The author and leadership coach talks about his forthcoming book, what makes great leaders, and what pulls them down, and how successful people separate good advice from the bad
Author and leadership coach Robin Sharma
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Author and leadership coach Robin Sharma, known for his international bestsellers like The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and The 5 AM Club, speaks about his forthcoming book, The Wealth Money Can’t Buy, and the relevance of self-help books in the age of motivation content fatigue, thanks to social media. He also discusses why hubris takes down many great people and companies, why most CEOs and billionaires are “cash rich and happiness poor”, how technology takes us away from creativity, and the secret behind how successful people separate good advice and decisions from all the noise. Edited excerpts from an interaction for the From the Bookshelves podcast:
Q. Can you give us a glimpse into your forthcoming book, The Wealth Money Can’t Buy, which is set to release in a few months?
Well, society has told us that wealth is all about how much money you have in your portfolio, let's say, or your personal net worth. I believe that while money is important and often it's a scoreboard for success in business, there are other forms of wealth, including a great family life, including making a difference to your community, including taking care of your health. So, The Wealth Money Can’t Buy is really a book that deconstructs this model I’ve been teaching to my clients for the past 15 years, [which is] called as ‘The Eight Forms of Wealth’, and I believe that when we start living each of those eight forms of wealth, we not only become truly successful in the world. But also live much happier lives.
Q. I have read a bit about the eight forms of wealth in your previous book, The Everyday Hero Manifesto. While community service, seeking mentors, spending time with family etc is also important, and is considered as a sign of a wealthy individual, can the desire to make more money be sidelined that easily?
I know your readers and listeners at Forbes understand that money is important, and I’m not in any way saying that it’s not. The idea in my mind is not about sidelining wealth, it’s about not making financial wealth your only focus. For the past 20 years plus, I've mentored billionaires, CEOs, very famous and successful people, and a lot of them are cash rich and happiness poor. So, all I'm saying is don’t sideline the pursuit of financial success, but add personal growth in there, add a great family life in there, add an impact on community and a sense of adventure in there. And when you work on the seven other forms of wealth, the paradox is that you make more money. For example, one of the other forms of wealth is personal growth. When you develop your mindset, when you release, let’s say, past trauma, when you work on what I call your health set, your fitness, that will give you more energy, more stamina, more brain power, all that personal growth and self-mastery actually makes you much better in business, which gives you more money.