Every now and then when it comes to Facebook, the person we always relate to is none other than ‘Mark Zuckerberg’. Right? One intellectual and outgoing personality you might have failed to notice is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and founder of LeanIn.org, Sheryl Sandberg. Mother of two, an activist, an executive, an entrepreneur, and a leader. Author of one of the bestsellers of all times, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, she has been an inspiring figure to men and women alike, who strive to be successful. If you have ever watched her videos on Ted, Sheryl Sandberg is sure to amaze you with her wit, courage and beauty.
After the sad demise of her husband in 2015, the way Sheryl Sandberg has coped up with her life is worthy of notice. Even after such a great loss, her optimism towards life and her confidence left people awestruck. People say, ”Life goes on”. Yes, well it does. For Sheryl Sandberg, along with moving on, she isn’t leaving any attempt to make it more beautiful and worth living.
Mark Zuckerberg is on his way of becoming the richest person, but when it is about influencing in the world of politics and business, Sheryl Sandberg’s overshadows his. While everyone continues to inspire us from their professional life and the strategies they have followed in their business, Sheryl Sandberg’s life will make you think over and over again about the lessons she has got to teach.
Here are 5 entrepreneurial lessons one can learn from Sheryl Sandberg. Wondering that only 5 lessons can be learnt? ‘5 is just a number’. When you read over, you will actually wonder, how these 5 points will teach you countless lessons.
Three P’s of life: Personalization, Pervasiveness and Permanence
There is no way of ceasing hardships. Ideal happy life is hypothetical. Sheryl Sandberg laid focus on the three P’s of life that she learnt from death. One should never feel guilty for anything wrong that happens in life if it is not under his/her control.
Mishaps occur, they are natural. Instead of considering yourself guilty, concentrate on how to recover yourself. Death, business loss, illness or accidents are going to affect all the dimensions of your life. Don’t let sadness consume you, instead move past this feeling like Sheryl did after her husband’s death. She made sure that her children and her work life does not take a backseat.
Irrespective of how much you try to regain that mental strength, sadness will never depart. Grief is permanent. Instead of tangling ourselves into this never-ending sadness, one should accept that they will not last forever. This is the greatest lesson by Sheryl Sandberg. She talks about something which everyone faces, but no one thinks of it beforehand.
Gratitude and Resilience
At a highly motivating commencement speech delivered by Sheryl Sandberg at the University of California in Berkeley, she mentions, ”I feel really grateful to the people who encouraged me and helped me develop. Nobody can succeed on their own.”
Entrepreneurs must learn to express gratitude to those who support them in reaching the zenith. Being thankful shows your humility, and your love towards people. If you are humble enough, you reach out better. Finding gratitude and appreciation is the key to resilience. Someone who takes out time to list things he/she is grateful for is healthier and cheerful. Sheryl Sandberg hopes that everybody can find that gratitude, not just on good days, but at the times of adversity, when you actually need it.
Confidence and Self-confidence
One reason why power comes to you is self-confidence. In everyone’s life, there are moments when you feel you are not worthy of anything and you cannot take it more. Being an entrepreneur, if you lose self-confidence, the entire chain of people below you will collapse. “Being confident and believing in your own self-worth is necessary in achieving your potential”, a perfect remark.
Women Empowerment
Sheryl Sandberg has raised her voice on the plight of women, especially mothers. She encourages women to be more proactive in their career by stepping up, which is greatly achieved by LeanIn.org. She wants people to change their perspective on women, which is quite clear when she says, ”Next time you are about to call a little girl “bossy”, say instead she has executive leadership skills.”
Uplifting women and motivating them is the prime concern, and it’s the responsibility of businessmen, corporate and government officials, and least to mention, of entrepreneurs also. An entrepreneur must try to maintain a healthy ratio between men and women in his/her team, because having a biased choice isn’t a viable option.
Art of Leadership
According to Sheryl Sandberg, “Leadership is not bullying and leadership is not aggression. Leadership is the expectation that you can use your voice for the good. That can make the world a better place.” Veracious and precise. An entrepreneur must strive for the betterment of the society. He/she must have the capability to translate vision into reality. An entrepreneur should make the way, follow the way and show the way. Become a leader, because if a businessman follows rules, a leader makes those rules.
She has explained the meaning of death and life in a penny plain extra-ordinary way. The way Sheryl Sandberg finds glitter in every tiny thing, agreeing to the fact that “Everything that glitters is not gold” is breathtaking. This is life. It’s uncertain. Try to overcome these uncertainties, which will certainly come in everyone’s life.
Aren’t these words inspiring and worth taking lessons from? If so, leave a comment to let us know!
Rashika Daga
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