15 Ideas You Can Steal From Famous Thought Leaders

A thought leader is recognized as one of the authorities in their field. While many aspire to become a thought leader, this takes years of dedication and networking. Luckily, there are many top ideas you can steal from famous thought leaders. By using their recommendations, you can boost your own efforts to achieve more in less time.

Industry seems to be going faster than ever. Things change in the blink of an eye, and it’s not always clear what’s coming next. By staying on top of the latest changes and ideas, you’re creating a future-proof strategy. Ideas are meant to be shared, and your own initiatives can’t exist on their own. 

Now is the time to tap into these 15 ideas you can steal from famous thought leaders. These pros put these ideas out for a reason—to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. If your heart is in the right place, there’s no reason you can’t achieve your goals. However, you can’t do it alone. 

Though thought leaders are often thought of as perfect, this is far from the truth. In reality, thought leaders don’t have all the answers. They use their real-world experiences to help others. As the saying goes, it’s not always about the end result. It’s the journey that got you there. Now, let’s explore these leading ideas from famous thought leaders. Who knows where they might take you?

Choose your path based on passion, not profit.

First, one great rule to live by is to choose your path based on passion, not profit. Nilofer Merchant, one of the world’s greatest CEOs, entrepreneurs, and authors, says it best, “Purpose is a better motivator than money. Money, while necessary, motivates neither the best people nor the best in people. Purpose does.”

Unfortunately, too many people today feel disconnected from their work. With a reported 61% of employees feeling burned out on the job, and 31% feeling high levels of stress, you need more than hustle. You need real passion. If you’re passionate about what you do, the money follows. 

Build your business around those you want to serve.

Another idea you can steal from famous thought leaders is to build your business around your audience. While most approach this from the other way around, you might discover that there’s no audience that suits your product/service. Instead, by building with your audience in mind, you have a built-in set of customer needs from the beginning. 

This is something the CEO and co-founder of Pinterest took seriously. Ben Silbermann shares, “The companies that I really admire the most are the ones that have a deep visceral understanding of why people use their service, and they figure out ways of making money that are completely consistent with how people are feeling and what they are doing at the time.” 

Set your work-life balance on a day-by-day basis.

Next, it’s important to understand the role of your work-life balance in a realistic way. The idea of work-life balance can sometimes be restrictive. Instead, work-life integration is a newer idea that makes space for real-life needs as they come and go. 

The CEO of Carbon, Ellen Kullman, explains the value of avoiding strict schedules. She says, “It’s not about having a specific set time; both personal and professional lives are 24/7. It’s simply about making the right allocation to each one and recognizing that it’s going to be different every single day.” Putting your time into little boxes on a calendar isn’t always practical.

There’s never “enough” time, so focus on what matters most.

Similarly, how often did you wish you had more time in the day? As speaker and author John C. Maxwell says, “Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.” 

This idea of priority management is more real than you might think. It’s not about making more time in the day. It’s time to take control of the time you do have to make sure it’s being put to good use. With only 20% of the workday going towards valuable, important tasks, the narrative needs to change from the ground up. 

Good results in the future come from a good work ethic in the present.

If you want to see good results in the future, you need to focus on the now. There’s no such thing as an overnight success. The co-founder of Biz Stone outlines the real “formula” behind “overnight success.” He says, “Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.”

By crafting a strong work ethic in the present, you can feel confident about the future. This doesn’t have to be anything intimidating. Creating real-world goals, researching your industry, and networking are all manageable parts of a strong work ethic. Consider how you can shift your focus from the future to the now. 

If you want to succeed in times of crisis, prepare now.

If you fail to prepare, you’re preparing to fail. The founder and CEO of FUBU, Daymond John, says this best: “Life is like business, 20% of what happens to you is 80% of how you react.” You can’t control the future. If there’s anything we can learn from the COVID19 pandemic, it’s that nothing is certain. You aren’t owed anything, and there are no guarantees. 

Instead of worrying about what-ifs, create proactive action. To succeed in times of uncertainty, you need strong preparations. This might mean creating multiple sources of revenue, building your network, or upping your skillset. There’s no one-size-fits-all except to never get too comfortable. 

Bravery comes from practice in the face of new things.

Additionally, bravery isn’t the absence of fear. It’s only human to feel intimidated by new challenges and adversity. However, fear should never hold you back from action. Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of the Huffington Post and CEO of Thrive Global, says, “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.”

When you get used to being uncomfortable, your comfort zone widens. The things that gave you pause in the past become normal. Slowly but surely, you no longer fear the big challenges and surprises. Instead, you look forward to them as the opportunities for growth that they are. 

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to start. 

