High-performance in any chosen field whether it be business, stage or sport requires involves ongoing management of one's mindset. I think it's about continuously evolving your personality, expanding your abilities, and being open to facing new challenges. Therefore, this journey toward high-performance isn't just about success in your profession; it's also about nurturing your mental and emotional well-being. This holistic approach emphasises the interconnectedness between personal growth, professional success, and overall well-being.
Rinse and repeat
One thing I've learned that when you "win", you can't come back the same way twice. You need to have a new mindset, a new fire, a new approach if you want to secure victory over and over again. And this must be all based on universal principles. Therefore, when success begins to slip from your fingers, for whatever reason, the response isn’t to grip and claw so hard that you shatter it to pieces. It’s to understand that you must work yourself back to the aspirational phase. You must get back to first principles and best practices.
“Two principals of a happy life:
1. Use things and not people.
2. Love people and not things.”
Solid foundations
We all strive for success in our businesses, this becomes easier when we have a clear and well communicated vision, core values, and strategy that everyone in the organisation understands. Effective execution requires processes and procedures which are centred around the critical drivers of your business’ success. I think that focusing intently on these steps will significantly improve the internal accountability by measuring and being transparent about the key performance indicators that drive success. It’s a good idea to praise those who hold themselves accountable and deliver on their promises as this will accelerate the positive results for your business.
Humans are amazing
I don’t think that lazy people exist, laziness can be caused by a lack of knowledge to complete the task at hand, procrastination, feeling too comfortable to have the job done, and lack of motivation to get started. A man who is self-reliant, positive, and optimistic usually undertakes his work with assurance of success and this draws to himself the creative powers of the universe. It’s a fact that the person who thinks with positive self-reliance and optimism does magnetise his condition and this releases power to attain a goal. Over and over again, we have seen what the mind profoundly expects, it tends to receive. Here, I define success as something that helps others and at the same time makes you feel happy as you are working at it.
Perseverance is the key
Perseverance means to do something continuously in spite of obstacles and the key to success in any field is the perseverance of a human being. Success in life doesn't come easily and there are many failures and hurdles that one has to clear before reaching the goal of achievement. I think that almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so. And if you keep persevering long enough, you will achieve your true potential.
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”
Figure it out
It’s not a matter of whether you will succeed, it’s a matter of where you are choosing to take your talents. We can always get more money, but we can’t get any more time as there are only 24 hours in a day, so therefore, time is the most valuable asset. Wherever you go, you already know that your talents include the ability to succeed. I think organisation incentives are not always aligned with what is best for the employees.
Here are a few questions:
· Where do you want to succeed?
· How are you going to spend your time?
· And how do you want to succeed?
· What are your success criteria going to look like?
Remember things don’t get harder, you just get better at them. The test doesn’t get harder, you just get smarter. Contact me via e-mail for a free, “Where do I go now?” evaluation.
Success is a skill
One way that racism consistently shows up for me as a black man is in constantly being underestimated, and there’s something exciting about being underestimated. I know that success is a skill and the traits that led you to be successful where you are will lead you to be successful wherever you go. This is because the traits always include how to intellectually evaluate opportunities and figure out what forces to bring to bear on them. If you have succeeded before in whatever field, take a moment to evaluate and see what happened. I think that your evaluation process will always end up at some combination of observation, planning and execution. And in all these combinations, there is a thread of flexibility, intelligence and sticking to your values.
NB: Today is the first anniversary of my mother’s death and this blog is dedicated to her. It doesn't mark the end of grief, but it does mark a transition in my mourning process. See it > Say it > Write it ❤️
Success is a numbers game
Do you consistently ask yourself the question, “What am I doing that someone else can do just as well?” Don't let others define what “success” is for you. Once you have defined your idea of success, commit yourself to doing all the great things you can do to achieve it.
Here’s a few factors of success:
1. Purpose
2. Vision
3. Goals
4. Choices
5. Reasons
6. Environment
7. Attitude
8. Time
9. Energy
10. Results
Don’t mistake courtesy for consent
Some salespersons are busy going around and around but never seeing clients, so their progress is small. Many sales trainers forget to separate “knowledge” and how much time salespersons should spend in front of their clients in their sales training. It’s essential to teach salespersons that they should never mistake activity for achievement.
