E8: Advice from Elon Musk, Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs

Dec 18, 2017 44m 16s 11 insights
The host, Steven Bartlett, shares personal growth strategies for leaders and individuals. He covers intentional mood setting, emotional control through mindful responses, efficient time management, and the importance of prioritizing high standards over popularity.
Actionable Insights

1. Practice Mindful Emotional Response

Before reacting to negative situations or others’ moods, practice mindfulness to observe your internal feelings and then pause. This allows you to respond thoughtfully with compassion, focusing on your overall objective rather than ego, leading to better outcomes and stronger relationships.

2. Seek Anonymous Honest Criticism

Actively solicit anonymous and honest critiques from the five people who work closest with you. Use online tools to gather feedback on your flaws, areas for improvement, and opportunities to enhance your character and performance, as this information is invaluable for growth.

3. Prioritize Standard Over Being Liked

As an entrepreneur or leader, prioritize maintaining a high standard in your work and business above being liked by everyone. Be prepared to challenge and improve things, even if it’s socially uncomfortable, as this builds genuine respect and reliability.

4. Cultivate Original Defined Thoughts

To become a respected thought leader, cultivate original, clearly defined thoughts and express them without fear of disapproval. Focus on developing your unique perspective rather than imitating others, as true admiration comes from authenticity.

5. Focus on Personal Progress, Not Comparison

Avoid the trap of social media comparison, which creates false perceptions of others’ lives and leads to unhappiness. Instead, define success as making consistent progress towards your own goals, focusing on your journey rather than external appearances.

6. Assess Your Character Traits

Perform a ‘character investment’ exercise by listing traits you would ‘invest in’ (admire and want to possess) and traits you would ‘short’ (bet against, avoid). This clarifies desired personal attributes and helps identify areas for self-improvement.

7. Create a Mood-Setting Routine

Intentionally create a positive emotional state before important events or when feeling unmotivated by using physical movement and music. Put on headphones, play uplifting music, and move around to generate confidence and energy, even when you don’t feel like it.

8. Implement Meeting Hard Stops

Implement ‘hard stops’ for all meetings by clearly stating the exact duration at the outset. This encourages participants to prioritize discussion points and be efficient, often leading to more productive outcomes and saved time for everyone involved.

9. Track Progress and Lack of Progress

Regularly identify and list three specific areas in your life where you are not progressing fast enough. Then, define concrete actions to take to accelerate your movement and improvement in those identified areas.

10. Practice Patience in Relationships

Practice patience in romantic relationships, understanding that rushing into commitment often leads to suboptimal outcomes. Focus on personal growth and self-improvement, trusting that the right relationship will naturally emerge when the time is right.

11. Educate on Blockchain, Invest Cautiously

Educate yourself on blockchain technology as it is a revolutionary field with significant future opportunities for entrepreneurs. When investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, be aware of their speculative nature and only invest what you can afford to lose.