motivation

December, 2013

This is Entrepreneurship

I had been working long hours all week and racked up some good kilometers running, so I decided to indulge in a lazy Sunday on the couch in front of the television. This is an act that has become foreign to me, but I thought I would give it ago. I managed to get to lunch time even with a short snooze, I had a great lunch and felt like a bit of cognitive stimulation, so I picked the IPad and proceeded to read Tony Robbins book ‘Awaken the giant within’. This is a life changing book I highly recommend!

However much I was enjoying my book, this was turning into a rather challenging day, sitting still is something I am just not good at. Four o’clock came and the inside temperature was at melting point, so I tried a quick swim in the pool. It was 30c outside and I was wasting this beautiful day sitting inside, this simply was not good enough. It was only my mind being lazy and telling my body that it is tired, so a quick change in mindset and I was off.

As you may have guessed by now I have an affinity to the mountain and I am lucky enough to live right at the bottom of an amazing mountain range. So I slipped on my Salomons, grabbed a bottle of H2o and headed for the nature reserve which is about 2km from home.

As entrepreneurs we all start out with the end goal in mind and it is usually that pinnacle point; where we believe the vast acres of golden eggs are laying. This being the summit of The Helderberg Mountain for me at 5pm on a Sunday afternoon, for me hiking is a time for reflection and unwinding. However, as I started today’s hike I began thinking about life as an Entrepreneur and how the synergies of hiking and entrepreneurship.  This set the scene for an interesting fun filled adventure.

About 15 minutes into my adventure I was invaded by a swarm of flies circling my head, they were clearly attracted by the perspiration that had set in and there was nothing I could do about this as perspiration was here for the rest of my journey, it’s hot out here in the South African sun. So I asked myself what the flies represented. Why are they here? These were my naysayers and they were there to test my will power and my patience. They stayed with me all the way to the summit, I could have waved my hands around trying to brush them away and caused myself frustration, but this would of only wasted a lot of useful energy. Instead like a true Entrepreneur I put the noise aside and kept moving forward as though they did not exist. You need to protect your attitude at all costs, sometimes this means removing people from your life. It’s a tough process and it could be people you love.

 Along your path you will face various challenges and many will require more effort than others, testing your strength and endurance. You can associate the many hiking challenges to entrepreneurship, like long steep climbing, having to lift your feet a little higher than usual, scaling over rocks on your path or having the courage to take a path less traveled. Taking the path less traveled usually involves a higher element of risk, which makes it a little more exciting and challenging. However, risk should always be calculated, with all possible outcomes considered. In my case today I saw an opportunity to save time, so instead of taking the long and windy route. I took a more direct route, which may have consumed a little more energy in the shot-term as it was a steeper climb and there were considerably more obstacles as I bundu bashed my way creating a new path, fortunately the risk paid off and I saved valuable time in reaching the next level along my adventure. Let me make this clear so as you understand, it is not always plausible to take a shorter route, as you may miss out on so very important lessons or opportunities. So always take the time to do thorough due diligence before making such calculated decisions.

Then there are unexpected occurrences, which may throw you of course. I am a fan as they provide opportunity for interaction, inspiration, learning and more. In my case I had the great pleasure of meeting two beautiful friendly ladies namely Marzanne and Beaulah whom I shared 30 most enjoyable minutes with. Marzanne make a point of reading Rich Dad poor Dad and Beaulah I hope your knee heals quickly. I love to meet new people, it’s exciting and you never know how each of you will impact the others life. There is always reason and value in new interactions.

So I started this adventure with a goal in mind, I still need to reach the summit and the sun was starting to dip. So I said my goodbyes and headed off. Although there were still a few challenging obstacles along the way, It only took another 15 minutes to reach the summit. This was it; I had set my goal and now it was achieved, time to bask in the glory. Now standing a little over 1100 meters up and feeling a great sense of pride as I relax for 10 minutes to take in the 360 degrees of breathtaking scenery.

Then there is that moment just when you feel like you have arrived and boom it all changes in a second. Suddenly I look at the time on my wrist watch, its 7:30pm and the gates of the nature reserve close at 8:00pm. Ah yes an oversight and another lesson. As positive as we Entrepreneurs are, I immediately saw the opportunity, to break a record.  A new goal has been set and I have deadline that I cannot miss or my car will be spending the night with nature. 29 minutes to descend just over 1100 meters and get in to my car and drive 500 meters to the gate before it is locked.  I had no choice, I had to make it. There were some scary moments as scrambled down that mountain today, but I was focused and I was going to beat the clock, my adrenaline was pumping and I was experiencing my most exhilarating sunset to date. There were a few slips and slides along the way, at one point I found myself descending 3 or 4 meters with my back on the ground and number of sole surfing moments as I skidded along the loose ground. The single track is always more challenging on the way down; I had hit the 4×4 tracks and was able to pick up the pace to a sprint with only a few kilometers to go. The end was insight and I was gasping for air, but I had arrived at that gate at exactly 8:00pm (laughing). It does not matter that I only made it just in the nick of time, the only thing that truly matters is that I did and that I acknowledged the lessons learnt and apply them going forward.

