Wednesday, September 02, 2020

"Friday Forward" by Robert Glazer - 52 Nuggets of Inspiration


A year ago, Robert Glazer published a bestselling book that shared wisdom about pushing beyond limits for ultimate success and performance. See White Rhino Report review below:

Review of "Elevate" by Robert Glazer 

Even before writing "Elevate," Mr. Glazer had an idea to share some of the best examples from a weekly column he has been writing since 2015. His initial motivation in writing the column was to address each of the employees of his company, Acceleration Partners. His idea was to plant a seed of an idea at the end of each week that would help his employees to enjoy a more restful and refreshing weekend. He soon learned that his employees were sharing the columns with friends and family. Before long, a subscription list grew to over 200,00 individuals from 60+ nations. The topics for the weekly Friday Forward columns consisted of issues that the author himself was interested in learning or exploring in greater depth.

As Glazer began to consider how best to organize and cull from the hundreds of columns he had written over the years, he settled on four Capacities: Spiritual Capacity, Intellectual Capacity, Physical Capacity, and Emotional Capacity. Each of the four sections of the book contains thirteen short columns - nuggets! - illustrating how Glazer or individuals he was aware of had struggled to master an aspect of each of the Capacities. In the Spiritual Capacity section, the author shared thoughts on "A Dad's Influence":

"I have found that one of the most powerful aspects of being a father is seeing the world through the eyes of my children. That lens has become a critical filter for decision-making and thinking about the examples I want to set. It also serves to remind us that the 'do as I say, not as I do' method of parenting or leadership will eventually hit a wall. My kids have become quite good at pointing out my own hypocrisies (i.e., 'Dad, put your phone down!') p. 25

One of the reasons that I chose to share the excerpt above, it that it serves as an excellent example of the author's transparency and humility. In sharing how he himself has overcome areas of struggle and deficiency, he explicitly gives each reader permission to acknowledge areas of weakness and vulnerability, and then to move intentionally beyond them.

In addition to enjoying these 52 selected vignettes, I encourage you to sign up to receive the weekly Friday Forward columns:robertglazer.com/join.

This is the kind of book that would make an excellent gift to clients, employees, family members, and friends.

Enjoy!

Al