Do you have a systematic way of getting better every day?
It often takes more than a good idea to make things a success. All around us there are hidden forces which make it difficult for us to reach our goals, close a sale or convince others to adopt new ideas, often, an outsider’s expertise is most helpful in identifying these areas of improvement. I would like to offer you a free 30 minute consultation to help you maximise performance and leadership - for yourself and your organisation.
Click here and book a free 30-minute consultation with me. This offer ends on 30th January 2022.
The secret to living is giving
One of the most important words for leadership and success is the word “How?” Whenever you have a goal, the only question you’ll ask is how can I achieve this goal? Whenever you have a problem, you ask; How can I solve this problem? Whenever you have an obstacle, you ask; How can I overcome this obstacle? Leaders think about what they want and how to get it most of the time and as a result, they are thinking about their goals and the actions required to achieve them. They are thinking about the actions every single minute of every single day to move faster towards achieving that goal.
“Happiness is the progressive step-by-step realisation of a worthy ideal or goal.”
When you feel yourself moving step-by-step towards achieving something that is important to you, you’ll feel positive and happy most of the time. Unsuccessful people think about what they don’t want, they think about the things that make them angry and sad, usually past events that they can’t change, and they think about who’s to blame for all of their problems. So, whenever you see people talking and complaining about things that they can’t change, things that are their responsibility and blaming others, then you know that you are dealing with a negative unhappy person with a very limited future and with a very unhappy present. I think the way you take control of you mind by grabbing the wheel of a vehicle is to start thinking about what you want and how to get it all day long and you’ll automatically become positive and start to think that you are in control of your life.
I have a coaching client who wanted to change her habitual internal dialogue, so I proposed that she used my five alarms technique for 30 days. The goal is to change towards more productive thoughts or feelings 5 times a day. The five alarms technique is when you set an alarm 5 times a day, and every time the alarm sounds, you should ask herself 3 questions: What am I playing over in my mind? What am I thinking about now? What am I feeling? It works, try it for yourselves and you can thank me in 30 days.
The ripple effect is bigger
It’s the autumn holidays and I’m still coming to terms with the passing of my mother. As a parent you have a responsibility to guide your children through life and I am grateful to be spending some quality time with my son. The life crises have a way of stripping you of our old certainties and throwing us into chaos and I think the only way to survive is to surrender to the process. When you emerge, blinking into the light, you have to rebuild what you thought you knew about yourself.
We live in an age of positive curation where everyone has a personal brand on social media and fear, anxiety and depression are on the rise. Challenges have a way of humbling us and knocking down our egos. The same thing can happen to two different people and one person may see it as a problem, something to complain about or run and hide from, the other can see it as an opportunity to learn and grow, and they dig in and push through. It’s not easy to shift our mindset to view challenges as opportunities, as it takes practice to change our instinctual reaction. Every day I reveal my vulnerable self and this fragility has enabled me to build up an emotional resilience necessary to tackle the next challenge.
I think what you learn from things not turning out the way you planned can give you a lot more texture and meaning. I definitely would not have seen the richness in my life if I had not suffered setbacks along the way, because without them I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today, so I am extremely grateful. Success is not about getting things right the first time but stemmed from being able to look at one’s past honestly and then to correct missteps or errors of judgment.
Hope is not a strategy
Who’s in the drivers seat?
Some people go through the day with their fingers crossed and there are other people who are blaming others for their current life situation. My advice is to grow up and take some responsibility:
· If you wish to be successful, study success.
· If you wish to be happy, study happiness.
· If you wish to be wealthy, study wealth.
I think that the only way you can change your economic, social, and spiritual life is through study. You may not be able to do all that you find out, but you should find out all you can do.
“Hope is not a strategy.
Luck is not a factor.
Fear is not an option.”
R.E.S.P.E.C.T
“Successful people work hard to earn respect, but they freely give it to every human being they come across. Showing respect, even to people who haven’t earned it earns you the respect of people who have.”
The language of successful managers
When I look back at the number or courses I have attended where there has been a lot of smiling and nodding. I often wonder about how many people then go back to their organisations and continue doing what they think works. Managerment who continue to only look at the numbers, seeing the agents/distributors as tools rather than members of the team.
