Proving that kindness takes you far in life, celebrity speaker, author and host, Leeza Gibbons shares her unwavering belief in the power of playing nice in her book Fierce Optimism. A biography combined with life lessons and powerful insight from successful icons, this book illustrates how despite adversity, you can rise above. A great example of this philosophy was her ability to nab first place on Celebrity Apprentice despite the fact that all of her fellow contestants believed she would be the first to get fired. Why? “Because nice girls don’t go far in this game.” Leeza, however, chose to lead with kindness and using “nice” as her personal operating system, she not only conquered the game, she’s followed this compass through the cutthroat journalism industry and under the fiercely competitive Hollywood spotlight to build an unwavering brand and her own personal empire.

“Something amazing happens when people are given the opportunity to own their life without apologizing for who they are and how they do things.”

She shares how empathy in action may require you to play the long-game, stick to your values and ride out the naysayers. This is her secret formula for success. Instead of changing who you are, whoever that may be, continually work on self-improvement but be true to yourself and soon you’ll discover you are a unique gift to the world. You don’t need to play dirty to get results, of course you don’t need to roll over either, you just need to learn to be resilient when others try to break you down.

I’ve read this book three times and my first promotion of it earned me a nice note from the author. I appreciate any effort to promote the power of being nice and optimistic. The lesson on forgiveness is never shared enough and I don’t care whether it’s coming from Brenee Brown, Dr. Oz or Leeza Gibbons, it’s our kryptonite. Unless we can learn to forgive others for their transgressions and learn to forgive ourselves for our mistakes, we’ll always be rooted in the same place and never make progress. Couple that with hope, optimism and courage, and you’re going to go far.

I’m always disheartened when naysayers consider these overarching themes of success hollow. Success isn’t about who finishes first, it’s about who leaves the field with the feeling that they’ve given it their best. And that includes self-correcting, listening more, navigating change with an open mind and respecting and uplifting those around you. These are just a few of the powerful lessons in Fierce Optimism.

This book proves that you don’t have to play dirty to win. In the long run, it’s those who stick to their values and put others first who truly succeed.

Image Courtesy of Harper Collins