Marshall Goldsmith

My latest project: Ask me any question. Everything I know is available for free! | Thinkers50 Hall of Fame | #1 Executive Coach |

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Do not expect a narrow-minded person to be open-minded. My most popular post!

We can spend an enormous amount of energy trying to explain things to people who neither understand nor care to understand. It often leads to frustration, because no matter how carefully we explain, their world is too limited to take in what we are saying.

The frog that lives in the well will never grasp the vastness of the ocean. That doesn’t make it a bad frog or a stupid frog. It simply means it is a well frog. Expecting it to see beyond its walls is unfair to the frog and exhausting for us.

In life, some people simply cannot see beyond their own well. Instead of wearing ourselves out trying to make them, we can accept their limits, move forward, and invest our energy in places where it will make a difference.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

We can spend our lives looking for meaning, achievement, and happiness on the outside. We will never find it.

Many of us spend years searching for answers in the wrong places. We look to other people for approval. We look to organizations for validation. We look to money, titles, and accomplishments to tell us that we are doing well and living a good life.

Here is the simple truth: no one can tell you what is meaningful for you but you. No one can define real achievement for you but you. And no one can make you happy but you.

This does not mean other people do not matter. They do. But the most important questions in life cannot be answered by your boss, your friends, your family, or society. They can only be answered by you.

If you want a meaningful life, decide what matters to you. If you want to feel successful, define achievement on your terms. If you want to be happy, take responsibility for your happiness.

Look for the answers to the most important questions inside yourself.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

If you want to gain wisdom from others, learn to think like an anthropologist.

Dr. Jim Kim is a wonderful friend and mentor. His work has helped save millions of lives and made an enormous difference in the developing world.

Along with his MD, Dr. Jim earned a Ph.D. in anthropology. One of the greatest lessons he has taught me is the importance of learning to see without judging, especially when observing people whose beliefs and behaviors were shaped in a world very different from our own.

This is not easy.

Even when I understand the value of this lesson intellectually, I still catch myself negatively judging others from my own perspective and experience.

Great anthropologists do not begin with evaluation. They begin with curiosity.

When our deeper goal becomes learning instead of judging, we can better understand other people, grow wiser ourselves, and help make our world a little better place.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

What does - What Got You Here Won't Get You There - mean to you?

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There changed my life in an amazing way.

Since publication, the book has been translated into 36 languages, sold millions of copies, and become a bestseller in many countries around the world.

What touches me most is not the success of the book itself. It is the meaning this phrase has had for so many people.

Leaders around the world have used this idea to encourage successful people - people who have already achieved so much - to keep learning, growing, and becoming more.

Over time, I realized this philosophy is not just about leadership.
It is about life.

What got you here as a new partner will not get you there through 50 years of marriage.

What got you here as a new parent will not get you there as the parent of a college graduate.

What got you here as a friend in college will not get you there as a friend in old age.

Life keeps changing.
We keep changing.
The people we love keep changing.

The key to our growth is not clinging to who we used to be. It is who we want to become
.
What does this phrase mean to you?
In your career?
In your relationships?
In your life?

Thank you for the wonderful kindness, encouragement, and support you have given me over the past fifty years.

I am deeply grateful.

Life is good.
Marshall

Thank you Mark Reiter for being my partner on this journey!

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Our real values are never communicated by what we say. They are communicated by what we do.

Most organizations have values statements that sound very similar: Respect People. Satisfy Customers. Encourage Innovation. Ensure Quality.

The words are usually impressive. The real question is whether the daily behavior of leaders reflects those words.

Over the years, I have had the honor of coaching many of the greatest leaders of our generation. Their actions taught far more about their values than any slogan on a wall or speech at a meeting. People watch what leaders do far more closely than they listen to what leaders say.

Great leadership requires integrity between words and behavior. If you say it, live it. If you do not want to live it, do not say it.

In the end, our actions become our real legacy.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

As affluence has increased in many parts of the world, so has depression and anxiety.

One reason is that many people spend too much time comparing themselves to others.

Social media and modern culture constantly encourage us to measure our lives against people we do not even know - people who are often presenting a carefully edited version of reality.

Wake up. Do your best. Then let go of the endless comparison game. Most of the people you envy are not thinking about you at all. They are busy worrying about themselves.

Life is short. You do not need to win someone else’s race.

Be yourself. Build the life that is meaningful to you. Appreciate your own gifts, your own timing, and your own journey.

The sun and the moon both shine brilliantly - each in their own time and each in their own way.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Effective coaching is built on a two-way relationship.

The best coaches understand that not every coaching relationship is meant to work.

