There are ideas which you can hear, realize their value, and put into practice. And then there are other ideas which are simply illustrative. “This is what successful people do” ideas.
Here are two.
Successful people don’t “mosey” – they walk faster than less successful people walk.
and
Successful people show up as themselves all the time. (This reminds me of a thought from Susan Scott, Fierce Leadership: “Show up as yourself consistently. Unless, of course, you are a jackass.”).
These two insights come from a genuinely successful person – Kenny Rogers. And he made them about an absolute icon – Dolly Parton. They were jewels in the Diane Rehm interview with Kenny Rogers.
(Diane Rehm; Terry Gross; our local NPR station’s Krys Boyd – their interviews skills are world-class, allowing the people they interview to speak the truth of their lives).
Here are the key excerpts of the Kenny Rogers interview (click here for audio and transcript). The discussion at this moment was about the song Islands in the Stream. I’ve bolded a few lines.
ROGERS
They wrote the song and they gave it to me. And I’m in the studio and I sang this for four days and I finally turned to Barry Gibb and I said, Barry I don’t even like this song anymore. And like an epiphany that quickly he says, we need Dolly Parton. And I said, I don’t know Dolly but my manager had just run into her. So he said, let me call her. So 45 minutes later she walked in the studio and she marched — you know, Dolly marches. She doesn’t walk. So when she came in the studio that song was never the same and I give her full credit for it. And it was so much fun. And it was the beginning of two or three years of great camaraderie between the two of us.
REHM
You think that Dolly says what she means.ROGERS
Well, she — I’m convinced she has no filter, that if she thinks it, it comes out her mouth, you know. And that’s the beauty to her is that — and that’s what everybody loves about her. You know, I have a theory that we’re all three people. I’m who I think I am, I’m who you think I am and I’m who I really am. And the closer those three are together the longer your career can last. If you look at Dolly she’s everything she says she is. Look at Willy Nelson. He’s everything he says he is. If you look at Johnny Cash, he was everything he said he was. And I’d like to think that I’m that way.ROGERS
And I think that’s part of the reason — nobody likes to get tricked. They don’t like to think you’re something and find out you’re not. And with her she’s everything. If you like her on the radio you’ll love her in person because she’s that and more.REHM
And you’re listening to “The Diane Rehm Show.” I have a sense that your grounding, your background really lent you that ability to combine those three.
#1 — Successful people walk faster.
I remember a lunch appointment I had a few years ago with a CEO of a major development firm. We walked to lunch from his office. His pace was breathtaking. He simply knew where he was going, and had to get there now!
#2 — Successful people show up as themselves – as their consistent selves – all the time.
These people are not “two people,” or “three people.” Authenticity; genuineness; they are who they seem to be.
These are two pretty good life lessons/observations from Kenny Rogers.
First Friday Book Synopsis 
Love this post. Great wisdom that all would do well to follow.
I am the one who emailed a couple of years ago about could you lean toward conservation, green businesses, environment in your choice of business books–maybe a corporate ethics book. (I think the topic of corporate ethics is being trampled on by the bullish Wallstreet market. I sort of understand the 99% as opposed to the 1%. It seems to me that environment is good for 99% who don’t own a drought stricken cattle ranch in West TX.) I saw an interesting, serious and revealing interview of Dolly Parton. Like some other successful entertainers, the interviewer revealed that Dolly was a good business women, had good work habits, business acumen, and good relationships besides talent. She complimented the people that worked with her for her success and revealed a lot of trust. I noticed a Parade magazine article some time ago that said one reason Tom Cruise enjoyed success was that he was respectful of business relationships, highly respectful of his time commitment and respectful of other people’s time, talent, investment, contribution, etc. toward his career and success. Have been short of capital and cash lately. Trying to help senior in college graduate and launch a job. I found that the organization, http://www.nwei.com that the Sierra Club promotes as short courses with book references is really good. Similarly, my attempt to get a conservation book club going is being promoted on http://www.wiggio.com by a group founded by the name Creationcare but they morphed into a second group called Power and Light using the same communication base. They, very much including author, Anna M. Clark, Green American Style, are trying to promote talk about the sustainability, conservation subject in churches with relavant activities and talks. They have had several, a few, successful events lately. I will return to First Friday events. If I never missed an event, I would be much more educated. And by the way, if there is any conflict between 99% and 1%, or conservative and liberal, or right wing and left wing, etc. in your First Friday events–notice my cash deficit prohibits me from giving to a political candidate (vs money and politics), giving to conservation/environment/preservation societies, etc. Interesting. Thanks for your communications. Helen Bush F Have not h