Be Astonishing
7 Qualities to Achieve Remarkable Success
By Sam Silverstein
Category: Motivation & Inspiration | Reading Duration: 20 min | Rating: 4.4/5 (36 ratings)
About the Book
Be Astonishing (2025) invites you to discover how ordinary moments, lived with intention and heart, can create extraordinary impact. It uncovers the simple principles that can help you break past limits, lift others, and build a life that truly matters. It shows you where to begin if you’re ready for a fresh spark of purpose and possibility.
Who Should Read This?
- Leaders and managers who want to elevate their impact
- Professionals seeking personal growth
- Entrepreneurs and founders who resonate with purpose-driven work
What’s in it for me? Unlock a powerful path to transformative leadership.
You don’t lead a truly impactful life through performative acts or chasing applause. It’s something that’s achieved through the choices you make, the character traits you nurture, and living with intention, courage, authenticity, and heart. This kind of life is what the authors call astonishing. The kind of life that raises the bar and lifts up everyone around them.
They’ve laid out a roadmap that can help you break past the ordinary and step into a life filled with meaning, purpose, and possibility. It’s a process of finding your passion, forging resilience, backing up your values with real action, and reshaping lives, including your own. This is the invitation this Blink extends: to step boldly into the kind of life that inspires others to rise.
Chapter 1: Finding your astonishing spark
Let’s start by laying down one of the authors’ main ideas: we all have it in us to be astonishing and lead an extraordinary life. What it takes is igniting your inner engine – the drive, the fire, the passion – that will take you to the next level. Igniting that fire comes down to identifying what’s meaningful to you. What’s the steady, purposeful force that’s more than just enthusiasm or excitement?
We’re talking about something that ticks three big boxes: what you value, what you’re curious about, and what you’re willing to work for. When those three things line up, that’s when effort feels purposeful, challenges become catalysts, and your presence naturally energizes the people around you. A good example of this in action is Melanie Perkins. She was fed up with traditional design software. For her, the current options were actually creating a needless barrier between everyday people and their creative potential. That frustration was the spark that led to her creating Canva in 2013, a user-friendly graphic design platform that makes it easy for anyone – regardless of skill level – to create professional-quality visuals.
What began as just a small team and a bold vision became a global platform used by hundreds of millions. The key to it all was that Canva stood for something. The commercial ambition was aligned with a commitment to bring something meaningful and good into the world. It’s not just product-based, either. Canva is committed to sustainable practices and takes part in reforestation efforts. It’s an alignment of productivity and purpose, and it shows how passion, once activated, can ripple outward into culture, community, and global impact.
But it all starts by looking inward and noticing the sparks that hint at deeper purpose. You might recall moments of joy or anger that pointed you toward something meaningful. You might revisit childhood interests, trace the injustices that frustrate you, or experiment until something catches fire. And once you find that energy, keeping it alive becomes a daily practice – carving out time for what matters and staying curious. Passion isn’t a gift bestowed on a lucky few. It’s built through awareness, courage, and consistent action.
And when you align that passion with purpose, that’s when you become someone who inspires meaning in others. Over the next few sections, we’ll look at some common characteristics in individuals and leaders who make lasting impressions. First, let’s look at two things: freeing your mindset and outworking your ordinary.
Chapter 2: Better mindsets and work ethics
Freeing your mindset is another way of saying, don’t blindly accept the preestablished rules. Ask questions – the kind of questions others don’t think to ask. When everyone else shrugs and says, “That’s just how it is,” start wondering, “Why is it like this, and what else could be true? ” With a free mindset you loosen the grip of old assumptions so you can see fresh possibilities for your life, your work, and the people you serve.
This can lead to transformative ideas. LEGO fan Charlie Jeffers realized that mountains of loved-but-forgotten bricks were sitting in closets while kids elsewhere had nothing to build with. Where other people saw clutter, he saw possibility. And so, Pass The Bricks was born – a volunteer-powered effort to clean, sort, and repackage used LEGO sets for children in need across nearly 200 cities. Broadening preconceived ideas generated the spark behind Grameenphone, which was the brainchild of Iqbal Quadir, who believed mobile phones could be more than just luxury gadgets. They could be affordable and empowering by bringing money-transfer capabilities to millions in Bangladesh who’d been marginalized for generations.
Grameenphone rewrote the rules, became one of the region’s largest telecom providers, and helped lift rural communities out of poverty. This kind of thinking requires catching yourself when you have thoughts like, “that’s just the way things are” and asking, “Why? Who says so? ” For leaders, it means rewarding thoughtful challenges to the that’s-how-we’ve-always-done-it status quo and carving out space for experiments. Let everyone know: changing your mind is a strength, not a weakness. Now, creating the bridge between vision and reality requires the next characteristic: outworking your ordinary.
