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Nintendo's Switch has become the quickest-selling console ever! A hybrid of a handheld and home console, it's primarily driven by a robust portfolio which includes the likes of Super Mario Odyssey , The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Too many folks think that they achieved their success on their own.
I will be the first to say that much of the success I enjoyed was made possible by the setting I am in - the support I received from my team, the ultimate arbiters of my fate.
Sometimes we are called to do things we cannot do alone. No matter how much talent or skill or passion we have, let us never forget that there will come a moment, when we must rely on the gifts, the skills and the commitment of others.
It has been my experience that when you think you are there to help someone else, chances are they are really there to help you. Our students make the best teachers. Without the help of others, we will never make the journey.
It is a funny thing I have observed about life - mistakes are almost always and inevitably one's own responsibility, but one's successes, triumphs and worthwhile achievements are rarely accomplished without the help of others.
Even someone like Ed Sheeran, Spotify's Top Artist in 2017, wouldn't - and couldn't - be who he is without the army of talented, dedicated people helping him look and sound like the star he is.
Recognizing this truth is the only way to avoid becoming self-delusional. We can end up having a demeanor or spirit that doesn't appreciate or value the collaborative power that success is built on. Don't get into the culture of peacocks...strutting around trying to get the world to look at you. In truth, peacocks strut because they can't fly.
If you really want to fly, you're going to need someone to help you. Be grateful for collaboration. It's a profound component of success.
In 2018, I am looking forward to the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, women finally being permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia, the World Cup in Russia, Frozen the Broadway Musical and to find out which city Amazon will pick for its new HQ after receiving 238 bids from across North America.
I will confess that 2017 was bittersweet.
The experience was exhilarating, joyful, humbling and at times, plain infuriating.I've tried to learn from my mistakes. I've tried to make my peace with painful memories and recapture some of the fun that filled more days of the year.
After all, we have the life we are willing to put up with.
Think about it. What are the problems spoiling the happiness of your otherwise blissful life? Do you hate your job? Are you in a bad relationship? Is there something wrong with your health? Fine, get a new job. End the relationship. Change your diet and exercise or find the kind of help you need. Seems simple, doesn't it?
But if you're not willing to take actions to change your situation, in other words, if you're willing to put up with your situation - then whether you like it or not, that is the life you have chosen. So stop blaming other people, or circumstances.
In a documentary "Angst", Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time opens about his battle with anxiety and depression—two of the most common mental health issues affecting lots of people today. He encourages people to remember that we are all going through similar things together and emphasizes the importance of having an open dialogue about our feelings.
The crux of the message is this: If you can't handle stress, you can't handle success.
So, don't let anyone live rent-free in your head. Accept what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.
Coco - the story of a Mexican boy stuck in the Land of the Dead - is among Pixar's best movies in years, thanks to a combination of vibrant visuals, humor and music. For 15 years, Pixar was the best animation studio on the planet. Then it lost its way and the magic faded. With Coco, Pixar has found its mojo.
I turned 53 yesterday. Our society has an aging phobia. Our children are leaving home, our bodies may be getting slower, we see friends dying.
Truth is, worrying about aging only makes us age faster. If we see ourselves as old, then we will be.
Let's recognize there is a huge difference between aging and feeling old.
I'm convinced that none of us reach age 53 without having life knock the props out from under us in some way. Everybody plans a charmed storybook life, but "stuff happens." Despite our best intentions, stress can be unavoidable. Your relationship breaks up. Your experience loss. You get depressed.
It is important to note that for a time in my life, I chose to be blind. Because of that choice, I was blind not only to beauty; I also was blind to opportunity, to forgiveness, to the value in others and a host of other things.
JOHN ORTBERG has this to say: We can have very little and yet be very rich. A rich soul experiences life differently. It experiences a sense of gratitude for what is has received, rather than resentment for what it hasn't gotten. It faces the future with hope rather than anxiety.
To be clear, perspective is how we decide to perceive a thing. Blindness is the decision not to see it at all. We must choose to see before having the opportunity to choose how we see it.
If you're sometimes talking about how "unfair" life is, you'll start to act according to that view, perceiving slights where none exist or, as studies have shown, putting less effort into your work because you've already determined it won't accomplish anything. The unfair view will quickly become your reality.
These days, I embrace humor. Laughter it is said, increases longevity. Being overly serious and intense decreases life span due to chronic illness. Instead, I laugh about things.
I am grateful for every breath, every moment. Cultivating an "attitude of gratitude" has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety, and a higher long-term satisfaction with life. For instance, instead of dreading a birthday, I am grateful I've been gifted with another year to live.
$100 billion. On Black Friday, Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos went from being the son of a 16-year old mom to the world's richest person when he hit a net worth of $100 billion. When he was 17 months old, his parents divorced. Growing up with his grandparents, he helped fix windmills and vaccinate cattle.
The moments in my life when things seemed the bleakest have also been when I found my greatest successes. As I look back at my life so far, there was something about coming close to quitting, to giving up, that motivated me to do more than I otherwise would.
