Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Get started for free
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The Gift of Struggle summary
Bobby Herrera
Life-Changing Lessons About Leading
20 mins
Brief summary
The Gift of Struggle by Bobby Herrera highlights how embracing struggles can lead to personal and professional growth. Through compelling stories, it illustrates the transformative power of adversity and the leadership lessons born from hardship.
Table of Contents
The Gift of Struggle
Summary of 5 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 5
Bobby and the bus
When Bobby was 17, he and his brother Ed played on the same basketball team. One evening, on the bus back home after a victory away, they stopped in front of a restaurant, as they often did. Everyone got off the bus – except for Bobby and his brother.
They couldn’t afford to eat out. Instead their mom had prepared them her legendary burritos. But this time something different happened. Mr Teague, a successful local businessman, and the father of one of the other players, got back on the bus and offered to buy Bobby and Ed their dinner. In return, he asked that, sometime in the future, they would pass on the favor to another deserving kid.
That moment on the bus changed Bobby’s whole outlook on life. He found a new sense of purpose. One day, he thought, he could be just like Mr Teague, and be able to help kids just like himself. Years later, it would come to play a pivotal role in how he runs his business.
In 2002 Bobby cofounded Populus Group, or PG, which provides services to help companies manage their non-permanent workforces. The company’s core belief is that everyone deserves a chance to succeed. For Bobby, given his story of childhood struggle, that motto makes perfect sense. But it took a moment of vulnerability for his team to really come on board with him.
One day, as he was filming a video presentation about PG’s company culture, the cameraman asked him: Why do you believe that everyone deserves a chance to succeed? In response, and to his own surprise, he just launched into the bus story. When the video eventually reached the rest of the employees, it was the first time any of them had heard it.
The story had a remarkable effect. Bobby’s intensity and passion as a leader finally made sense. The employees understood the meaning that the work had for him. The whole company came closer together, aligned around the common goal of helping kids just like Bobby.
As a leader, you need to recognize that everyone wants to do meaningful work. They want to feel like their input is contributing to a greater good. And sharing your struggle is the key to helping them realize that wish. Your struggle is what gives you your vision, your purpose. When you share that with your people, their engagement grows. They start to feel pride at being part of a movement for the good.
But a word of caution here, you can’t do this halfheartedly. If you take the leap of sharing your vulnerability, you have to be all in. Take every chance possible to share with your team how they’re helping you achieve your biggest dream. And honor the stories that your employees share with you, or with one another. Everyone wants to feel seen and worthy. As a leader, you have the power to make that happen.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Gift of Struggle?
Key ideas in The Gift of Struggle
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The Gift of Struggle about?
The Gift of Struggle (2019) is an earnest and uplifting reflection on how we can learn and grow from the inevitable struggles life throws our way. Through the sharing of a number of personal anecdotes, it shows how tough times inevitably present us with gifts, in the form of lessons that can be applied to how you lead yourself and others...
Who should read The Gift of Struggle?
- Aspiring leaders looking for advice from a seasoned veteran
- Students of humanity and its many and varied stories
- Anyone going through tough times and struggling to see the light
Categories with The Gift of Struggle
Book summaries like The Gift of Struggle
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.8 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
43 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth