Free The Greatness Guide: One of the World's Most Successful Coaches Shares His Secrets for Personal and Business Mastery by Robin Sharma Page B

hesitation—apologized for the problem I faced. She then said: “We promise you that you will have your carry-on in perfect order within three days. And of course, sir, there will be no charge.” No bureaucracy around needing the receipt from the previous repair. No hassles. No issues. Just great service, with a giant smile.
    “Real leadership is not about prestige, power or status. It is about responsibility.”
     
     
    This woman showed true leadership. She quickly diagnosed the problem, assumed personal responsibility and made the right decision. Part of the solution versus part of the problem. And she wowed her customer in the process. She wasn’t the owner. Not the supervisor. Not a manager. Just a leader without title.

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Do Your Part
     
    Big question for you: “What are you doing to help build a new and better world?” Don’t blame the politicians. Don’t blame those around you. Don’t blame your parents or your background. Doing so is playing the victim and this world has far too many people playing the victim when they could be sharing their brilliance and making a profound difference. Mother Teresa said it so much better than I ever could: “If each of us would only sweep our own doorstep, the whole world would be clean.”
    Blaming others is excusing yourself. Telling yourself that you—as an army of one—cannot have an impact is giving away your power. After a hurricane a while ago, a couple of college kids got their hands on empty school buses and drove them into the ravaged area when everybody else said the city was impenetrable. A little man in a loincloth named Mahatma Gandhi freed an entire nation. A woman named Rosa Parks sparked a civil rights movement because she refused to sit at the back of a bus. Ordinary people really can do extraordinary things. I love what Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, once said: “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.”
    Live by what I call the Jennifer Aniston Rule. In an issue of
Vanity Fair,
Aniston said that she gives herself one day to play victim after experiencing a challenging event. After that day of feeling powerless and sorry for herself, she wakes up and takes ownership for the way her life looks. She takes personal responsibility for her part in the problem—even if that only amounted to 1%. That’s personal leadership in action. “It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always,” offered entertainment superstar Oprah Winfrey.
    Blaming others is excusing yourself. Telling yourself that you—as an army of one—cannot have an impact is giving away your power.
     
     
    What don’t you like about your life or the organization you work for or the country you live in? Make a list. Write it down. Shout it out. And then do something to improve things. Anything. Start small or go big. Just do something. As you exercise your power to choose, guess what? Your power grows. And as you work within your sphere of influence to make things better, guess what? Your sphere of influence expands. So do your part. Today. Now. The world will be better for it.

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Do You Play?
     
    I dropped off my son, Colby, at his friend’s house this past weekend. When his buddy walked up to our car to greet him, I asked: “What are you guys going to do?” The reply came in one big word: “Play.” Perfect answer.
    Children are our teachers. I’m not the guru in our home—my kids are. As I drove back to my place, I reflected on the importance of play. How often do you ask an adult “What do you plan on doing today?” and get the response “Play”? Maybe that’s why our world is broken.
    Adults are nothing more
than deteriorated children.
     
     
    What would your life look like if there was more play? What would your experience of work be like if you had more fun doing your job, no matter what job you do? What would your relationships look like