Entrepreneurship is a challenge in itself, you have to have true grit and persistence to see your goals through to what you perceive to be the end result and beyond as there will always be new challenges. Never give up!!

One of the most important lessons I would like to point out in my post is the power of your mind. With your mind you can make anything possible and if you apply yourself positively and act with conviction you will overcome anything. Your body will always follow where the mind goes, no matter what your circumstances are.

Entrepreneurship is definitely an uphill battle, however the rewards of achieving your goals far outweigh any adversity you experienced along the way and most importantly the journeys are always FUN!

November, 2013

Goal setting builds unstoppable self-confidence

Goals are an essential part of achieving anything in life, they should be clear, concise and in writing.

Goals are the stairway to unstoppable self-confidence. Self-confidence is not a quality each of us is born with, it is paramount to our personal development. Initially it is shaped through our younger years by those who have the most influence in our lives, parents, siblings, teachers and friends. The level of self-confidence in a young adult will vary considerably depending on the beliefs drummed into their subconscious. If you are reading this and thinking that you are one of these individuals, who lack self-confidence let me reassure you; that this will not be your future should you choose to change your destiny now!  Anything can change when you make good decisions and follow through with the actions required to achieve your goals. Which path you choose is up to you, whichever one it is, it will always be the right one for you.

When setting goals it is human nature to jump right in and start with the biggest ones first, which is a good thing. However, it is very important to understand that this is only the beginning. Effective goal setting is done daily, with smaller goals that essentially take you one step closer to achieving your biggest goals. The importance of having many small goals is short-term achievement, without these smaller triumphs you will become despondent with your efforts.

Take the first step on your stairway to unstoppable self-confidence. A stairway is made up of treads and risers. The treads are your goals and only vary in length depending on the size of the goal, going the distance and the risers are your achievements, leveling up. Whenever a goal is achieved it should be celebrated no matter how big or small it is, when I celebrate things I feel good, what about you? Of course you do. When you are feeling a sense of pride and excitement knowing you successfully completed another goal. What do you think this will do for your self-confidence?  That’s right it’s going to give you a boost and you will go up a level on your stairway to unstoppable self-confidence. Imagine how unstoppable you will become, when you’re getting 4 or 5 boosts a day!

Do you think you will become unstoppable with weekly or monthly goals, no of course not! That is why you must have many small measurable and achievable goals on a daily basis. Momentum is the key to maintaining unstoppable self-confidence. Celebrate yourself as often as you can, remember you put in the effort, so you deserve it!

Every morning start your day by writing down 4 or 5 smalls goals, these should be attainable and measurable towards your greater goals.

The foundation of your attitude is your WHY. So protect it at all costs, as it is the driving force of your ability to succeed.

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November, 2013

Transformational Change

Recently I have been knocked off my feet by a string of massive blows and have been forced to reassess my life.

Sitting back and getting myself into a comfortable position, I began to travel back in time to my very first young adult life lesson. I traveled progressively through the my portal of time becoming more and more uncomfortable. As I reached my mid twenties I became fidgety.Whilst heading towards 30 discomfort had embroiled and I was feeling rather overwhelmed by the significance of my life lessons, as I spun myself back to my current self it hit me. (ahha) I had been ineffectively applying the lessons I have endured to learn over my life. I have been frivolously scraping by with a carefree mindset, oblivious to the wealth of knowledge I possess.

I have been going backwards for years, so disillusioned by my reality.

Yet I have this wealth of knowledge untapped and locked away for what, why had I not been using this to improve my life. I had become stagnant, aloof to the potential that lay within me, until now. I have consciously made the decision to change my life, a complete 180, a total makeover.

I recently attended a seminar where the keynote speaker touched on the differences between ‘Transactional change and Transformational change’

Transactional change relates to the achievement of desired goals and improved performance. It largely involves developing clearly self-set goals, which are then pursued to success. These tend to be the more simple or predictable outcomes. The level of investment required by you is minimal and you will experience very little if any gratification for this kind of change. Really it is just more of the same with very little improvement.

Transformational changing transcends yet it includes transactional change. They have similar techniques, but transformational change relates more to personal growth. The term “personal growth” is another term that is well worn and open to interpretation. What I mean by personal growth is an individual’s mental development. Generally speaking, this means an increasing shift from ego-centrism to an ethno-centric then world-centric and integral world view. With it comes a growing capacity to explore and understand ourselves together with more and more perspectives and, as a result, an ability to deal with greater complexity. In other words, as we move through stages of development, we develop a means to see and deal with more shades of grey. We become less black and white and the result is we can make better decisions in life.

Ultimately transformational change means dramatic life changing actions, where the investment in ones self is far greater, leading to far greater mental strength and self control. Once you transform and grow into the world you choose, it will be open to endless possibilities, success and happiness.

Think of the Koi fish, you can go down to your local pet shop and buy a baby 1 inch koi. You take your new friend home and drop him into a tank about 1sq foot in size. No matter how much you feed him, he will likely only grow to about 2 inches. What would happen if you changed his environment and dropped him into a 30sq foot pond. Without any additional food he will very quickly adapt to his new environment and grow to about a foot long.

When you strive for change and success where will you live? In the tank or the pond?

I know where I am moving to, transformational change and a far brighter future.

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