Skip to main content

10 Disciplines To Help You Stay Sharp And Energetic

The new book, Shine, is a transformative guide that illustrates how looking inward is the key to unlocking true entrepreneurial freedom. Certainly, Shine is a book for entrepreneurs, however, it is bound to benefit any business leader. 

“Entrepreneurs often have a burning need to succeed. But that same relentless brilliance that propels you in your career can take a toll on your teams, personal relationships, and even your health,” explain author Gino Wickman and coauthor Rob Dube. “Our book will help you strike a crucial balance between those inner and outer worlds while taking your success to new heights.”

In Shine, Gino shares 10 disciplines to help you stay sharp and energetic without burning out.
The 10 Disciplines teach you how they can lay a foundation that creates space in your busy life for you to consistently and optimally perform and achieve your inner peace.

 

“I have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs achieve significant business success by using a disciplined and practical approach to operating their businesses. Yet I have come to learn that there are disciplines and a practical approach to accomplish significant life success, as well,” says Gino.

 

As you read the book, you will learn how to:

  • Set boundaries in your work life (without compromising productivity) that allow you to become a better leader and better person.
  • Practice practicable sustainable ways to reset your energy and recognize burnout and stress before they happen.
  • Tap into a flow state to harness unbridled creativity, think clearly, and move through your career and life with ease.

The book includes a valuable self-assessment survey (also available online) and prompts for reflection at the end of every chapter. In addition, within each chapter you will receive how-to's for mastering each Discipline.

 

Before delving into the 10 Disciplines, Gino teaches you 3 Discoveries that will help you free your True Self. 

  1. Embracing that you are driven. It is in your DNA. Embrace it. Manage it well.
  2. Realizing decisions are made out of love or fear. And that making 10 percent more love-based decisions will have a huge impact.
  3. Seeing that it is possible to be driven and have peace. You will not lose your drive when you have peace. You will actually have more drive. 

These 3 Discoveries set the stage for the 10 Disciplines. “The 3 Discoveries are the “what” and the 10 Disciplines are the “how,” shares Gino.

 

Below are the 10 Disciplines for maximizing your impact and inner peace presented at a glance, along with the main point of each. “They will help you succeed in your outer world and your inner world. These 10 Disciplines have evolved greatly over the past few years. I created them when delivering a keynote speech and simply wanted to share with the audience ten things that have greatly impacted my success,” says Gino. 

  1. 10-Year Thinking Shift your mind from short-term thinking to thinking in ten-year time frames. 
  2. Take Time Off – Take 130 days off per year and don’t think about on any of those days.
  3. Know Thyself – Be your True Self 100% of the time, 24/7/365.
  4. Be Still – Sit in silence for thirty minutes every day.
  5. Know Your 100% – Decide on and commit to the perfect number of hours per week and weeks per year that you will deliver your impact to the world.
  6. Say No…Often – Say no to everything that doesn’t fit into the first five Disciplines.
  7. Don’t Do $25-an-Hour Work – Never do anything you could pay someone $25 an hour to do.
  8. Prepare Every Night – Before your head hits the pillow every night, document the next day’s plan.
  9. Put Everything in One Place – Pick the one place you will capture every idea, commitment, thought, action item, and promise.
  10. Be Humble – View yourself as an equal to every person on the planet. 

Coauthor Rob shares that, “Each discipline is simple. Doing them is harder. Please don’t underestimate them, as they will have a profound impact on your life.” Readers should devote ample time with the book to learn all the details behind mastering each Discipline.

 

By the end of the book, “You will see how to live with a harmonious combination of being highly impactful, while experiencing an incredible sense of inner peace. We call this state being in Flowt™, which is a combination of two words, “flow” and “float.” You are in the flow when you are working and you feel like you are in the zone; time slows down, and you are performing at your best,” explains Gino.

 

“At the same time, you will float through all aspects of your life with a feeling of serenity, calm, fulfillment, and ease, comfortably letting your freak flag fly. We will show you how to experience total freedom from your mind, ego, and pain, while maximizing your energy, being incredibly creative, having a lot more fun, and making an even greater impact on the world.”