What’s holding you back? For many, it’s a fear of failure. While it’s inspiring to always want to be perfect, is this realistic? In short, no. Saying you’re a perfectionist might sound great in a job interview, but chasing the specter of perfection is a one-way street to burnout. According to medical research, perfectionism is linked to anxiety and even high blood pressure. 

Not only can perfectionism take a toll on your health, but it can also keep you from your goals. Seth Godin, one of the most famous thought leaders, explains this in his bestselling book This Is Marketing. He shares, “Once you free yourself from the need for perfect acceptance, it’s a lot easier to launch work that matters.” If you’re struggling to begin your next project, it’s time to ask what’s really in the way. 

Be humble enough to always ask, ‘How can I do this better?”

On the other end of the spectrum, perfectionism can also lead to a big ego. Nobody is perfect, even if things seem to be continuously going right. While success is something to celebrate, it doesn’t mean you don’t have room for additional growth. 

Elon Musk of Tesla encourages people to ask more questions. He says, “I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.” Because there’s no such thing as perfection, always strive to do better. 

Focus on solutions and improvement, not problems and mistakes.

Speaking of perfection, it’s okay when things go wrong. Making mistakes is another reality of being human. It’s easy to dwell on these mistakes and let them get the best of you. However, this only leads to burnout. 

The former President Barack Obama isn’t afraid of missteps. Instead, he argues, “The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.” Though sometimes it might seem hard, you have to challenge yourself to focus on solutions—not the past. 

Invest in those that support you, personally and professionally.

Next, you’re not in this alone. Whether you want to get paid to speak or build a business, you need to invest in those that support you. This means both personally and professionally. These are the people who come with you on your journey, and they stick around for the highs and the lows. 

The late president and chairman of Chrysler stressed the importance of togetherness. Lee Lacotta shares, “Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss.” 

When possible, hire people to do the job better than you can.

Similarly, you don’t have to do everything yourself. In fact, the famous thought leaders on this list know the value of hiring out. It’s okay to hire people who can do the job better than you. Delegation is a way to lean into your own strengths, allowing you to focus on the aspects of your brand that matter most. 

For example, if you need to design a website, you might hire a graphic designer who can handle this for you. Not only does this save you time, but it ensures you’re putting your best foot forward. The author of Start with Why Simon Sinek describes how delegation creates leaders. He says, “When we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders.” 

Approach failures as a chance for analysis.

With that in mind, it’s also essential to approach failure as a chance for growth. Failure happens, and it means you were willing to try something new. Speaker and author Harry Beckwith says it best, “There’s little point in killing an idea by saying it might fail. Any idea might fail. If you’re doing anything worthwhile at all, you’ll suffer a dozen failures. Start failing so you can start succeeding” 

Failure is a key ingredient for success. Thomas Edison notoriously created 10,000 failed prototypes of his electric bulb before he succeeded. It’s easy to focus on the successes of famous thought leaders, but you might not realize the failures it took to get there. 

Remember that slow and steady wins the race.

In today’s world of #Hustle culture, there’s a lot of pressure to “do it all.” In reality, this only leads to burnout and frustration. With more than 75% of American workers feeling burnt out, it’s time to hit the breaks. There’s nothing wrong with starting small. Actually, it can have its own benefits, like letting you scale your business in a healthy, realistic way. 

The co-founder of Resy and Empathy Wines says it’s always better to start small. He explains, “Even if your ambitions are huge, start slow, start small, build gradually, build smart.” Showing up first isn’t always enough to guarantee success. Instead, build gradually and with a strong strategy. 

Don’t be afraid to ask for a helping hand. 

Last but not least, never be afraid to ask for help. In western culture, there’s a stigma against asking for help. Many believe it’s a sign of weakness, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The world is a big place. You won’t get far alone. Instead, know when it’s time to ask for a helping hand. 

According to researcher and Daring Greatly author Brené Brown, asking for help is a sign of success. She says, “Somehow we’ve come to equate success with not needing anyone. Many of us are willing to extend a helping hand, but we’re very reluctant to reach out for help when we need it ourselves. It’s as if we’ve divided the world into ‘those who offer help’ and ‘those who need help.’ The truth is that we are both.” When you ask for help, you open yourself to growth. 

Draw Inspiration from Famous Thought Leaders

Ultimately, these famous thought leaders above didn’t reach success overnight. It took years of hard work, patience, and knowing how to ask for help. It’s time to steal these winning ideas from famous thought leaders to take yourself further. 
We can all use more inspiration in our daily lives. By looking up to those who have already traveled the hard road of success, we can follow in their footsteps. What example will you set for those who come after?