Lessons from Guy Kawasaki’s Insights on Personal Growth, Leadership, and Resilience
Introduction
Guy Kawasaki, known for his pioneering marketing role at Apple and his work as an evangelist for Canva, has built a career on bold ideas, grit, and a no-nonsense approach to personal and professional development. His podcast, “Remarkable People,” and his book “Think Remarkable” offer potent insights into leadership, success, and fulfilment. Kawasaki provides unique insights and lessons from his experiences and interviews with remarkable figures like Jane Goodall and Steve Wozniak. This post will explore some of the core takeaways from a recent podcast interview I did with Guy on the 1% podcast, touching on themes such as growth, perseverance, work-life balance, and leadership.
1. The Growth Mindset: A Pathway to Resilience
One of the central themes of Kawasaki’s work, inspired by Carol Dweck’s research, is the concept of a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset means embracing challenges, seeing failures as opportunities for learning, and continuously pushing oneself to develop new skills. In the interview, Kawasaki delves into the importance of surrounding oneself with environments that foster this mindset. Whether in personal or professional settings, it’s crucial to be in spaces that support growth and development rather than stagnation.
Kawasaki highlights the danger of environments where people are either confined to rigid roles or told they are already perfect. These situations stunt growth because they discourage experimentation and vulnerability, which are essential for true progress. For those in difficult life circumstances—juggling multiple jobs or dealing with heavy responsibilities—he advises starting small. Curiosity and incremental steps toward improvement can still spark significant transformation over time.
In his own life, Kawasaki embodies the growth mindset, taking up new challenges like surfing at the age of 60. He acknowledges that growth is a long-term process and that excellence comes from sustained effort over time. “It took me ten years to become a mediocre surfer,” he laughs, underscoring the point that mastery requires patience.
2. Grit: The Fuel for Sustained Success
Angela Duckworth’s work on grit has deeply influenced Kawasaki’s thinking. Grit, as Kawasaki defines it, is the relentless perseverance that pushes you to keep going even when the odds are against you. Whether you’re working through failure or simply grinding through daily tasks, grit is what separates those who succeed from those who falter. He emphasises the importance of showing up, again and again, noting that most people give up far too soon.
Kawasaki points out that being remarkable isn’t about sudden moments of genius or lucky breaks—it’s about doing the “shit work” that others are unwilling to do and continuing to do it long after others have quit. This willingness to keep going, even when the path is tough, makes a person indispensable.
He offers this simple but profound advice: “Keep showing up.” Most people, he notes, will stop showing up after a short while, but those who persist—whether in business, personal growth, or even hobbies—are the ones who ultimately become successful. Grit, in Kawasaki’s eyes, is the real key to sustained achievement.
3. The Myth of Work-Life Balance
Kawasaki doesn’t mince words when it comes to work-life balance, especially for young professionals and entrepreneurs. His blunt message is that work-life balance is not something achievable at the beginning of a career. “If you’re 25 and you want to be remarkable, forget about work-life balance,” he says. Instead, he suggests viewing balance as something that happens over a lifetime. In the early stages of a career, you’re going to be overworked and underpaid. Later, if you play your cards right, you’ll find yourself overpaid and underworked.
Work-life balance is, in Kawasaki’s view, a long game. You may have to grind through long hours and tough conditions early on, but that investment pays off later with more flexibility and freedom. He urges young professionals not to fall into the trap of expecting a smooth, balanced life right out of the gate. “You can’t have a job where you’re working three hours a day from Bali and expect to be remarkable,” he quips. The path to success is messy, full of long hours, and often requires sacrifices.
4. Quitting vs. Persevering: Knowing When to Pivot
One of the hardest decisions in life, Kawasaki admits, is knowing when to persevere and when to pivot. He uses his own story of quitting law school after just two weeks to illustrate the complexity of this decision. For him, quitting led to a series of opportunities that ultimately shaped his career, but he acknowledges that there is no simple formula for knowing when it’s the right time to quit.
Steve Jobs once famously said that you can only connect the dots looking backward, and Kawasaki echoes this sentiment. It’s only in hindsight that we can see whether quitting was the right choice. However, the key is to stay curious and open to new possibilities, whether you quit, pivot, or persevere. “It’s the next step that matters,” Kawasaki notes. Remaining curious and engaged is what leads to the next opportunity, whether you’ve pivoted or stayed the course.
5. The Importance of Vulnerability
Vulnerability is a critical part of growth, Kawasaki insists, especially when adopting a growth mindset. In the podcast, he shares that failure is inevitable, and one must have a tolerance for it. Taking up surfing at 60 is a perfect example—Kawasaki knew he would be terrible at it initially, but he embraced the challenge anyway. He makes it clear that being willing to be bad at something is part of the journey toward being good at it.
For many people, especially those in leadership positions or public-facing roles, admitting failure or weakness feels impossible. But Kawasaki insists that embracing vulnerability is not just necessary for personal growth—it’s essential for effective leadership. Without it, individuals miss out on learning experiences and opportunities for deeper connections with others.
6. Making Yourself Indispensable
Another key takeaway from Kawasaki’s wisdom is the value of becoming indispensable in your field. Andrew Zimmer, a famous food personality, once advised Kawasaki that the way to succeed in life is to do the work that no one else wants to do and to keep showing up, even when the work isn’t glamorous. Kawasaki builds on this by explaining that those who are indispensable get more opportunities, more freedom, and ultimately more success.
“Being indispensable isn’t glamorous,” he admits. It often means doing the mundane or difficult tasks that others avoid. But over time, being reliable, hardworking, and consistent can open doors that talent alone cannot.
7. Grace: The Final Pillar
Kawasaki introduces grace as the third and final pillar in his book. While growth and grit are about personal development and perseverance, grace is about giving back. He suggests that remarkable people, in the later stages of their careers, often seek to make the world a better place. It’s not just about personal success anymore; it’s about how much good you can do for others.
Kawasaki admits he loves the alliteration of the three G’s—growth, grit, and grace—but grace, in particular, strikes a deeply philosophical note. At the end of one’s life, he argues, you are measured not by how rich or famous you became but by how much better you made the world.
Conclusion: Embracing the Three G’s
Guy Kawasaki’s lessons from our podcast interview and his book offer a practical, grounded, and deeply human approach to success. The key to a fulfilling and impactful life, according to Kawasaki, lies in mastering three essential pillars: growth, grit, and grace.
Growth is about embracing challenges, staying curious, and being open to learning. It’s about creating an environment, both personally and professionally, that supports continual development. Whether you’re trying something new at 60, like Kawasaki did with surfing, or pushing yourself in your career, growth requires courage and the willingness to be vulnerable.
Grit is the perseverance that keeps you showing up when things are tough. Kawasaki’s emphasis on grit highlights that success is not about overnight achievements but about consistently doing the hard work that others shy away from. Whether it’s showing up for daily practice or handling the mundane tasks no one else wants, grit is the fuel for long-term success.
Finally, grace is the idea that success is not just about personal gain but about making the world a better place. It’s about taking the high road, giving back to your community, and leaving a positive legacy.
In essence, Kawasaki’s insights remind us that becoming remarkable isn’t about being a genius or having the perfect opportunity. It’s about continuous growth, showing up with grit, and leading with grace. It’s a blueprint for anyone looking to create a meaningful, impactful life, whether in business, personal pursuits, or simply in day-to-day interactions.
Remarkable Minds: Insights on Leadership, Innovation, and Success with Guy Kawasaki – Podcast
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