Sometimes the client needs guidance or expertise the coach does not have to offer. Sometimes the coach needs a level of commitment, honesty, or effort that the client is not ready to provide.

Great coaching is not about forcing a match. It is about finding alignment.

The most meaningful change happens when the needs of the client and the strengths of the coach fit together in a positive and trusting way.

When both people are committed to learning, growth, and honest communication, coaching becomes far more than advice. It becomes a partnership focused on helping another human being become the person they want to become.

Life is good.
Marshall

Please visit https://t.co/NaMHHyIek7 for ideas that may help both coaches and their clients.
Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Peace comes when we learn the difference between helping and controlling.

We can help the people we love and respect.
We can help make the world a little better place.

But we cannot make another person love us.
We cannot force people to change.
We cannot control everything happening around us.

Many of our struggles begin when we confuse love with control, or caring with managing.

Do your best to help.
Do your best to care.
Do your best to make a positive difference.

Then let go.

Life becomes much lighter when we stop demanding that people and situations obey our wishes.

Enjoy the process of life.
Make peace.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

In a world built on comparison, it is easy to feel like you are not doing enough.

Maybe you think you should be helping more people, giving more, or changing the world faster.

Life is not a copetition. Someone else will always be doing something more than you.

You may not be able to help everyone. Y.ou can almost always help s omeone.

Do not ask yourself, “Am I doing everything?”
Ask yourself, “Am make someone's world a little better?"

Listen when it would be easier to walk away.
Offer kindness when it is inconvenient.

As Mother Teresa suggested, "Help one person at a time."

Maybe you cannot change the whole world today.
But you can change the moment in front of you.
Start there.

Life is good.
Marshall

Please visit https://t.co/NaMHHyIek7. You may find to help you and to help you help others. It is all free and it is getting better and better.

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Everything in life changes.

In our professional lives, industries change, organizations change, and jobs change. Success itself is temporary. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.

In our personal lives, relationships change, priorities change, and we change. The person you are today is not the same person you were years ago.

In Buddhist philosophy, change is not viewed as a tragedy. It is simply part of life.

We feel sorrow when we ask temporary moments to never change.

A sandcastle was never meant to last forever. The joy was in building it together.

Life keeps changing. That is not the problem. It is the gift.

Enjoy creating meaningful moments with people you respect and love.

Appreciate the season you are in while it is here. Learn to let go with gratitude instead of fear.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

What is the best advice I have ever received from the wonderful people who helped me so much in life?

Their advice always came back to one simple message:
You can be more.

You can think more.
You can help more.
You can learn more.
You can become more.

Not more important than someone else.
More like the person you want to become.

The people who believed in me did not just criticize me or judge me. They helped me see possibilities in myself that I could not yet see on my own.

Their message was never about proving anything to the world.
It was about growing into a better version of myself.

Think about your own life.

What advice would the “you” of today give to the “you” of tomorrow?

How can you become a little more thoughtful…
a little more courageous…
a little more kind…
a little more you?

Life is good.
Marshall

Thank you Daniel Thadani for this inspiration!

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Anne Milgram is a brilliant lawyer and a wonderful person. I asked her what advice she would give to young professionals. Her answer was simple: “Find a great mentor.”

I love Anne’s advice. When I reflect on my own career, so much of my success can be traced back to the wonderful mentors who helped me along the way.

People like Paul Hersey, Frances Hesselbein, Alan Mulally, and Jim Kim invested their time in me, shared their wisdom, and helped me grow. Their guidance shaped not only my career, but also how I try to help others.

Great mentors do more than give advice. They open our eyes to possibilities we might not see on our own. They challenge us, encourage us, and sometimes believe in us before we fully believe in ourselves.

My advice for you is simple. Do what Anne suggests. Find a great mentor.

And when you do, appreciate the gift. Learn all that you can. Someday, do your best to pass that gift along to someone else.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

"We are here on earth to make a positive difference - not to prove we are right."

In my coaching and teaching, I have repeated this wise quote from Peter Drucker hundreds of times. I can never say it too much. We can never hear it too much.

Think of a world where we could respectfully diagree. Without anger. Without judgment. With love.

Life is good.
Marshall

Please visit https://t.co/NaMHHyIek7 and https://t.co/6UC3aPQXb7. I am doing my best to give away all that I know to as many people as I can. Both are getting better and better! I hope that they can help you.

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

If you really want your team to tell you the truth, get ready to be uncomfortable!

Chris Argyris was one of the great management thinkers of my lifetime, and he had a wonderfully wry sense of humor. His reminder still rings true today.

For decades, leadership books have been preaching the sermon of “open and honest” communication. But how real is that? The answer depends on you, as a leader.

