12 Amazing Tips that Will Change Your Life!

In each blog I have shared a nugget of knowledge, a piece of advice or an amazing tip for success. In the list below, you'll find 12 amazing tips that will change your life and help you to become the person that you want to be.
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Since May 2014, I have posted the Marshall Goldsmith Thinkers50 Blog every week -- 50 blogs in 50 weeks. This week is the culmination of that effort #50!

In each blog I have shared a nugget of knowledge, a piece of advice or an amazing tip for success. In the list below, you'll find 12 amazing tips that will change your life and help you to become the person that you want to be. Plus, there's a link to the video and written blog, so you can learn more about each insight. And, I hope you'll explore the rest of the videos in the playlists listed at the end of this blog, and that all of these tips are helpful to you on your journey through life!

  1. Stop trying to win everything. This is the number one challenge for most people, because it underlies nearly every other behavioral problem. Our obsession with winning crosses the spectrum of our lives. The next time you start trying to win and prove you're right, take a deep breath and ask yourself: Exactly what am I winning? We can become more successful if we appreciate this "flaw" and work to suppress it in all of our interpersonal relations. (video/article)

  • Stop adding value to others' ideas all the time. The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion deflates others' enthusiasm and dampers their commitment. What does this mean for leaders? It means closely monitoring how you hand out encouragement and suggestions. You may realize that you have more to gain by not always adding value! (video/article)
  • The best question to ask when you're soliciting feedback (both at work and at home) is: How can I be a better ________ (friend, partner, employer, worker, leader, daughter, father, etc.)? (video/article)
  • If you want to change, you must follow-up! This step is essential. If you don't do follow up, your chances of changing are slight! (video/article)
  • Quality communication is the glue that holds organizations together. By using feedforward -- and by encouraging others to use it -- leaders can dramatically improve the quality of communication in their organizations. (video/article)
  • Even the best coach in the world can't help an uncoachable person. The four indicators that you are dealing with someone who is un-coachable are: She doesn't think she has a problem. He is pursuing the wrong strategy for the organization. She is in the wrong job. He thinks everyone else is the problem. (video/article)
  • Our belief in ourselves helps us become successful and it can also make it very hard for us to change. This is the conundrum of the Success Delusion! (video/article)
  • Many leaders think they need to delegate more to be more effective as leaders. This is frequently not true. Most often leaders don't need to delegate more, they need to delegate more effectively! (video/article)
  • Once we get over whining because "life isn't fair" -- we can become more effective at influencing others and make a positive difference! (video/article)
  • There is often a great discrepancy between the self we think we are and the self the rest of the world sees in us. This can hold you back! Learn how aligning your stated values to your actual behavior can lead you to great success. (video/article)
  • Changing behavior involves hard work and it takes time. If you want to be a better leader, a better professional, or a better person, you'll have to do some work! (video/article)
  • The moment we stop striving and begin to coast on our good reputation is the perilous moment when we settle for "good enough." And, this is the moment when, at best, change stops and, at worst, we revert back to our old ways. (video/article)
  • For more amazing tips, I encourage you to watch all of my videos in their playlists on YouTube. For easy access and playability, I've listed them in order below and provided the link to the series.

    And I'm thrilled to tell you that your feedback has been so overwhelmingly positive that I am going to continue posting the blog! The focus of my next blogs will be ideas from my new book Triggers, which will be published May 19, 2015. There is so much new content about becoming the person you want to be (both at work and at home) that I am incredibly excited for this next series of videos. I hope you enjoy them and find them useful!

    ***

    Please view the Marshall Goldsmith Thinkers50 Video Blog. The next video in the series The Best of Marshall Goldsmith accompanies this article. I'll post these blogs once a week for the next 50 weeks. The series will incorporate learnings from my 38 years of experience with top executives, as well as material from my previous research, articles and books, including What Got You Here Won't Get You There, MOJO, Coaching for Leadership, and Succession: Are You Ready? The blogs will also include material from my exciting new research on engagement and my upcoming book Triggers (to be published by Crown in 2015).

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