Perseverance, it turns out, matter more than talent or intelligence when it comes to being successful. I wish to share with you that grit allowed me to escape from those difficult periods in my life when I was so exhausted, overwhelmed, depressed and confused. For me, grit is the secret to success.
Grit is the result of a hard-fought struggle, a willingness to take risks, a strong sense of determination, working relentlessly toward a goal, taking challenges in stride and having the perseverance to accomplish difficult things, even if I am wallowing in the most difficult circumstances.
Perhaps what I love most about grit is that you don't have to be born with it. It can be learned.
I cannot fathom how anyone, without firm convictions and deep inner beliefs, can be an effective leader. I don't remember many periods of self-doubts. When I did waver, it sometimes took another person to shake me out of my stupor.
Sometimes changes in an organization - especially when the new tomorrow is radically different from the golden yesterday - would overwhelm even the most experienced of leaders and team members. It is unrealistic to think that all of them can ignore the exaggerated expectations, the suffocating demands of internal stakeholders, the chronic fatigue - all beyond our control.
Each of us, in our lives, has to find a way to build courage - the key word here being build.
Strike Friday. Hundreds of Amazon workers in Italy and Germany staged a Black Friday strike, the busiest online shopping day of the year, in protest of better wages. There’s also a question of rights and a suffocating climate for workers.
The point, rather, is to note that sometimes the more force you apply, the less effective it becomes.
I've learned this lesson many times over in my capacity as a leader. I have had my share of moments when I kept pushing long past the point of effectiveness. I didn't mean any harm; I'd just want to get the job done. But over the years, I've learned that sometimes I need to step on the brakes. Not every situation requires you to act like a pile driver.
Think back to the last time you were on the receiving end of a hard sell. Chances are, you suddenly found yourself unwilling to budge. The harder we're pushed, the more we resist. Being driven is another way to say "I am not in control."
Leadership can be a zero-sum game. The more a leader demands from his team members, the less the team member produces. People want to thrive. People thrive when they experience autonomy and relatedness. In some ways, leaders need to work harder at igniting people's passion.
How do we go about finding our passion?
If you could do anything, what would you do? Are you willing to make sacrifices in order to do it? Are you willing to give up autonomy or flexitime for more money?
If you are not happy in your work, ask yourself what the cause of this unhappiness is. Is it self, attitude, boss, coworkers, compensation or environment? If you determine that it is best for you to move on, begin to act on it immediately.
Otherwise, see the current situation as an opportunity to grow in patience and fortitude.
"Your economy isn't as good as ours." Less than 24 hours into his Asia trip, President Donald Trump delivered a light jab to Japan.
Truth be told, Abenomics has been a big success. The central bank injected vast amounts of money into the financial system which weakened the yen, making Japanese cars, electronics and other products more attractive to foreign buyers. Japan’s biggest banks have bravely navigated through a year of negative interest rates with their profits intact. This week it was reported that the Japanese economy grew for a seventh consecutive quarter.
There is a pattern. It is what leaders, legends, heroes, great achievers and champions do to excel. Let me tell you how I believe they achieve it.
Change will probably always be a challenge in our life. Adjusting to change is rarely easy. It's human nature to resist it. As leaders, we can help others respond positively.
There is a time and place to take a step back. To keep absorbing punishment would be foolish and masochistic. Sometimes we have to take a step back to propel ourselves forward. An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward.
There is an art to slowing down. In our busy world it is not easy to master this art, but it is necessary. In truth, I am still learning this every day. I have spent my life feeling like a bulldozer chasing butterflies in a hurricane.
Burnout, a close cousin of stress, is also on the rise. As leaders, we need to recognized and take action on correcting the pressing and disturbing issue of the overwhelmed team member.
Everyone wants things to get better. No one wants things to change.
A new Toy Story. A Brexit minister has admitted to asking his personal assistant to buy sex toys. Lately there's a slew of stories with different characters but similar themes: men in positions of power, and women who feel their institutions didn't do enough to protect them.
Simon Sinek puts it this way: Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.
Think about what do you want from your people? Focus. Effort. Dedication. Loyalty. Make their numbers. Achieve their goals. Get results.
Here's another question: what do you want for your people?
Most leaders tend to pursue results by focusing on what they want from people. I think they have it backwards. When we focus on what we want for our people, we are more likely to get the results we want from people.
Sadly, these days, many leaders lead from a distance. They don’t really know the people they lead nor do the people know their leader. I get down in the trenches with my people. It means caring for them; for what they think, what they need, what they want. Every human being has dreams; leaders help their people achieve those dreams. Caring for your people has EVERYTHING to do with running a high performing team.
I also try to instill fun in everything we do, especially mundane, repetitive jobs. The point is that having fun at work with your friends creates insignificantly more social glue for any team than stock options and bonuses will ever provide. We accomplish more when we throw formality to the winds and free our people to have a life on our time, which soon becomes the time of their lives.
After all, leaders are not responsible for the numbers. Leaders are responsible for the people responsible for the numbers.
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