The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in by Robin Sharma Page B

feel safe—and heroic. They begin to relax and open up. Trust grows. And amazing things start to happen.”
    Anna paused and took a sip of Tommy’s coffee along with a nibble of chocolate.
    “ ‘Authenticity is about being true to who you are, even when everyone around you wants you to be someone else,’ said basketball great Michael Jordan. I remember reading his book Driven from Within when I still lived down in Buenos Aires. Extraordinary person. Superb athlete. And he makes a key point: stay committed to your mission, values, and the full self-expression of your inner leader even when people doubt you. When people say you’ll fail or suggest you’re not good enough, stand strong in your own skin and don’t let them tear you down. Because leadership has a lot to do with believing in yourself when no one else believes in you. ”
    “You like Jordan?” I asked, a little surprised that this beautiful Argentinean housekeeper was a fan of this pro basketball star.
    “Uh huh,” Anna nodded with glee. “And he’s even cuter than Tommy over here.”
    “Not funny,” Tommy retorted, feigning irritation. He fixed his collar and pretended to primp his hair in an attempt to entertain us. Both Anna and I looked at each other and laughed.
    “And Bono, the U2 singer, spoke of the importance of authenticity in the new world of ours in these words: ‘Please, let go of your ego, please be you and no one else. You are so beautiful how you are.’ ”
    “Splendid words,” I admitted.
    “You are pretty beautiful, Anna,” Tommy quickly spoke up.
    “Thanks, honey,” she replied graciously. “Just remember that the more you feed your ego—which is nothing more than the artificial part of you that you’ve constructed to receive approvalfrom the majority—and lose sight of who you really are at your core, the hungrier the ego will get.”
    “So our ego is the social part of ourselves that has grown the more we’ve tried to become the people the world around us wants us to be versus the people we truly are,” I stated.
    “Exactly, Blake. I remember reading a story of a student who met a wise elder from his community on the street one day. The young man admired the elder for his achievements as well as for his strength of character. He asked the wise man if he ever had weak thoughts and if he ever succumbed to the allure of the ego, which wants us to run our lives by superficial attractions like titles and social status. The elder replied: ‘Of course, I have weak thoughts and my ego tries to get me off track every single day. This happens because I’m a human being. But I also have my authentic side, which is my essential nature and all I really am. That part of me creates the noble and brave thoughts—and keeps me on track to become my greatest self. So it’s almost as if I have two dogs inside me. A good dog that wants to lead me to where I dream of going, and that bad dog that tries to take me off my ideal path.’ ‘So which one wins?’ asked the young student. ‘That’s easy,’ replied the elder. ‘The one I feed the most.’ ”
    “Great story,” I replied, fully engaged and understanding the importance of authenticity to leadership excellence.
    “Leaders Without a Title check their egos at the front door every morning before they walk into work. Rather than slavishly obsessing about pursuits like larger offices and bigger paychecks that society wants us to run our lives by, they harness their complete focus and awesome capabilities on doing their best work, making a difference in the lives of their teammates and customers, and building a better organization. Rather than defining their success by what they get, they define their success by what they give. That not only makes them special in the eyes of everyone around them, it also fills them up with such a senseof fulfillment and happiness. Because they know they are spending their lives well, in pursuit of a meaningful cause.”
    Anna stopped for