Derek Sivers’ 3-minute TED talk on leadership lessons from this dancing guy got a standing ovation.

(crosspost)

Good guidelines for these times:

My first-order response is that my most important advice comes by example and I have little idea what kind of message is actually being received.  Keep in mind that children often respond to your strengths with niche-finding strategies, and thus deviation, rather than copying strategies.

Otherwise, a long time ago I told Yana to take calculus and statistics; even if she hates them she'll know what side of that divide she stands on.  I am encouraging of learning languages, driving modest Japanese cars, and ordering the most unappealing-sounding dish on the menu of a good restaurant.  On investing it's buy and hold all the way.  Use TimeOut guides when you travel and when you are eating in third world countries avoid walls.  I'm not a big fan of debt; debt is worth it only if you're earnings-obsessed and I don't recommend that for most people.  Don't expect to be too happy, that is counterproductive.  I've mentioned that future job descriptions may be quite fluid and unpredictable from today's vantage point.  Being "good with people," combined with smarts and a focus on execution, will never wear out.  The reality is that I hardly have any useful advice.

Class act.

When explaining his cabinet choices yesterday, president-elect Barack Obama had this to say:

"I assembled this team because I am a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made. One of the dangers in a White House, based on my reading of history, is that you get wrapped up in group-think and everybody agrees with everything and there's no discussion and there are no dissenting views. So I am going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House. But understand, I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I will expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made."

Such a good lesson here: if more organizations would create leadership teams where civilized dissent and debate is encouraged instead of actively vetted out, you’d see sounder, stronger, more founded decisions come from them.

All too often, the exact opposite happens: key leaders surround themselves with old boys and yes men, then everyone acts surprised when shallow, ill-conceived decisions and policies are made.

It takes a tremendous amount of strength to allow your ideas to be challenged and, often, shot down.  It requires an ego checking-at-the door and an intellectual fortitude that few people truly have.  Many say this is what they want, but when it happens, they balk.  I’ve seen it firsthand more times than I can remember.

True leaders surround themselves with people as smart as or smarter than them for this very reason.

Then again, there’s a reason we see so few true leaders.

TED has a very good talk by Tony Robbins about what shapes our behavior, what drives us to do what we do, and what fulfillment is all about.  Very much worth 20 minutes of your life, even if Tony Robbins conjures up too much motivational blowhardery (which he insists he's not, BTW.  And by that I mean he insists he's not a motivational speaker.  I don't know about blowhard.) (via Unfiltered)

The video below is about 20 minutes long. It's a single man on stage by the name of Ben Dunlap, who tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian man he met at Wofford College. Dunlap narrates Teszler's life story with an intense energy and passion, and it's clear to anyone watching Dunlap that what he's talking about is rooted at the very core of his being. The message is simple: the gift of life is lifelong learning and endless curiosity, which, in turn, enable us to rise past any adversity that faces us. I won't ruin the whole story for you, as it's masterfully told. With no slides, props or notes, Dunlap captivates in a way I've never seen anyone do. I will say this: this may be the best speech I've ever seen given. Ever. And it's the best TED talk I've ever seen -- which, if you're familiar with TED, is astonishingly high praise. I think every single person on earth should hear this message. There are lots of videos I've posted to GF, but none so special that I thought I would be doing a disservice by not sharing it. Until this one. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39rIebbXshA] [Thx Sean]

No matter how many times I watch this classic Steve Jobs commencement speech for the 2005 Stanford graduating class, it gives me the shivers without fail. Simple lessons with far-reaching impact: 1. Connect the dots. 2. Keep looking. Don't settle. 3. Death is the best invention of life. There's a lot of wisdom here. To me, this is required viewing for anyone. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA]

If you've ever wondered what makes successful people successful (hint: not bionics), then you've probably heard the recipe is actually mostly common sense and very few shortcuts. (But, please, don't tell dieters.) In case you haven't heard this and are still spending half your monthly salary on self-help books written by dudes with bulletproof hair, let me do you a favor: watch the video I link to below. Then, if you're still not convinced, send me half of the money you were spending and I'll send you a bundle of paper filled with common sense, laid out in four colors and a hot-diggity typeface. And I save you money in the process! What a deal!

Why do people succeed? Because they're smart? Or lucky? How about: Neither. Richard St. John compacts more than a decade of research into an unmissable 3-minute slideshow on the real secrets of success. (Hint: Passion, persistence, and pushy mothers help.) Inspired by a chance encounter with a high school student who asked him how to become a success, St. John interviewed more than 500 successful people, then distilled what they told him into eight simple principles.

TED: Richard St. John: Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes

Rarely does a single webpage contain so many life lessons so full of candor and bravery. Selected excerpts:

If I let it affect everything, it’s gonna own everything. I don’t deny it or pretend it’s not there, but if I don’t allow it to be bigger than it is, then I can do everything else. My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations. Acceptance is the key to everything. If you don’t have someone calling you on your shit, you’re lost. Discipline is just doing the same thing the right way whether anyone’s watching or not. No matter how much fame you have, it’s not something that belongs to you. If I’m famous, that doesn’t belong to me -- that belongs to you. If you can’t remember who I am, I’m no longer famous. Whatever terrible thing is going on, it’s going on until you find out that it’s not. So get to that part as quickly as possible.

It's impossible not to admire such perspective. [Via kottke]