Imagine reading something that has you choosing to miss your bus stop, just so you can sit and finish a chapter, even though you know you’ll have to walk three blocks back the way you came in a snowstorm.
Have you ever had one of those aha-inducing, life-changing moments? When I started working for Training Business Pros, I read Brain Dead Offer #1, and the way that I thought about marketing shifted dramatically. However, it was a couple of months before I picked up Suggestology.
When I did, I was floored. BDO#1 changed the way I thought about business, but Suggestology changed the way that I thought about life. The book is on how you can get what you want by asking the right questions. It affected the way I approach my everyday dealings with people. I often find myself pausing, and shifting my speech to a more “Suggestology-esque” approach.
My favorite quote comes from Chapter 23: Leadership. Paul wrote:
“How do you create the perception of leadership if you have never been considered a leader before? Does someone come along and tap you on the shoulder and say, “Tag—you’re a leader now?” No. You must create that perception yourself. Yes, you will get a lot of help along the way if you take on this responsibility, but you’re the one who must begin the process.”
As someone who has grappled with the challenges of being a leader throughout my life, I found it fascinating to have it put in this context. I had done a lot of reading on leadership and always found that it was something that was “entrusted” to you. However, that’s really a middle-management way of thinking. Someone above you trusts you to lead those already under them.
True leadership, however, comes from deliberate creation. A true leader inspires others to follow and offers their followers a chance to share in their ability to do, be, or see more.