If you are truly willing to hear things you don’t like, if you can live with some discomfort, and if you value “honest” more than “pleasant,” you will do just fine. You’ll grow. Your team will grow.

But if you want only reassurance, then skip the sermon. In some cases, the biggest cause of your team's problem will be YOU.

Don’t ask your people to tell you the truth if you don’t really want to hear it.

Life is good.
Marshall

Please visit https://t.co/NaMHHyIek7. You can get some good ideas on how to both give and receive feedback.

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

If we hang around negative people, we tend to become negative ourselves.

As much as you can, try to have conversations with people that are focused on doing somthing positive - not just tearing down another person or group.

For example, about 45 years ago, my wife and I had a dinner with a couple of co-workers. After dinner we both commented on how many times we had put down other people who were not there. Neither of us were proud of our behavior.

We finally realized that we were having dinner with a couple who did nothing but put other people down. We decided that it was not our place to judge them. It was our decision not to have dinner with them again.

George Bernard Shaw had a point. If you wrestle with a pig, don't be shocked when you start getting dirty!

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Many of us stereotype ourselves without even realizing it.

We say things like, “That’s just who I am.”

“I’m not creative.”
“I’m terrible with names.”
“I always have to be in control.”

We repeat these stories as if they were facts.

Lao Tzu reminds us: “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

The moment you stop insisting on who you are - the leader, the expert, the one who’s “supposed to know,” you make space for who you could become.

You don’t have to throw your identity away. Just loosen your grip on it.

Let go of the story you’ve been telling yourself.

And watch how much more of you shows up.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Many of our thoughts are simply negative replays of our past mistakes.

We revisit old conversations, replay embarrassing moments, and relive painful memories that cannot be changed.

The problem is not that we made mistakes. Every human being does. The problem is that we keep watching the same “bad movie” again and again in our minds.

The next time you feel yourself going down that road, pause for a moment. Breathe. Remember this quote.

You are not your worst moment.
You are not your last mistake.

Learn what you can from the past, then let it go.
Forgive yourself.
Move forward.
Give yourself permission to begin again.

Life becomes much lighter when we stop replaying bad movies and start appreciating the beautiful moments happening right now.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

The idea every breath being a restart is a central theme in The Earned Life.

Think about it literally.

Life is a series of restarts.

We cannot change the past. We cannot relive yesterday. We cannot undo old mistakes. All we can do is begin again - and begin again - and begin again.

Every breath gives us a new opportunity to learn, to grow, to forgive, to appreciate, and to move forward.

Too many people spend their lives trapped in what has already happened. Life is not lived in the past. Life is lived now.

The key is not achieving a “perfect” future. The key is fully engaging in this moment and doing the best we can with what we have today.

When we see life as a series of fresh opportunities instead of permanent judgments, we become more peaceful, resilient, and grateful.

Life is short.

Enjoy the process.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Think of a person who makes you feel bad, guilty, angry, or crazy.

How much sleep is that person losing over you tonight?

Probably none.

Who is being punished? You.
Who is doing the punishing? You.

Let it go.

When we hold on to resentment, we carry the pain long after the moment has passed. The other person may have moved on, forgotten, or never even realized the impact. Yet we replay the story again and again in our mind.

Letting go is not about saying what happened was acceptable. It is about making peace and moving on.

Let it go.

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

Peter Drucker said it best: “Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.”

For example, 'Stop winning too much." "Stop adding too much value." "Stop proving how smart you are."

Many leaders believe the next level comes from adding more. More ideas, more actions, more effort. In reality, progress often comes from letting go.

The next level of your leadership may not be waiting for something new to learn. It is hiding beneath what you are finally willing to stop.

Great leadership is not about doing more It is about doing less of what does not help.

This is not easy. Our habits are reinforced by past success. What once worked can quietly become what holds us back.

Growth comes from awareness, discipline, and the courage to change.

What is one behavior that you need to stop?

Life is good.
Marshall

[Marshall Goldsmith @CoachGoldsmith]

If you are reading this, you probably take too much responsibility. Most of my readers do. Many feel overly responsible. Almost half feel way too responsible.

You cannot do it all. Just do your best and make peace.

You are only human. You cannot be everything to everyone. And you do not need to be.

Responsibility, taken in the right amount, is a strength. Taken too far, it becomes a burden we place on ourselves.

Let go of what is not yours to carry.

Do your best to make a difference. Do your best to appreciate what you have. Do your best to be present in this moment.

Enjoy the process of life.

My hope is simple: that I can help you have just a little better minute, hour, day, year, or life.

That is enough responsibility for me.

Life is good.
Marshall

Please vist https://t.co/NaMHHyIek7. Maybe you can get a little help.