The Truth about Being the 'Stupidest' in the Room | Simon Sinek

It's likely that if you're having trouble understanding something, then somebody else in the room is as well. Asking questions doesn't mean you're the stupidest person in the room; it usually means you're the only one brave enough to speak up.

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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

Simon is the author of multiple best selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

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#SimonSinek

[ravindrahegade]

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

― Confucius

[Mattie_LIGHT]

“Everything not saved will be lost”

-Nintendo quit screen

[kenji]

Yes. This is how student should be in school too. I have gotten into arguments with professors and stopped doing homework when I had an A because the professor throws out “this is basic”, “this is simple”, instead of explaining it. I called him bad, and he called me stupid. The latter is probably true but as a student, DO NOT care about the stupid grades that the education system has molded you into. Care about understanding. It makes getting grades so much easier.

[ItsTheBibby]

As someone that struggles with asking questions I love being in the presence of the "humble and honest idiot" since they tend to ask all the question's I should've asked.

[doctorlove]

“If you’re dumb, you’re dumb, tf you gonna do”

- Julius Caesar maybe

[thedragonofthewest]

"Don't quote things that I haven't said"

-sun tzu, the art of war

[janiklemetti]

"Being the idiot in the room" is also a subtle way of telling the others in that room, that "I value your expertise on this subject, please teach me". This instantly creates a more trusting and productive environment and welds the team into a more solution oriented work flow.

Of course your questions have to be smart for them to yield the desired outcome.

[R_dacted]

I think the larger problem isn't people wanting to not look stupid (though there are a lot of people who do think that way) but rather people not wanting to have attention placed on themselves in a crowd of people.

I was never one to ask questions in school. But not necessarily because I didn't want to look stupid but because I didn't want to hold the lesson up or have everyone wait on me. The logic was that I could just get through the lesson quickly now and then spend time on my own later figuring it out.

The only time that there would be exception to this is when what is being explained is something that I would have to enact later. Then the fear of not understand what to do in a public space overrides not wanting to hold up a group lecture.

[teslestienstlektan]

"Stop quoting my brother."
~Moon Tzu

[ALRemmo]

"There's no shame in being an idiot, but it is a shame to stay an idiot"
- My Math teacher at school

[datdankdj]

I always tune out what my teacher is saying while she addresses the class until after she’s done, then I call her over to my table and have her explain what we’re doing to me “in a way that even a 4 year old could understand” and have her explain to me why each and every step is there and what purpose it serves to reach the end goal…that’s the only reason I pass that class (or any of my classes for that matter)

[missyyamada]

Thank you Simon Sinek for saying that there is value in being an idiot. I felt like an idiot my whole life and understanding it from a beneficial perspective lifts the heaviness of the negative label I placed on myself. 🙏❤

[arphanaaz]

'If being curious is called being an idiot. I'm okay with it.' Wish we had more people around like him.

[chrisnotap]

This is the way most of the world works. It takes confidence to stop and ask questions to clarify. In a lot of cases things are being done wrong because no one asked. Great video!

[cheesehamm]

Awesome content! And thanks so much for NOT adding any background music while you speak to try to make it more motivational. This is great and free of distraction

[markaubuchon]

This is a universal truth he just articulated. I learned this in college and witnessed it my entire working career. People who don’t understand would seldom say so or ask clarifying questions. It’s their loss.

[frankcarlone]

"The great thing about YouTube is that you can make up random quotes and credit anybody for it." - George Washington

[ppc]

“If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”

― Albert Einstein

[afshingm]

why are you always have the exact answers for my questions dude? every time I look for an answer for my felling, there is a video of Simon Sinek explaining that its ok to feel like that. thank you very much.

[CAMI]

I really appreciate this, because I am dyslexia and in school there were times i didn't understand stuff and i felt like i was the only one in the room that didn't, and if i asked questions student and even teachers would get frustrated with me. You should always have the courage to want to be better and not let others stop you or hold you back.