Mastering the art of being brilliant (and how to be one of the super-happy 2%)
During a recent mentoring session I was recommended several books for business and personal development. These were to help me work out where I want to be, where to start, how to become a more confident leader and thinker, that sort of thing.
The books included:
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable by Seth Godin
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
- Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work by David Rock
- The Art of Being Brilliant by Andy Cope and Andy Whittaker
We reckon only about 2% of people fall into the category of feeling consistently great. The “2%ers” stand out a mile. They are enthusiastic, optimistic, energetic, effervescent and possess a ‘can-do’ mentality. Research shows that they live longer, are more productive and raise the happiness levels of the people around them.
– Andy Cope and Andy Whittaker
The first set of questions includes:
- Think of someone who inspires you. What exactly do they do that makes you feel so brilliant?
- Who are you at your best?
- It’s your 100th birthday and there’s a big family party in your honour. Someone is going to stand up and say a few words about you. What would you like them to say?
It’s safe to say that positive thinking won’t let you do ‘anything’. However, it is even safer to say that positive thinking will let you do ‘everything’ better than negative thinking will. Positive thinking will let you use the ability which you have, and that is awesome. It works this way. You can walk into a dark room, flip on the switch and immediately the room is lighted. Flipping the switch did not generate the electricity; it released the electricity which had been stored. Positive thinking works that way – it releases the abilities which you have.
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