Adam Mendler is a mindset and leadership expert who is the creator and host of the hit podcast “Thirty Minute Mentors,” where he gains insight from America’s top CEOs, founders, athletes, celebrities, and political and military leaders. Adam’s interviewed more than 500 of America’s most successful leaders and has written extensively on business and leadership, having authored more than 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes and HuffPost.
What all great leaders have in common:
“Great leaders are great listeners. Great leaders don’t walk into a room intent on speaking; they walk into a room intent on learning. Great leaders are continually trying to improve and continually trying to get better. They recognize that whatever got them to where they are today isn’t necessarily going to get them to where they want to be tomorrow.”
How to determine what profession you should choose:
“A lot of it really comes down to – how are you spending your time? How are you channeling your energy? What are you moving toward? What matters to you, and why, and are you pursuing that? So, something that I share with all audiences I speak to, whether it’s a listener on my podcast or whether it’s someone I’m speaking to when I’m giving a keynote, when you’re trying to figure out what you want to do with your life you want to try to check three boxes. Number one: you want to do something that you love. Number two: you want to do something that you’re great at. Number three: you want to do something that allows you to make a positive impact in the lives of others. And if you can check all three of those boxes, it doesn’t feel like work.”
Being a great leader is an enormous investment:
“There really is no such thing as an overnight success. When you look at people who have attained greatness, greatness takes time, greatness takes effort, greatness requires a lot of – candidly – dedication. … Look at the greatest basketball players. Michael Jordan wasn’t born the greatest basketball player in the history of basketball. He wasn’t the number one overall pick in the NBA draft. He was a really good college basketball player, but he wasn’t the greatest college basketball player of all time. When Michael Jordan got into the NBA, he was really good, but it took him time to become the Michael Jordan that all of us know.”
The idea behind Adam’s “Thirty Minute Mentors” podcast:
“I go one-on-one with the most successful people on how they have been able to make it to the top. But, more importantly, their best advice for anyone listening on how to become more successful in their lives, more successful in their careers, and more successful as leaders.”
Is greatness pre-determined or something you can learn:
“I think there’s a misconception out there that people are born with this predetermined path where they say, ‘Okay, I’m born with greatness. At age 30 I’m going to do this. At age 40 I’m going to do this. At age 50 I’m going to do this.’ But the big takeaway from all these conversations with the most successful people (on my podcast) is that there is no linear path to success. The most successful people have the same highs and lows, and ups and downs that we all have. In many cases, their highs and lows are much higher and much lower than ours; much more public than ours because they’re public figures, because they’re more out there than the rest of us are.”