, everything was fine, but I had a twisted notion that I had to know all the answers, when secretly I thought I was wrong most of the time. I was in the bottom of a ditch, thinking I knew everything. The problem was, I was still in the bottom of a ditch. Then someone offered me a hand. Intellectually, I knew I needed help. Was I willing to actually grab their hand? … I was, and that changed my life. As they pulled me out, someone grabbed them from behind so they didn’t fall in, and someone else grabbed that person to make sure they didn’t fall in and before I knew it, I was out of the hole and there were hundreds of people who’d helped me, a whole network, more than I could know.
That was so powerful that I committed the rest of my life to helping people when they fall into holes and when they want to go even higher. That was when I realized leadership is only one thing: someone with followers. And a follower is someone who volunteers to go in the direction a leader is going. We lead when we inspire people to go in a certain direction.
When we focus on our purpose and our cause, we continue to inspire and fuel that vast network of helpers. But the minute I lose sight of that which means the most to me, I put up a brick wall I can’t grow beyond. The test I use to keep living a life focused on what means the most to me is a simple one: Do I agree with myself?
As I live in this way, I come to know people who align with my cause. Then, if I fall into a ditch, there’s someone there to pull me out. If someone I’m walking next to falls into a ditch, the first thing I do is lean over and offer my hand. That’s how it works.
- Simon Sinek
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Today's Poll
When was the last time you sat down with someone and listened to their stories?
Our Take
inspire • To wake people up. To reach for our better self. Lovingly.
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