Top 4 Lessons from Neil Pasricha: The Art of Leadership

1. Be Happy First

"Turn your biggest fear into your biggest success."

Neil Pasricha shared three secrets to finding happiness and success. The first secret is that often we are told that if we do great work, it will lead to big success, and then we will be happy. Psychologically proven, this is backwards and we need to be happy first. After 300 positive psychology studies, Neil says that when we are happy we are 31% more productive, have 37x higher sales, are more engaged, are 40% more likely to get a promotion in the next year and tend to live ten years longer.

2. The "Big 5" to Happiness

To become happy, perform the “Big 5”. Any of these done for just 20 minutes for 20 days will have results: three brisk nature-walks a week, journaling, performing five conscious acts of kindness a week, meditating, and five gratitudes a week.

3. Automate, Regulate, Effectuate, Debate

The second secret is to draw a matrix of time and importance for the 295 decisions we make every single day. Decisions that are low time and low importance, automate (i.e. make extra dinner so that you have lunch made for you the next day). Decisions that are low importance but high time, regulate (i.e. devote the first Monday of every month to house maintenance). Things that are high importance and low time, effectuate (i.e. picking up your kids). Decisions of high importance and high time is where we have now made more room for debate. We also now have time to apply the first secret.

4. ActionsLeads to Motivation

The third secret is to turn your biggest fear into your biggest success. We think there are three steps to everything we do: we can do it, we want to do it, and so we do it. We think that capability and motivation leads to action, but action actually leads to motivation. It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking, than think yourself into a new way of acting.