Never give up your passion for learning. And zoom out of your field before you zoom in. Some of my very best business insights have come from reading around subjects. They have come from approaching questions at a strange angle, from thinking about them from a different point of view. A lot of the knowledge that has really given me an edge in business has come from history, psychology, even chemistry. Connecting seemingly unconnected dots is what has served me well.
What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore?
Question
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Daily life
Question
What small daily thing do you do that most people would consider a waste of time?
Daily life
Question
What is the thing you are best at that nobody watching can see?
Craft & work
Question
What does the first sixty minutes of your day look like?
Daily life
Only the disciplined ones are free in life. If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods. You are a slave to your passions.
Address at the Oxford Union Society, November 2017, Outside, 10 February 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
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Indra Nooyi
Chief executive of PepsiCo, 2006–2018
Wendy Kopp
Founder of Teach For America; chief executive of Teach For All
And the most fulfilled, centered, grounded, happy people I know are people who made the choice to be part of an effort to actually make the world a better place. ... I would say, to me, the path of least regrets is to at least make a short-term commitment to say, “Let me work to make a real difference in the world.” The worst that could happen is you decide to move into something else later, but you’ll always take with you what you’ve given and what you’ve gained through that experience.
Recorded
Academy of Achievement recorded interview, American Academy of Achievement, 17 September 2013
source ↗
Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady of the United States 1933–1945; United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly 1945–1952; Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights 1946–1951
Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.
Recorded
You Learn by Living (1960), Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, The George Washington University, 1960
source ↗
Lech Wałęsa
President of Poland, 1990–1995; co-founder and chairman of the Solidarity trade union
When I recall my own path of life I cannot but speak of the violence, hatred and lies. A lesson drawn from such experiences, however, was that we can effectively oppose violence only if we ourselves do not resort to it.
Recorded
Oslo City Hall (lecture read on his behalf by Bogdan Cywiński), The Nobel Foundation, 11 December 1983
source ↗
More from Eliud Kipchoge
View profile →You run, eat, sleep, walk around - that's how life is. You don't get complicated. The moment you get complicated it distracts your mind.
When you become a boss, you don't think straight. It's better to be a leader than a boss. That is why I do my share of the cleaning. That is how to show the way to young people. I am trusting that I am leading them in a good way.
Recorded
Global Sports Communication training camp, Kaptagat, Kenya, BBC Sport, 24 April 2020
source ↗
When I have a lot of pain, I try to confuse my mind to forget about the pain and think about the distance. I don't want pain to be in my mind, because I'd really lose focus on running. After winning, you won't have that pain, but it comes later. The marathon is hard; the second day, you don't go up or down stairs.
Recorded
Address and Q&A at the Oxford Union Society, November 2017, Outside, 10 February 2018
source ↗
Our life here is simple, very simple. Get up in the morning, go for a run, come back. If it is a day for cleaning, we do the cleaning, or we just relax. Then go for lunch, massage, the 4 o'clock run, evening tea, relax, go to sleep. As simple as that.
Recorded
Global Sports Communication training camp, Kaptagat, Kenya, BBC Sport, 24 April 2020
source ↗
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