Welcome to Mindful Monday!

This week, we focus on inner excellence, the importance of selling, very bad advice, a speech about finding your people, and some wise words from Jim Mattis. And... CLICK HERE to read our USA Today Best-Selling book, The Score That Matters.

#642: Jim Murphy - Inner Excellence

​Jim Murphy is a mental performance coach for some of the most accomplished professional athletes in the world. Formerly a professional baseball player, he now focuses on helping others. You may have heard of him if you were watching the Philadelphia Eagles' playoff run last season, and star wide receiver AJ Brown was reading Jim’s book Inner Excellence on the sideline between offensive series. We discussed Inner Excellence, AJ Brown, Presence, Managing Fear, Daily Goals, Understanding Our Greatest Needs, and much more. You can also WATCH our conversation on YouTube.

Someone Has To Sell

Ken Griffin, Founder/CEO of Citadel (a multi-national hedge fund), once told a story that captures one of the most overlooked truths in business and life. His former physics teacher, who later became his business partner in Chicago, kept a small sign behind his desk that said, “If we’re all gonna eat, someone has to sell.” We love to talk about ideas, innovation, talent. But none of it matters if you can’t convince someone else that it’s valuable. CLICK HERE to read more.

Very Bad Advice

It’s often hard to know what will bring joy, but easy to spot what will bring misery. Building a house is complex; destroying one is simple. You’ll find a similar analogy in most areas of life. When trying to get ahead, it can be helpful to flip things around, focusing on how to not fall back. Here are a few pieces of very bad advice.

Find Your People

Jessica Livingston, co-founder of Y-Combinator, recently gave the commencement speech at Bucknell University. "You have to be immune to rejection. People are going to dismiss you at first. If that's enough to stop you, you're doomed. So you have to learn to ignore it. And that's harder than it sounds—social pressure is so powerful. But everyone who does ambitious things has to learn how to resist it." CLICK HERE to watch it.

Wise Words

“There’s no substitute for constant study to master one’s craft. Living in history builds your own shock absorber, because you’ll learn that there are lots of old solutions to new problems. If you haven’t read hundreds of books, learning from others who went before you, you are functionally illiterate—you can’t coach and you can’t lead. History lights the often dark path ahead; even if it’s a dim light, it’s better than none. If you can’t be additive as a leader, you’re just like a potted plant in the corner of a hotel lobby: you look pretty, but you’re not adding substance to the organization’s mission.” -- Jim Mattis​

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Ryan Hawk Author: The Score That Matters, Welcome to Management, & The Pursuit of Excellence​ Host: The Learning Leader Show​