officers of major corporations or important personalities in government . By the virtue of their professional and social status , they could come back and support the university in a big way . His second piece of advice was this : “ Take extra care of your ‘ C ’ students for they shall employ your ‘ A ’ Students .”
Throughout history , legendary leaders have had great people skills . Your people skills will take you to places your brain and papers will never take you .
The second thought provoking book I read was by Robert Shemin , titled How Come that Idiot ’ s Rich and I ’ m Not ? Upon reading this book , I realized that most ‘ idiots ’ outsmart most educated fellows for the simple reason that for their advancement , the ‘ idiots ’ solely rely on their gut and the power of leverage . What is leverage ? It is simply using other people ’ s goodwill , other people ’ s intelligence , other people ’ s resources , other people ’ s influence , other people ’ s ideas , and other people ’ s contacts .
Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants
The so-called idiots build their business empire through the power of leverage . They don ’ t care who gets the credit ; their main concern is results and whatever they lack intellectually or professionally they complement with their people skills .
These are fellows who subscribe to Isaac Newton ’ s school of life skills : “ If I have been able to go further than others , it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants .” ‘ Idiots ’ know that they lack intellectual or academic height , but their greatest advantage is in the fact that they can convince people more powerful than them to let them use their shoulders to go beyond their limits .
‘‘ Honour and respect the people that God sends your way . Do not take them for granted because they could be holding the key to your next breakthrough in life . Treat people right , whether they are big or small , rich or poor , significant or insignificant , because destiny is about people , people and people .’’
One of my favourite leadership books is by John Maxwell , The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership . Interestingly , this book is dedicated to his writing partner : “ This book is dedicated to Charlie Wetzel , my writing partner since 1994 . Together we ’ ve written more than forty books , and I ’ ve enjoyed our collaboration on every one . As I have laboured to add value to others by identifying and teaching leadership principles , Charlie , you have added value to me and my efforts . Your insights and skills as a wordsmith have been enjoyed by millions of readers . As a result , you have made a greater impact on more people than has anyone else in my inner circle . For that I thank you .”
At the beginning of his writing career , John Maxwell was really struggling with how to organize his thoughts and put them across in an inspiring way . Then he met Charlie Wetzel , and Charlie helped him to go to the next level . In 10 years , Maxwell had struggled to write nine books , but with Charlie ’ s help , he wrote more than 40 books in about 20 years .
Each one of us needs a Charlie Wetzel in our lives ; someone who will complement us , someone who will bring the best out of us . A few years ago , I was lucky to meet a gentleman by the name Reverend Joseph Obwanda in one of my forums at Panafric Hotel in Nairobi .
After I finished giving my talk , Joseph came to the front , greeted me and straight away asked me if I had written a book . I hadn ’ t . He wondered why everything I had said that evening was not documented in a book . He said if my message was documented , it would have a bigger impact in the lives of a larger audience .
Rev . Obwanda went ahead to offer to help me write a book if I was willing . We immediately agreed on a lunch date . A few days later , we met at the then Kula Corner in the Hurligham , Nairobi . Joseph was an author , and over the meal , he gave me tips on how to write a book .
That encounter changed my life forever . It is said that a single conversation with the right person is more valuable than many years of study . That afternoon , after I left Kula Corner , I cancelled some appointment I had made for the following days . To cut a long story short , within two months , my first book , Be Inspired Before You Expire , was out .
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