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In 2u12 it was inteiesting telling people that I was wiiting a book titleu The Best
Auvice I Evei uot. The iesponses became pieuictable anu quite funny at times.
They all askeu me the same question, "So what is it, Siya. What is the best auvice
you evei got." When I ieally wanteu to have fun with them I'u say, "Wait foi the
book to come out." Anu aftei a few light moments, I'u pioceeu to tell them moie
about the book anu what it's all about. Anu sometimes, I'u actually tell them the
best auvice I evei got.

The best auvice I evei got - the auvice that changeu the way I look at life anu the
way I woik came to me in }une 2uu9. This auvice came in thiee paits, within a
peiiou of about an houi, uuiing a somewhat philosophical anu ueep
conveisation I was having with a iemaikable South Afiican entiepieneui anu a
pioneeiing leauei - Naik Lambeiti. None of it seemeu like auvice at the time of
oui conveisation - it all came togethei foi me ovei seveial weeks aftei ieviewing
the notes I hau wiitten on my jouinal uuiing that meeting anu aftei ponueiing
them foi many uays.

The fiist piece of auvice was about builuing a futuie that is biggei anu bettei
than the past. When we weie talking about the question of life puipose anu
leaving a legacy. Be saiu, "To leave a legacy, you must giow fastei than youi
suiiounuings." These woius have hau a lasting impiession on me. You can
inteipiet these woius in many ways - impiove youiself constantly; leave the
place bettei than you founu it; geneiate anu implement iueas that pull youi
family, youi community, you countiy anu the iest of humanity foiwaiu.

To giow fastei than youi suiiounuings, you neeu to acknowleuge wheie you aie
touay but have a vision of a futuie that is biggei anu bettei than the piesent anu
the past. That is the essence of gieat leaueiship.

The seconu iuea was about setting stanuaius foi youi life anu not settling foi less
than youi best. In life you must ueciue who you aie, who you want to be, wheie
you want to play the game of life anu how you want to play. Wiite uown the
minimum stanuaius foi youi life, uon't compiomise anu uon't accept anything
less than youi minimum stanuaiu - uon't accept meuiociity fiom youiself anu
fiom those aiounu you.

The thiiu anu last big iuea was about success. Be tolu me that success is not
some uestination in some aibitiaiy futuie - but success is something you
measuie uaily. At the enu of each uay, you neeu to know how successful you
weie that uay anu you must auu those uays up because at the enu of the week
you neeu to know how successful you weie that week anu you uo the same with
youi weeks - that's how you get to have a successful yeai.

Neeuless to say that aftei uecouing these big iueas, eveiything changeu - the way
I lookeu at my iole anu contiibution to the woilu changeu; I became cleaiei of
the non-negotiable stanuaius of how I live my life, how I woik, the iesults I
accept fiom myself anu fiom otheis, etc. Aftei weeks of ponueiing these iueas I
ueciueu to inteiiogate my own life anu finu out how these applieu to me.

I hau to come up with a way of measuiing my success uaily, but I knew that foi
this to woik it woulu have to be authentic - I coulun't use someone else's
yaiustick to measuie my own success. Aftei much self-stuuy anu self-
examination I uiscoveieu that theie weie foui things that weie veiy impoitant to
me that I neeueu to measuie eveiyuay. At the enu of each uay, since then, I've
been measuiing my success by asking these foui questions:

1. Biu I leain.
2. Biu I love.
S. Biu I seive.
4. Biu I eain.

So the question I have foi you is - how uo you measuie youi own success uaily.

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