Here's How Simon Sinek Became A Best-Selling Author
Quick Links
For many successful individuals, their part to success was never a straightforward journey, as they admitted to overcoming various hurdles and obstacles. The story is the same for writers and best-selling book authors, who most likely wrote their first book and found it challenging to convince the world of its value. The struggles become overbearing, especially as the author continues publishing other works, hoping their big break is nearby. The story is the same for Simon Sinek, who struggled at the start of his first business in 2002 and is now a motivational speaker and one of the world's best-selling authors. This article will look at how it all began for the award-winning author and the journey to his breakthrough.
A Look into His Biography: Who is Simon Sinek?
Via Flickr/Brian Domzalsky Born October 9, 1973, in Wimbledon, United Kingdom, Simon Sinek is an American Author and motivational speaker. Before settling in the United States, his parents of Hungarian descent lived in cities like Johannesburg, London, and Hong Kong. He graduated high school in 1991 after attending Northern Valley Regional High School in New Jersey, U.S. He then proceeded to Brandeis University in Massachusetts to study cultural anthropology, receiving a B.A degree. Sinek also nursed an ambition to become a lawyer and enrolled at the City University of London for a law degree. Unfortunately, he abandoned it for an advertising job.
Simon Sinek's Career: How it all Started
Via Flickr/Brian Domzalsky Sinek's career kickstarted with a job with New York-based French-owned advertising agency- Euro RSCG before he moved to a rival P.R. agency-Ogilvy & Mather. However, in search of fulfillment and purpose, Sinek opted to move to entrepreneurship in 2002, and he started his first business, Sinek Partners. In the biography portion of his best-selling book Start with Why, Sinek explained that he was prepared for the failure of his business, as he purported that 90% of new businesses fail within their first three years. Surprisingly his company floated successfully, as he conceded that he could beat the three years curse. Unfortunately, the fourth year came with immense struggles as the business struggled for survival. He ran into depression, lost his zeal, and almost quit the company until he met someone who changed his life.
Journey to Publishing his First Book, Start with Why
Via Flickr/BeDifferentCVI After convincing himself that he had failed, Sinek took the last chance on himself by meeting with Victoria Duffy Hooper. Hooper utilized the limbic brain and neocortex explanation to change Sinex's mindset and perspective. Sinek admitted that after the meeting, he discovered the best and most effective strategy for marketing while understanding the "How and Why" people succeed in business. Sinek put his business back on track, and started working on his first book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. He released the book in October 2009, and it ranked as one of the best leadership and marketing books of all time. According to the American research institute NPD Book Scan, the book sold more than 171,000 physical copies between 2016 and 2017, and the bestseller continues to be in demand even today.
TEDx Conferences, Mentoring, and Other Books
Since 2009, Sinek has appeared at many TEDx conferences and was a speaker at the 2016 U.N. Global Compact Leaders’ Summit. After the release of his first book, Sinek transitioned into a motivational speaker, aiming to raise a new generation of successful leaders and excellent sales champions. He published his second book, "Leaders Eat Last" in 2014, and it appeared on the best sellers list of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He published his third book, Together Is Better: A Little Book of Inspiration in 2016, and followed it up the next year with his fourth work, Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team. As a leadership enthusiast, courtesy of Ernst & Young, he once received $98,000 from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to host a bespoke leadership training in 2018. At one point, he was also a strategic communications instructor at the prestigious Columbia University.
The Infinite Game and Simon Sinek Today
After releasing his fifth book, The Infinite Game in 2019, Sinek admitted in a Forbes Interview that the idea behind the book came to him after reading a 1986 book, Finite Infinite Games by James Carse. Like his previous works, the book became a bestseller, amassing huge sales. His 2009 TED Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action remains the organization's third most-watched TED talk of all time. Most of his publications today center around how leaders must inspire cooperation, trust, and change in their respective capacities and organizations. It is no surprise that most of his business mentorships have included but are not limited to global brands like Pfizer, NBC/Universal, 3M, Costco, Deckers, Ernst & Young, and JetBlue. However, while the world continues to await his sixth publication, which Sinek has not yet spoken of, Sinek continues to contribute his quota to inspire a new generation of global leaders changing the world.
Sources: Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Short Form.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEq6CcoJWowW%2BvzqZmq6GTnXqxu9aeqZ%2BtnGS1pr7ErGShp6diwKq5zqdkrKGemrhursScmKadXZZ6o7HSrWSsnZyhtq%2BzjJqsraCfp3w%3D