In this episode of Solar Voice, the speaker discusses the role of gratitude in organizational life. He recounts a new member joining out of gratitude and explains why, while gratitude is admirable, it is inadequate for driving the daily actions needed to build a great organization. Gratitude often leads to reciprocation only during crises, not sustained commitment. Instead, leaders should ask whether people join because it’s merely a better job, because they like the leader, or because it’s the greatest opportunity they could find anywhere. The speaker emphasizes that winning and keeping top talent requires offering an unprecedented, life-changing opportunity. He then introduces a higher level: making the organization’s cause the most important one to pursue. His cause is extending impactful life for a billion people—helping them convert wasted time into meaningful, productive years. He challenges senior leaders to pivot if they find a more urgent cause, otherwise commit fully. The ideal team member combines all three elements: gratitude, recognition of a unique opportunity, and deep commitment to the mission. The speaker encourages listeners to see their current situation as both a blessing and a platform for unprecedented growth, concluding with a reminder to find his podcasts on iTunes and his website.
Hello, welcome to Solar Voice, a podcast series designed to help you master change within.
Millions of people around the world are now awakening to the fact that changes in your
life begins with changes in you.
In Solar Voice, I share with you my experiences, thoughts and ideas that I have formed from
my experience of helping people from all walks of life.
So today, as you listen to this podcast, you may discover something that might help you
make a real change in your life.
Hello, in this episode, I want to talk to you about gratitude.
I remember a long time.
A long time ago, a person joined our organization and she said, and I'm so grateful, that's
why I'm here.
And I'm like, what?
Why would you join our organization because you're grateful?
And she's like, is that a bad thing that I'm grateful?
No, it's a great thing.
It's great.
But it's inadequate for you to do the things that will make this organization a great organization.
So let me explain.
What I mean is that gratitude is great.
And when people are grateful to you, it's for life.
And sometimes they will reciprocate.
But most often, the reciprocation that comes from gratitude is when you are in trouble,
when you're in a challenge, when you have a problem, they want to give you a helping
hand.
And I hope that when you run an organization, when you have a mission, that that's not where
you are, that you have a dream.
And that being part of that organization is the best thing.
That's the best thing that can happen for the people who are part of that organization.
So these days, when people join the organization, and I hear this again and again, oh, we are
so grateful because a lot of the people who join the organization have been part of our
ecosystem.
They've experienced the work.
And then I wait for them to complete what they're saying.
And sometimes I have to educate them about, OK, great.
I'm very happy that you're someone who appreciates the good things that happens in life.
And you're great.
I'm very grateful that shows that you're a good person.
You have a good heart.
Now, I want to know, how is being here the best opportunity for you?
How is it going to change your life?
How is it something that you will not find anywhere else outside?
So if you're running an organization, and I want you to ask this question, you know,
do people join you because it's just another job, but it's a better job than the other
jobs they can get?
Or do people join you because they are grateful?
Or do people join you because they like you?
Or do they join you because it's the greatest opportunity on the planet?
And I don't care if you're having someone to help you cook, someone to clean your house,
someone to make your P&L decisions, someone to go get your investment, someone to bring
you sales.
I want you to ask, are they coming to work with a person into an organization?
Are they coming to work with a person into an organization that's providing them an opportunity
that they cannot get anywhere else on the planet?
And that's how you win great talent.
That's how you keep great talent.
That's how you build great talent.
And that's how you keep them motivated to continue to cope, to continue to build and
get to the next level.
See, gratitude is good.
But it doesn't. It doesn't lead to daily, daily action.
And when there's an opportunity that's good for you, for your life, for your family, why
wouldn't people, you know, put in everything they have to make the organization get to
the next level?
Now, there is something even greater than making it the best opportunity for them.
And that is making it the best cause to solve in the world.
And so, there are sometimes, to some leaders who are, you know, at a partner level or who
are coming in at a very senior level, I tell them, if there is any other cause that is
more important, more urgent to be solved than the cause that we are solving as an organization,
as an organization, we are interested in extending impactful life for a billion people.
So, what we mean is people live life, but not necessarily every hour is spent on creating
impact for their body, for their mind, for their soul, for their wealth, for their family,
for their society.