This is another way of saying, it’s time to raise your personal standard. No one is recommending you put in endless hours and burn yourself out. Rather, now’s the moment when you shift your priorities to focus on the work that actually matters, and choose progress over comfort. A lot of people skate by doing the bare minimum of their job description. Outworking your ordinary is what happens when you start to show up, day after day, ready to be precise, prepared, and indispensable. This is a big deal for leaders, because leaders need to model the behavior they want to see reflected back at them.
So don’t be afraid to set high expectations and match them with high support. Be honest about the effort behind the achievements, celebrate diligence as much as results, and ask their people to regularly examine where they’re coasting. And at a personal level, ask simple, powerful questions: Did I do anything today that stretched me? Where am I still settling for “good enough”? What would it look like to add just a little more intention, courage, or care?
Chapter 3: The armor and the compass
The spark has been lit, the mindset freed, the ordinary effort pushed aside – now, let’s look at two more traits for astonishing work: resilience and authenticity. In many ways, your resilience may be the trait that gets tested the most in life. Any given day can throw you curveballs – failed projects, closed doors, diagnoses, rejections. It’s easy to quietly decide, “Maybe this is all too much.
” Resilience is a choice. It’s the decision to write a different story, one that treats setbacks as valuable feedback. This way, we shift from “this proves my limits” to “this teaches me something about my path. ” That shift doesn’t happen overnight. Resilience is a slow process, like forging a suit of armor in a fire. It’s shaped by patience, self-compassion, and the willingness to stand up one more time than you fall.
Behind just about every success story, whether it’s individuals or companies, you’ll find examples of resilience. Netflix was treated like a novelty and turned down by multiple potential partners before it reshaped the entertainment industry. Apple clawed its way back from near-bankruptcy. Airbnb sold novelty cereal just to stay afloat during its early days. Starbucks, LEGO, Nike – each endured painful seasons, made hard pivots, and recommitted to a long-term vision when the short term looked terrible. The pattern is the same: disappointment, persistence, growth.
Resilience is the choice, again and again, to keep going, often with shaky hands and a bruised ego. You can build your resilience muscle with small, steady habits. Practice journaling. Reflect on your days and learn from mistakes. Commit to a regular exercise routine, and push yourself to show up on those hard days. Stay connected to people who lift you.
And practice grounded optimism: see reality clearly, and maintain the belief that effort can move the needle. From there, we can move right into authenticity, which is another trait that can help keep you on the right path. In this context, authenticity is less about being some “raw,” uncensored version of yourself, and more about being consistent, and knowing that your greatest impact comes when your outer life lines up with your inner values. When you’re being authentic, your actions and decisions match your beliefs and what you stand for, even – or especially – when it’s costly or inconvenient.
As a leader, you build a culture where people don’t have to perform a version of themselves just to belong. You don’t sand down your quirks and uniqueness just to fit in, and you make sure to reward honesty and authenticity in others. So now’s the time to get very clear on what you truly believe and to do some honest accounting of your actions. Are you just talking the talk, or are your actions speaking for you?
Chapter 4: Love as transformative action
Up to this point we’ve been talking about a lot of internal traits and mindsets, let’s do a little shift and focus more on the interpersonal. Specifically: how you see and treat other people. We can tell a lot about a person, and what they truly believe, by watching how they behave – especially in small, inconvenient moments. The way you talk to a tired cashier, listen to a colleague who needs an extra five minutes, or greet the hotel receptionist at the end of a brutal travel day – all of that quietly broadcasts what you think other humans are worth.
You may be able to accomplish things by treating other people poorly, but if you want to create something that lasts, to build an organization that thrives, to lift and inspire those around you, you need to love people. We’re not pitching some fuzzy feeling or a slogan. Love is a long-term commitment to someone else’s growth and well-being. To love people is to see potential where others see problems. It’s being capable of telling someone a hard truth with kindness and staying present when it would be easier to check out. Love is wanting the best for someone even when there’s nothing in it for you.
That’s what astonishing people do. They have empathy that turns into effort, grace that gives second chances, and respect that honors people’s boundaries and stories. Leila Janah is a beautiful example of love in motion. After seeing the talent trapped inside poverty in places like Mumbai, she didn’t settle for handouts or short-term aid. She built Sama, a company that trains and employs people in underserved communities for digital work that pays fairly and unlocks new futures. Then there’s Sharon Miner, whose life is basically a masterclass in sustained care.