The language that successful managers use:
How can I help?
What do you think?
Your work matters
I trust you and our team
I appreciate your commitment
Thank you for working hard
I was wrong, I am sorry
Your career path is my priority
Do you have the tools to succeed?
In my experience
Successful people have a purpose and as a result they are excited, dedicated, passionate, and fearless. And they share their passions with others and lead from the seat within as they usually don’t have the luxury of maintaining a wait-and-see attitude. I think that If you are doing things the way you have always done them, then try something new and invite disruption into the picture. Why? This is because if you continue with those slow-moving strategies, you will be leading your organisation down the road to becoming obsolete. #justsaying
“You can’t climb the mountain of excellence if you’ve made camp on the hill of mediocrity!”
Do you know your customers?
The customer experience, both physical and digital, begins the moment someone is exposed to your brand and can extend through their entire lifetime depending on the memories you have created from their experience – both as an employee and customer. Satisfying and exceeding both the functional and emotional needs, values and aspirations of your customers and employees cultivates brand love, advocacy and loyalty. Brands must know their customers better than the customers know themselves.
I think success will no longer defined by giving customers what they want, when they want it. Instead, brands must anticipate what customers need before they need it, and offer it at the best price and deliver it quickly. The new success criteria will be measured by how well retailers can personalise, customise, digitalise and socialise. As consumers, we should support the brands that are not just talking about the important humanitarian issues of our day, but are also contributing to bettering the lives of those affected.
I can help
I continuously wonder when will we move away from the socialised metrics of success and embrace internal measures of success. As we create more and more wealth we will have to decide whether it is OK that this wealth is going into the hands of fewer and fewer people. The big question in the not too distant future will be, “Where will our status role models and social hierarchies come from? I do not think they will be the people who have made the most money. Send me an e-mail and let me know what you think.
Success vs. Happiness
Image c/o Haiku Deck
I have always believed that success will not make you happy if you were not happy before becoming successful. I have never tied my self worth together with my accomplishments. There are many people who believe that happiness is over the next mountain and as long as they conquer that next thing or achieve that next milestone - then, that’s going to bring them happiness. In reality, if you are not happy before success, you will not be happy after achieving success.
I think happiness comes not from those big moments that you anticipate, but in the little joys of life, for example, the pleasure of walking in the park and observing the colours of the leaves; the joy of creating a morning smoothie, etc. Happiness comes from the the small moments, not from the big accomplishments, regardless of what it looks like from the outside.
In my opinion, happiness and success are two different things. Success is based on what I’ve achieved and happiness is based on what I feel about myself and about how I feel about what I am doing. Whenever I attempt to interconnect them, I remind myself that happiness and success give a separate sense of meaning and fulfilment.
Success is made to be shared
Photo via Mads Nissen
For most of my life I have been fascinated by what triggers human beings to behave the way they do. Why is it that there are so many people in the world who live such joyous lives in spite of almost every adversity, while others who would seem to have it all, live their lives in anger, despair and depression?
We are not victims, we are creators and I care very much about helping people take responsibility for the change they seek to make. And if it makes you a living, then that’s fine, and if it doesn’t make you a living, then that’s a choice. But don’t do it because you are making a living, make a living because you are doing it.
I think that we should all learn how to learn as it’s the only skill that out-delivers and over performs. Remember, a good mentor will teach you how to think, not what to think.
Assumption is the mother of all mess ups
We are all seeking satisfaction, safety and belonging. I am fundamentally an optimist and part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed towards the sun and one's feet moving forward. The majority of us are focused on “what we know and what to do”, whereas the minority are focused on “what’s possible”. Our status and self esteem goes up because we can brag and boast about what we are doing.
I think the essential component of success is self awareness, introspection and reflection. The most truly successful people have it as they always gain wisdom along their journey. Perhaps the real gift of success are not economic gains and fame, but the wisdom and life lessons.
Nowadays, if you are not a millionaire no one is interested in your advice. In that case, I should shut up and concentrate on making some money. Sorry! I’m going to give you some advice: When you don’t know something, immediately say “I don’t know.” It shows confidence and you will keep on learning and growing and succeeding. Then say, "I will find out."