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33 Breathtaking Tom Rath Quotes

Tom Rath is an American author known for his works of ‘Strength Based Leadership’ and ‘StrengthsFinder 2.0.’ As an advisor to Gallup, Inc. he spent more than a decade researching employee engagement, strength, and well being. Here is a look at some of the best Tom Rath quotes from his career.

“A mere 20 minutes of moderate activity could significantly improve your mood for the next 12 hours.”

“Across the board, having the opportunity to develop our strengths is more important to our success than our role, our title, or even our pay.”

“Although individuals need not be well-rounded, teams should be.”

“At its fundamentally flawed core, the aim of almost any learning program is to help us become who we are not.”

“Every hour you spend on your rear end … saps your energy and ruins your health.”

“Every human being has talents that are just waiting to be uncovered.”

“Far too many people spend a lifetime headed in the wrong direction. They go not only from the cradle to the cubicle, but then to the casket, without uncovering their greatest talents and potential.”

“Followers have a very clear picture of what they want and need from the most influential leaders in their lives: trust, compassion, stability, and hope.”

“Fortunately, going from the low end of this continuum to the recommended 10,000 steps can lead to significant health benefits in the short term as well as the long run.”

“From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to our shortcomings than to our strenghts.”

“I have started forcing myself to substitute thinking “I’m busy” with “I need to do a better job managing my time.”

“If we can find short-term incentives that are consistent with our long-term objectives, it is much easier to make the right decisions in the moment.”

“If you focus on people’s weaknesses, they lose confidence.”

“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything.”

“If you want to improve your life and the lives of those around you, you must take action.”

“It appears that the epidemic of active disengagement we see in workplaces every day could be a curable disease…if we can help the people around us develop their strengths.”

“Perhaps the ultimate test of a leader is not what you are able to do in the here and now – but instead what continues to grow long after you’re gone.”

“The data suggest that to have a thriving day, we need six hours of social time.”

“The key to human development is building on who you already are.”

“The lesson here is clear: If you want people to understand that you value their contributions and that they are important, the recognition and praise you provide must have meaning that is specific to each individual.”

“The most successful people start with dominant talent—and then add skills, knowledge, and practice to the mix. When they do this, the raw talent actually serves as a multiplier.”

“The pursuit of meaning — not happiness — is what makes life worthwhile.”

“The single biggest threat to our own wellbeing tends to be ourselves.”

“There is nothing wrong with working on important individual milestones as long as you understand that they may not be the memories you treasure 25 years from now.”

“Wellbeing is about the combination of our love for what we do each day, the quality of our relationships, the security of our finances, the vibrancy of our physical health, and the pride we take in what we have contributed to our communities. Most importantly, it’s about how these five elements interact.”

“What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths – and can call on the right strength at the right time.”

“What’s more, we had discovered that people have several times more potential for growth, when they invest energy in developing their strenghts instead of correcting their deficiencies.”

“When we build on our strengths and daily successes — instead of focusing on failures — we simply learn more.”

“When we can see an immediate payoff, we are more likely to change our behavior in the moment. This aligns our daily actions with our long-term interests.”

“When we’re able to put most of our energy into developing our natural talents, extraordinary room for growth exists. So, a revision to the “You-can-be-anything-you-want-to-be” maxim might be more accurate: You cannot be anything you want to be—but you can be a lot more of who you already are.”

“Working toward a shared mission with other people will add a positive charge to each day.”

“You cannot be anything you want to be — but you can be a lot more of who you already are.”

“Your overall satisfaction with life certainly matters. But you create meaningful change in moments and days, not years and decades.”

Here is a short segment of Rath during a keynote as he discusses well being and organizational leadership. Considered to be one of the most influential authors in the last decade, Rath covers a range of topics from health and human behavior to business and economics.

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