Simon Sinek: 10 Things You Didnt Know

If there were ever a generation of young people in search of direction, it’s today’s millennials. Although many are armed with degrees from sterling institutions, the business world, and overall employment climate seems a vast wasteland where their task is “not to reason why”, but just construct intricate lines of computer code or design products like automatons. Something critical is missing, but success by individual achievement is the standard formula. With role models like the Kardashians being famous for basically nothing, success seems like an elusive nirvana which is high on hype and low on substance.

Some innovative leaders are daring to bust up the mirror fun house of vanity by telling the truth about what really matters in working life. Simon Sinek has keen insight into the new “lost generation” born after 1982. He dares us to explores the “why” behind the “what” of achieving in life with in his bestselling books “Start With Why” and “Leaders Eat Last”, along with motivational TED Talks.

Here are ten amazing things you may not know about writer and motivational speaker Simon Sinek.

Simon Sinek Put a Chemical Name to Greed

In his talks, Simon Sinek talks about our addiction to dopamine. Today’s rewards go to the selfish, not those who work well with others for the common good. In appropriate doses, dopamine is a wonderful natural drug; however, we are a society that has to answer every ping of our phone chase every bonus, buy every tech toy, at the cost of relationships and self-actualization. To a world that has spent years chasing medications to improve our dopamine levels, he posits that those excesses of gadgets that we use to gain that instant gratification buzz can actually be harmful to us. Who knew?

Simon Sinek’s Net Worth

His book sales and speaking engagements are drawing in new fans of his business perspective formula. By 2015 he was already worth a whopping $15 million. Perhaps the reason he resonates with so many individuals is that he is not just another packaged TED talk–he is telling us what we have needed to hear–for the longest time.

He was Born in England

Although Mr. Sinek speaks without much of an accent, his British roots come out in some of his barely perceptible elongated vowels as he speaks candidly from the stage. The more emotionally invested he becomes in his subject matter, the more you hear it–if you listen closely. He was born in Wimbledon in the UK and resided with his family in Hong Kong and Johannesburg as well as London, before moving to the United States.

Simon Sinek Makes a Case For Majoring in the Social Sciences

Graduating from Brandeis University in 1995 with a degree in Cultural Anthropology, Simon Sinek learned a thing or two about how people tick. Although he went on to study law, his exploration via academia into the world of social motivation and cultural trends no doubt contributed to his success.

He’s Calling Out The Parents

In times past, bad parenting meant depriving or neglecting your kids. Now, Simon Sinek concludes that the problem millennials is that they have been too indulged and pampered for their own good. He doesn’t just lay blame at the door of the ‘me” generations, he gets into specifics to explain that the problem is a four-pronged reason why we have produced so many special snowflakes, What uses to be thought as ideal parenting is the number one culprit.

The Military Was One of His Best Teachers

Having worked with the US Air Force, Sinek came in close contact with what the soldiers knew about the power of cooperation and self-sacrifice. His experiences in Afghanistan rocked his world and taught him about the value of serving others from those who did so without thought of personal gain or credit.

Relationship Lessons

In 2011, Simon Sinek reflected on his parents who taught him the value of lasting relationships. His parents were celebrating 40 years together, which is no small feat for a couple who like many of their generation, had divorce dangled in front of them as the easy fix when the going gets rough. His parents valued themselves and each other enough to build one of those “life-saving” connections needed to keep a marriage or any relationship thriving. That made an impression on their son once he got to college and he realized was one of the few kids who actually wanted to go home on school breaks.

He’s Had His Own Parent Issues

In an interview, Simon Sinek disclosed that it took a little time for his own parents to treat him as the person he is now, not the one they knew as a child. He speaks candidly about that transition. It took a while but now they have a more balanced relationship. His advice is critical for any adult children learning to be independent who still want to have a close parental bond.

Simon Sinek is Close With His Sister

He reveals that where he once used to tap his parents for advice, he and his sister have an excellent adult relationship and speak to each other about what is on their minds, and listen to each other’s feedback as adults. This is another example he cites to show how healthy relationships evolve throughout a lifetime.

He’s Experienced Harsh Criticism

Although Simon Sinek is an optimist, he’s also not afraid to tell it like it is. Sales experts say he has put the cart before the horse, as the “who” and “what’ trump the “why”. Critics of his “Golden Circle” theory that is the basis for one of his award-winning TED talks say that it is not based on reliable, scientific evidence, with some going as far as saying that he is just taking old value lessons and repackaging them for profit. Still, his message has inspired many young people to take a new look at their lives. If values such as self-sacrifice and working for the greater good are old ideas, it’s obviously the right time for someone to rehash them in an astute, catchy way for today’s Gen X Y, and millennial audience.

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