 

Gino Wickman


Rob Dube

 

Today, Gino and Rob answer these questions for us:

 

Question: Of the 10 Disciplines, which one or two do most people struggle to master and why?

 

Gino: Take Time Off (and not think about work the entire time)…it's the not thinking about work the entire time that gets people.

 

Say No Often…people don't have their boundaries clear, they have FOMO, they don't want to disappoint people, so they say yes to most things (in professional and personal lives).

 

Question: Which of the 10 Disciplines did you find the most difficult to master?

 

Gino: Know Your 100% takes intention and awareness. You have to pay close attention to how many hours you're working and what you're doing during those hours to gauge what is raising your vibration or energy and what is draining your energy/having you working at a low vibration.

 

There is a tipping point when the driven entrepreneur is not effective but because of their driven nature, just keeps pushing through. This push is the lower vibration/lower energy and is not making the kind of impact in the world that we hope for them.

 

Question: Why did you feel comfortable sharing so much of your personal life journeys with readers?

 

Gino & Rob: We are them and we hope our vulnerability will inspire others to share their inner stories. This is part of letting go or shedding, as we like to say. When you let go, you are free. When you are free, you SHINE.

___

 

An entrepreneur since the age of 21, Gino has always had an obsession for learning what makes businesses and entrepreneurs thrive.

 

At 25, he took over the family business, which was deeply in debt and in need of help. After turning the company around and running it for seven years, he and his partners successfully sold the company.

 

Gino then set out to help entrepreneurs and leaders get what they want from their businesses and lives.

 

Based on his years of real-word experience, Gino created the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®), a practical method for helping companies achieve greatness.

 

For over 30 years, Rob has been thriving as a purpose-driven entrepreneur. He is the co-Founder of Imagine One, which has won dozens of awards for its people-first and purpose-driven culture.

 

Rob is also the author of Donothing: the Most Rewarding Leadership Journey You Will Ever Take, the host of the Leading with Genuine Care podcast, and host of the Do Nothing Leadership Retreat in Colorado.

 

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Benefits Of When Everyone Leads

It’s only January and the new book, When Everyone Leads , could likely be my pick for the best new leadership book of 2023. It’s that good. There’s still nearly a whole year ahead of us so we’ll see what other books debut. In the meantime, add this book to your must-read list.   You’ll learn that: Leadership is an activity, not a position. Leadership is mobilizing others to make progress on the most important challenges. Leadership is interactive, risky and experimental. Leadership comes in moments. Leadership is always about change.   When Everyone Leads , by Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride , presents a revolutionary approach to leadership; not based on position or authority, but an activity that anybody can undertake by learning to spot opportunities for improvement and taking the initiative to engage others.   “It can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable, but in a culture where everyone leads, organizations start to make progress on their most difficult problems,” explain t

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability .  They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

Five Must-Read Business Books To Read This Summer

  Stumped for what business books to add to your summer reading list? Here are  five must-read books for leaders  well worth adding to your list: Lead With A Story  -- A Guide To Crafting Business Narratives That Captivate, Convince, and Inspire . Author Paul Smith explains why storytelling has emerged as a vital skill for every leader and manager. In the book, you'll find over 100 ready-made stories you can use as templates to tell your stories. Stories are so powerful because they are simple, timeless, demographic-proof, contagious, easy to remember and inspiring. Most important, they put the listener in a mental learning mode. What's The Future Of Business? (WTF?)  -- Changing The Way Businesses Create Experiences . This book, by Brain Solis, details the incredible transformation happening in business today, driven by new social and mobile technologies. And, he explains how experience design helps your business and how you can harness its power for business growth. This book

How To Make The Leap To Becoming A Leader

Here’s another must-read book to add to your list as you transition from manager to leader. It’s The Leap to Leader , by Adam Bryant . As the creator of the iconic “Corner Office” column in the New York Times , Bryant has spoken with more than a thousand leaders over the years about the challenges and nuances of leadership. Many of his discussions are included in his interview series on LinkedIn.  “The goal of this book is to provide an intensely practical guide to making that transition by sharing insights, stories, and approaches from hundreds of leaders to build the skills you will need to make the leap to leader,” explains Bryant.   He adds that the book is useful to everyone who is interested in leadership, regardless of where they are in their career.   The book covers:   The central paradox of leaders: selfless vs. self-centered. How to perfect the do-to-say ratio. Ways to navigate office politics. Tactics to making better decisions. The crucial art of compartmentalizati

