“There’s a whole section of the bookshop called self-help, but there’s no section called help others”
In short: Simon Sinek, the author and speaker on leadership, shares his success secrets in this short London Real conversation recorded in 2016. He admits his daily routine is ordinary, explains why he treats exercise as an unmovable appointment, and names the one practice that changed his life: waking up and asking whom he can help.
Brian Rose asked Simon about the morning habits and daily practices behind a life of constant travel. Simon said he wished he had something profound to offer, but that he is “frustratingly average”: he brushes his teeth, showers, and has fallen in and out of habits such as meditation.
What has stuck is protecting his workout time by putting it in the calendar like a meeting. The bigger lesson comes from a trip to Afghanistan, which taught him that committing to serving others is what leads people to find themselves.
Key takeaways
- Be honest about ordinary routines. Simon said he has no secret morning ritual and that he once dropped meditation after calling it “amazing”.
- Book exercise like a meeting. Writing his workout into the diary made it sacred, and he said it helps his body, mind, sleep and stress.
- Ask what you can do for others. His one recommended practice is to wake up and consider how to benefit someone you care about, even one friend.
- Turn your goals around. Instead of asking how to lose 10 pounds or find a job, ask how you can help someone else do it.
- Help people who share your values. Simon rejects the idea of helping everyone and prefers people with a shared vision and common values.
- Write the reminder down. A note on his bathroom mirror reads “today you will inspire someone”, because he knows he forgets.
Frustratingly average routines
Asked for the daily practices that set him up for a year of travel, Simon laughed off the idea of a magic formula. His routines, he said, are the same as everybody’s, and he tries things that sound like good ideas and then lets them slip, as he did with meditation.
Exercise is the exception. It used to happen only when he had time, until he started blocking out a slot such as four to five in the afternoon and treating it like a meeting. Other requests are moved to later in the week, and he says the habit makes him happier and better at handling stress.
Help others before you help yourself
Simon traced his main practice back to the Afghanistan trip. He pointed out that bookshops have a self-help section but nothing called help others, and said that when his life was about himself it “wasn’t going so well”.
His argument is that committing to serving others is how people find themselves, and that the pursuits we chase for ourselves, such as a better job or happiness at work, come back when we help someone else get them. He said it has changed his career and made him a better friend, brother and son.
Choose who you serve
He was clear that helping everyone is unrealistic: “There’s one of you.” He would rather support people who share his beliefs and vision and have a common value set, and he keeps the reminder where he sees it each morning.
Closing the clip, Brian asked who comes to mind when he thinks of success. Simon said that by his definition there are plenty of people, some famous and many unknown, and he admires them for it.
Who is Simon Sinek?
Simon Sinek is an author and speaker on leadership who travels widely for his work. In this 2016 London Real clip he spoke about his everyday routines, the trip to Afghanistan that shaped his outlook, and why he builds his days around helping others.
Frequently asked questions
In this London Real clip Simon Sinek says his routines are ordinary, that he protects his exercise time by scheduling it like a meeting, and that his key practice is waking up to ask how he can help someone he cares about.
He recommends waking up each morning and considering what you can do for others, even one friend. He keeps a note on his bathroom mirror that says "today you will inspire someone".
He said he went through a meditation phase and thinks it is amazing, but forgot to keep doing it and fell out of the habit.
He treats his workout as a meeting so that it becomes sacred and nobody asks him to move it. He says it helps his body, mind, sleep and stress.
Not everyone. He prefers to help people who share his beliefs, vision and values.
