Just over a month ago I was chatting with a friend about her business transformation and expansion plans on the sidelines of the Intra Africa Trade fair in Cairo Egypt.
She shared with me some exciting and ambitious plans, which would transform her industry and create a new category entirely. In my excitement, I responded and asked “Why can’t you achieve this in 6 months? And I insisted that she should stay with the question and not provide an answer to me”
This is a question that I picked up when I read 2 of Peter Demandis’s books titled “Bold and Abundance”.
What has happened since that fateful day has been simply incredible. My friend has accelerated everything from securing the property, advancing negotiations with financial institutions and almost concluded equipment decision. The rate at which things have moved has been purely astonishing.
In my reflection, the only thing that has changed during this process is that my friend changed her mind about her project and the timelines. And I believe that the moment she changed her mind all the pieces on the board also realigned to accommodate the new thinking.
This really highlights the importance of controlling and managing our mindset.
Most people around me know that I love books, especially books on leadership, personal transformation, business, and occasionally fiction. Needless to say, I draw a lot of inspiration and knowledge from different authors.
It is clear that this exercise is designed to allow your mind move into areas that are far beyond your self imposed limits.
Our thoughts and actions have a significant impact on what happens in our lives, hence we must guard and build our mind (which controls our thoughts and actions) on a daily basis.
As a business leader, your mindset ultimately will determine the failure or success of your organization. I have recently started studying the stoics and it’s been a really amazing journey so far. I am currently using Ryan Holiday’s “Daily Stoic” as part of my morning routine and have already started experiencing increased self awareness where I am able to observe my actions in real time.
In the Stoic writings I am also learning that the only thing within our control is our mind, which implies we get to control our choices, our will and our actions. I use the term “learning”, because for me it’s really a journey where I grow and get better on a daily basis which means some days I still find myself trying to stop the rain from falling.
On my journey I am currently focused on mastering these 3 disciplines:
- Discipline of Perception — this is really down to what meaning I attach to things that happen around me. Focusing on questioning my perception has become a game to me and whenever I catch myself operating on automatic mode I take a step back and ask myself questions like am I operating from scarcity or abundance mindset, do I see myself as a victim or a victor … and it goes on. As I practice daily I am appreciating the beauty of managing my perception.
- Discipline of Action — It is not the choices that we make that ultimately determine what happens to us. Rather the choices that we make and act upon determine what happens to us. As I reviewed my 2018 plans as part of my preparation for 2019, I discovered so many interesting ideas that I didn’t act on. However, I also noticed the significant progress that I made on some of my ideas. The difference is clear — it’s action.
- Discipline of Will — It is so important to understand and accept what’s outside your control. This is something that I am learning as I face different challenges in my day to day work as a CEO. I am going through a journey where I acknowledge things outside my control however keep my full attention on only things that are within my control and act accordingly.
This is a daily process of growth and there will be a lot of times that things will be hard however like a baby learning to walk, we must get up everyday and try to get better.
One of the things I do on this journey of self-discovery is that I start my days at 5 am with a ritual focused on building a positive mental attitude and building my knowledge base. In case you are interested, my morning ritual is modeled after the approach from Robin Sharma’s “5am Club” book. In the book, Robin says, “Own your morning and elevate your life”
So come on let’s dream big and make things happen…. And remember to always ask yourself — what will it take to get it done in 6 months?