How To Lead With Heart

Those who lead with heart consistently have discussions with their teams about their unexpressed  needs, fears, desires, gifts,  and  sense of purpose , explain the authors of the compelling book,  Leading With Heart .   CEO coaches and authors  John Baird  and  Edward Sullivan  share that anyone can learn how to make an authentic connection with their teams in order to drive better outcomes. And their book provides readers clear and practical insights to help them succeed in making those connections. Be sure to read the highlighted key principles and takeaways at the end of every chapter.   Baird and Sullivan further share that workers today want to feel respected, seen and appreciated for who they are. That’s why companies with the best retention, morale, and productivity are led by leaders with heart.   As Alexander Den Heijer said, “ When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower .”   “In heart-based cultures, people feel safe pushing back and

Eights Ways To Demonstrate You Value Your Employees

There are  eight specific actions  business leaders can take to  show that they value their employees , according to  Andrew Leigh , author of the book,   Ethical Leadership -- Creating and Sustaining an Ethical Business Culture . Those  eight behaviors  are: Attention  -- Pay attention to what people say to show your interest. Listen  -- Make time to hear what colleagues, peers and employees have to say to show you care. Positive Language  -- Find words and phrases to show employees they're needed.  Examples are, "We couldn't have accomplished this without you," "That was really useful." Document  -- Put praise in writing to increase its impact.  Make clear where the credit belongs. Micro Sessions  -- Create two-way communication sessions. Visits  -- Schedule visits to teams and work areas. Stories  -- Share stories that highlight unusual contributions and provide your personal response to them. Invite  -- Ask people to contact you directly with their issue

How To Be A Go-To Person At Work

Bruce Tulgan ’s book,  The Art of Being Indispensable at Work   is   all about  how to win influence, beat overcommitment, and get the right things done in your workplace .   Tulgan says that what truly sets “go-to people” apart is how they think and what they do, including:   They understand the peculiar mathematics of real influence  – doing the right thing for the long term. They lead from wherever they are  – going vertically before going sideways (or diagonally). They know when to say no and how to say yes . They work smart  – creating checklists, step-by-step instructions, and professionalizing everything they do. They finish what they start . They get better and better at working together . They promote “go-to-ism”  – finding other indispensable people throughout the organization and building new go-to people whenever there’s a chance to do so.   Other  characteristics of indispensable people , are:   Maintaining a positive attitude Doubling down on hard work Taking personal res

Seven Tough Questions To Ask Your Team

High-functioning teams can disagree and still produce excellent products and results. Team members can also disagree and still care about each other. And, they can challenge each other to think differently. Best-selling leadership book authors  Scott J. Allen  and  Mitchell Kusy  recommend that leaders ask seven tough questions of their teams to help maximize their results. Here are those questions to ask each team member: What are some obstacles  affecting this team? What are opportunities  we could take advantage of that we have been largely ignoring? Where can you take greater ownership  on this team? Where have you let this team down ? Compared to other teams with which you are familiar,  how are we doing ? When was the last time you complimented the team  or one of its members? How open are you to giving direct feedback  to team members?

How To Listen Effectively

Here are some great tips from  Michelle Tillis Lederman 's book,  The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated To All In

Here is a book that provides workplace leaders an urgently needed methodology for helping companies to reduce worker loneliness, and it delivers a blueprint for building strong, high-performing workplace teams. The book is,  Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated To All In , by  Ryan Jenkins  and  Steven Van Cohen .   “72% of workers suffer from loneliness. And, what was once a simmering problem shifted to a crisis when COVID-19 and the sudden transition to remove work isolated workers from each other as never before,” report the authors.   “Loneliness is the absence of connection,” explain the authors. “Loneliness is not defined by the lack of people, because someone can be lonely even while surrounded by others. We require more than the presence of others. We require the presence of others to dream, strategize, and work toward commons goals.”   Furthermore, “workplace loneliness is defined by the distress caused by the perceived inadequacy of quality connection to team