And a lot of time, more than 90% for average successful people gets wasted in chores and
emergencies and firefighting and fights and conflicts and anxiety.
And so, when we convert the non-aggressive. From impactful time to impactful time, people can do in the lifetime they have what they
may have done if they had 200 years.
And not just that, they may just live longer.
So, that's what we mean by extending impactful life.
And I tell my leaders, I tell the people who I want them to become changes in the organization,
if you find a cause that's more important than this, I'll pivot to that.
I'll join you.
And if you don't find a cause that's more important than this, I want you to make this
your cause.
So, there's gratitude, there's unprecedented opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,
and there is the highest cause for which you want to dedicate the rest of your life, the
best of your life, and you want to make that happen in the world because the world will
be a better place.
And ideally, ideally, you want your people, your tribe, your teams, to be the people who
have all the tree.
They have gratitude, they have the best opportunity here than anywhere else in the world, and
they are committed to the cause with you.
And they find meaning in that cause.
They are committed to the cause to be the most important cause to pursue.
So, they may come in, a person may come in from any one of these three.
They may come in because they love your cause.
They may come in because they see an unprecedented opportunity.
They may come in because they're grateful.
And you want to make sure, eventually, you make all the tree through for this person.
And may it be true for you.
May you be ever grateful.
That you are blessed in the situation you are.
And you see this as the most important cause.
And you have unprecedented opportunities for yourself.
Exactly where you are.
And I'll see you soon again in the next episode.
This is Anton Nussela John, and you can find more of my podcasts on iTunes, as well as
on my website.
www.AntonNussela.com
A-N-T-A-N-O-S-O-L-A-R
www.AntonNussela.com
www.AntonNussela.com
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
Gratitude alone is insufficient for building a great organization; it’s positive but doesn’t drive daily action.
People join organizations for different reasons
Leaders should aim to attract talent by offering an unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The ultimate goal is to make the organization’s mission the highest cause—more important than any alternative.
The speaker’s cause is extending impactful life for a billion people, turning wasted time into meaningful action.
Ideal team members possess all three
Leaders should educate newcomers to move beyond gratitude and see the organization as the best path for their growth and life change.
Summary:
In this episode of Solar Voice, the speaker discusses the role of gratitude in organizational life. He recounts a new member joining out of gratitude and explains why, while gratitude is admirable, it is inadequate for driving the daily actions needed to build a great organization. Gratitude often leads to reciprocation only during crises, not sustained commitment.
Instead, leaders should ask whether people join because it’s merely a better job, because they like the leader, or because it’s the greatest opportunity they could find anywhere. The speaker emphasizes that winning and keeping top talent requires offering an unprecedented, life-changing opportunity. He then introduces a higher level: making the organization’s cause the most important one to pursue.
His cause is extending impactful life for a billion people—helping them convert wasted time into meaningful, productive years. He challenges senior leaders to pivot if they find a more urgent cause, otherwise commit fully. The ideal team member combines all three elements: gratitude, recognition of a unique opportunity, and deep commitment to the mission.
The speaker encourages listeners to see their current situation as both a blessing and a platform for unprecedented growth, concluding with a reminder to find his podcasts on iTunes and his website.
FAQs
The episode focuses on gratitude and why it alone is insufficient for building a great organization; it emphasizes the need for an unprecedented opportunity and a higher cause.
Gratitude is great but doesn't lead to daily action; it often only results in reciprocation during tough times, not the ongoing commitment needed to build and grow an organization.
People join because they are grateful, because they see an unprecedented opportunity, or because they are committed to the organization's cause.
Leaders should ensure their organization offers the best opportunity that cannot be found anywhere else, and eventually make it the highest cause for employees, which keeps them motivated and committed.
It means converting non-impactful time (wasted on chores, emergencies, and conflicts) into impactful time, allowing people to achieve more in their lifetime, potentially as much as if they had 200 years, and possibly live longer.
The speaker says they would pivot to that cause and join it, but if no more important cause exists, then the leader should make the organization's cause their own.
Chat with AI
Loading...
Pro features
Go deeper with this episode
Unlock creator-grade tools that turn any transcript into show notes and subtitle files.
PodcastTranscript AI