In the 1970s Miner dropped out of college after being excluded from programs for being a Black woman. But over a decade later, she returned, got her diploma, and set about making the world a better place. She founded Princess Ministries, which helps improve the lives of children in shelters. She also helps women in recovery programs, has gone on to work for a state senator, and does what she can to make sure fewer people fall through the cracks. Love is that kind of consistency. You don’t just show up once and disappear.
You keep showing up. You create experiences that stick, cultures that uplift, and relationships that can carry real weight. You don’t need a big platform to do that. You just need a willingness to care deeply, act intentionally, and let your everyday choices quietly say, “You matter.
Chapter 5: Bringing it all together with lasting change
In this final section, we get to where it’s all been heading: the ripple effect – the true impact of your decisions and actions, that quality that truly sets you apart. An exceptional life sends waves through other people’s stories. You may never see the full impact of your choices, but that ripple effect extends beyond you to others. Every act of courage, integrity, or kindness nudges someone else’s trajectory, and then their choices begin nudging others.
Consider this chain of events. Sharon Miner noticed that a woman, Beth, was living in a tent behind a hardware store. Beth was pregnant and already separated from her first child. Sharon made the choice to help Beth find a program to get back on her feet. That choice led to Beth getting back in school, graduating with honors, and becoming a grant writer for the city of Amarillo, Texas. In turn, the grants she writes will shape whole communities.
The ripple effect is part of being a great leader because great leaders are more than collectors of talent. They awaken people’s potential. They help others see who they could become and create environments where extraordinary behavior feels normal. Here’s one last example. For years, Castel Campo was an old relic sitting in a rural Italian valley. But when Marina Clerici set her eyes on it, she saw potential in the castle’s ancient walls.
Here was a place of refuge, a place where kids and young adults with chronic illnesses could come to eat healthy meals and learn how to sail, go hiking, and pick up empowering survival skills. Others may have turned Castel Campo into a luxury hotel. Clerici saw a way to transform lives. She had that spark, that desire to help kids in need, and she saw something in this old Italian castle that no one else saw. That’s having a freed mindset. The work and the resilience was demanding.
Fixing the leaky roofs, coping with harsh winters and uncertainty. But she stayed with the mission. The authenticity is unmistakable – the castle operates as a direct expression of her values – hospitality, sustainability, community – rather than as a polished brand. And all of it is infused with love: knowing guests by name, sharing stories, designing unique experiences for each guest. More than a destination, Castel Campo is a living example of what happens when one person fully commits to what’s true for them. At the end of the day, there’s this clarity: your very best self will always be tied to helping someone else become their best.
One life redirected, one voice encouraged, one second chance given. These acts can echo further than you’ll ever see. Surround yourself with people who live this way, notice the astonishing in them, and let it remind you of what’s possible in you. Then take your place in the ripple – bringing your own vision to life, one intentional choice at a time.
Final summary
The main takeaway of this Blink to Be Astonishing by Sam Silverstein and Allison Silverstein is that there is a powerful blueprint for becoming someone whose life creates genuine impact. The first step is to ignite your inner fire – clarifying what moves you, aligning your work with what matters, and letting passion fuel sustained, meaningful effort. From there, the journey continues by freeing your mindset so you can see possibility instead of limitation, showing up with the discipline to outwork your ordinary, and building resilience that helps you rise from setbacks with deeper wisdom. Living authentically anchors it all, ensuring that your choices reflect your values rather than external expectations.
And woven throughout every principle is a commitment to loving people – seeing their potential, investing in their growth, and leading with empathy, integrity, and presence. When these principles converge, they create a ripple effect that extends far beyond any one achievement. Astonishing people don’t merely succeed; they elevate communities, spark transformation, and awaken possibility in others. Their impact grows through the small, intentional acts – kindness, consistency, detail, care – that accumulate into lasting change.
Okay, that’s it for this Blink. We hope you enjoyed it. If you can, please take the time to leave us a rating – we always appreciate your feedback. See you in the next Blink.
About the Author
Sam Silverstein is a globally recognized leadership expert, best-selling author, and founder of the Accountability Institute. Known for his work with organizations around the world, he helps leaders build cultures rooted in trust, responsibility, and purpose. His mission is to inspire people to take ownership of their impact so they can create workplaces – and lives – where everyone thrives.
Allison Silverstein is a physician, educator, and leadership speaker whose work bridges medicine, psychology, and human performance. She’s passionate about helping individuals and teams understand the connection between mindset, resilience, and well-being. Through her clinical experience and research-driven insights, she empowers people to grow through adversity and lead with authenticity, compassion, and courage.