For Workers by Robin Sharma

Here are seven more things you can do over the next 10 days to become a star at work:

1. Take your hero to lunch. Find someone who has created the kind of professional and personal life that you want and have the courage to take them out to lunch. If there is an author you admire and she lives in your city, pick up the phone and ask for a meeting. If you just read an inspiring article about someone who had turned adversity into advantage and you know you can learn from him, send out an e-mail and open up the lines of communication. In this new knowledge economy, the person who learns the most wins. Learn from heroes
2. Set "learning goals." Most wise performers on the playing field of business set career, financial and personal goals but few set specific learning goals. For this year, I have set clear objectives as to how many books I will read, how many seminars I will attend and how many personal growth retreats I will visit. I also try and set a daily learning quota of three new things every day to keep me stimulated and excited about my work as a professional speaker and leadership coach.
3. Become indispensable. While working at a major league legal firm after I had completed law school, I asked one of the senior partners what one had to do in order to become successful at this firm. His response has never left me and has been exceedingly helpful. "Robin," he said, "the real secret of success is to be so good at what you do that this firm will not be able to run without you. Be so good at what you do that you are the first person that we all think of when we need advice. Be so good at what you do that you become indispensable. Then your success will be assured." So my challenge to your is this: pick your best three talents - 3 core competencies that you have that truly make you special - and then commit to refining them over the coming twelve months until they set you apart from the crowd. Make a personal vow that you will become so good at your professional craft that you become indispensable to your team and to your organization as a whole. Then watch your career soar.
4. Make time to think. It is a strange paradox of the frenzied age that we live in that we have become so busy that we do not even have time to think about the things that we are so busy about. We spend our days on projects that need to get done and in meetings that need to be attended. We spend our evenings with people we need to meet and doing activities that need to be completed. But let me ask you? When was the last time you went for a solitary walk in the woods and deeply reflected on the way you are working and living? When was the last time you took a few hours to gain some real clarity into where you want to be professional and personally five years from now? Henry David Thoreau said: "It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is what are you so busy with?" Carve out at least one hour every week for some serious reflection, introspection and self-examination so that you will keep learning from your weeks.
5. Start a reading group at work. If you want to be a leader, you must first become a reader. Knowing how to read and not doing so puts you in precisely the same position as someone who cannot read. We live in an age where ideas - not bricks and mortar - are the currency of success. One idea, well executed, can transform your team, your culture and your entire organization. One idea, read in a single book, can reshape your thinking processes, transform your character or renew your health. Here's the thing: you just don't know which book contains that one idea that will revolutionize your life. But believe me, it is out there. And it is waiting for you. Read daily and ensure those around you to do the same. The company that learns together stays together.
6. Look like a star. Get serious about physical mastery. Commit to being in peak shape so you increase your energy levels and enhance your stamina. Rekindle that healthy glow that comes from running or swimming or going for a brisk walk at lunch. And make the time to dress and conduct yourself in a way that conveys your commitment to excellence, not only in business but in life.
7. Think contribution. We all have a deep human hunger to be a part of something larger than ourselves. We all carry within us a core craving to do something important in our work lives and know that, at the end of the day, our energies have been invested in activities that have added value to the world and made a difference in people's lives. Begin to see the higher meaning of the work that you are doing and stay focused on adding value to others. As the 13th Century philosopher Rumi said: "When you are dead, seek for your resting place not in the earth but in the hearts of men."