5 Business Strategies You Need To Harvest

“Strategy” and “strategic management” are cool words. People love using them and it often leads a lasting & positive impression with your audience.
Competing to be the very best in your game is one of the major misconceptions about strategy. In the current times we live in, it is more important than ever before to make sure you stay up to date on the latest and greatest business strategies, to ensure your strategic direction leads to business growth, strong competitive position and strong financial performance.
Here is my list of SIX PRINCIPLES that every leader or business owner must harness:

KNOW your industry before you look at a strategy

Your understanding of the industry and industry competition will determine your thinking about your strategy – how you are going to compete within the industry and what is going to make you different from the rest.
The better you know and understand the industry in its entirety, the better you will be able to determine elements that will make you stand out, be unique and return a much higher average than your competitors.

PURPOSE

What is your purpose? You need a clear reason of why you are going to do what you’ll do, who will benefit from you, how you’re going to do it etc.
This part is really about connecting the world (the demand) – with your company (the supply). You’ll basically need a STRONG value proposition for a particular market, and then go out and develop unique products and services in the value chain to service this market.
“Tailor your value chain (your business’ activities) to your specific value proposition, and stay on course. This is done through “STRATEGIC INNOVATION” when developing your purpose….

KEEP MOVING FORWARD NO MATTER WHAT

Having a GOOD strategy means that you have entered the building. Competitors will move around, customers’ needs and behaviours will change, technology will certainly evolve. One crucial element to determine a solid future path for your company is to forecast any movements in your sector and incorporate this way of thinking into your strategy building process.
Forecasting the future does not have to be a stab in the dark. You can easily take some practical steps to ensure you keep moving forward in the right direction, these may include:
Gaining an understanding of the big contextual drivers for change in your industry
Get your entire business involved in future planning; key stakeholders, innovative leaders and working groups to lead an innovation strategy
This is something you need to be thinking about on an ongoing, consistent basis.

THE ART OF SAYING NO

If you have a clearly defined purpose and plan, a strong value proposition for your customer base and a set of distinct products / services in your value chain, there will actually be a lot of things you are going to say NO to. This is going to come up often.
There will particular market segments you will NOT serve, specific things you will NOT be prepared to do, and services / products that you will NEVER offer. This is equally as important in choosing the YES parts of the business.
This should be reviewed regularly….

COMPETE FOR PROFIT

Business is not about having the largest market share or about growing fast. It’s about making money.
‘I want to grow my business’ is not a business strategy. ‘I want to grow my business’ is the same as saying, ‘I want to be rich’.
These things don’t just magically happen by themselves. Growing is not a strategy, it’s a consequence.
That does not mean that you cannot use the word ‘growth’. I use it a lot in the analysis phase – for example, when you talk about growth areas of the business or when you look for growth platforms – areas where you can reach potential that will give you additional profit.

DISRUPT, OR BE DISRUPTED

Welcome to the age of customer centricity. Digital is a new imperative. It’s not an option or a nice-to-have. Then, enter digital marketing: the nirvana of quantifiable marketing.

As technology evolves at unparalleled pace, businesses MUST jump on the digital train or be left behind. Consumers require technologies that are more intuitive, drive additional value, and are easy to use online, offline, and across all devices. The convergence of mobile, cloud, and collaboration has led to new types of customer engagements, new ways of using technology to link up to customers where they are, and new business models in order to harness these demands. Businesses that are complacent in this area will get left behind, plain and simple.

Digital Marketing – The beauty of digital marketing is that it allows you to experiment with different ad combinations until you arrive at the most effective approach. The flexibility of digital marketing means you aren’t stuck to any one approach for any length of time. Again, this is very different than more traditional advertising that forces you to make an upfront static investment with no guarantee of results. Now, every dollar you invest into digital marketing can be easily quantified and measured quickly.

Add all this up and you have a very powerful platform to make the most of your resources in helping turn your business into a growth machine. A well-formulated and executed business strategy will establish the foundations against which YOUR business can create, monitor and measure success

Zah Azmi Ends Partnership With Fit Nutrition Fix

Fit Nutrition Fix and Zah Azmi have officially parted ways. The Sydney businessman and fitness identity, who started in the sports supplement industry over ten years ago as a casual retail assistant with GNC, has parted ways with the company.

The news was revealed when settlement took place on 22nd March where Zah cashed in on his stake in the sports nutrition retail brand. The controversial entrepreneur behind the now successful property company Luxland began his business partnership with the Eastern Suburbs based company in 2016. The deal also included the handover of the previous business Mass Nutrition Bondi which was also owned by Zah, which won the hearts of nearly every gym junkie in Bondi Junction. Speaking with The Daily Telegraph in 2013, Zah explains his plans behind the venture.

“I want to create a fitness hub where people can get great customer service and try products before they purchase,” he says. “And we want to push fitness as a lifestyle, not a destination point. These unique features of the business will give us a point of difference.”

Even though the departure happened a little over a month ago, this hasn’t stopped Zah from posting fitness inspired photos on his Instagram to his 10k plus followers. Zah takes to social media regularly through Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and LinkedIn to promote his lifestyle of business, self development and fitness.

At 34 years old, Zah is not yet ready to put his feet up just yet. Apart from his thriving property business, Luxland, Zah owns a hair salon in Darlinghurst, Salon 266, and has significant interests in a car auto dealership and food business. He also recently took a trip to Las Vegas, USA, increasing speculation of his next business move.

After emerging on the other side of negative media publicity in 2013, pushing through obstacle after obstacle, Zah looks like he is doing alright for himself these days. The culture he has created through his unique approach to business will continue to move and motivate people to become better versions of themselves. Helping others achieve their goals through business and fitness will alway pay off for the entrepreneur as the pay back is infinite – now thats a major power move.

The LOWDOWN on Navigating your CAREER!

Everyone has their “dream career” that they candidly speak about. Their dream job, their ideal working environment and ideal culture. But for many, it’s just that. The majority will never progress past this point due to complacency and comfort. This is where your career becomes lost…. Here is my mini list for effectively navigating your career and things you can start doing TODAY:

1. Be very clear about what you want
It’s totally okay to be direct when talking about, and expressing your career goals. An OUTSTANDING Leadership team wants to know what your plans are and where you see yourself in the next 5 years. After all, good leaders are naturally keen to develop leaders. You must find an appropriate way to easily express what interests you, what value you feel you can bring to the table and how you will demonstrate this value add by embarking on a bigger role. Be confident and bold in your delivery. GOOD leaders will listen and support you!

2. Showcase your Talents
Often some will never get this right and I urge you to seek out the positives in this long-term strategy. Sometimes, you MUST show that you have what it takes to do the job before the job is given to you. Put your hand up to work on a special project without compensation. Offer to take on something that is outside of your usual role. Not only will this demonstrate your passion, but it also demonstrates your ability to juggle multiple tasks at once and work under increased pressure; the catch is, just make sure your current responsibilities, whatever they are, do not suffer.

3. Speak up!
There are often times you will think someone should, or is going to tap you on the shoulder and say “Hey, I have an opportunity for you”, or you think that longevity will pay off and you will be rewarded in a business. Unfortunately, you are just setting yourself up for disappointment by adopting this type of mindset. Waiting for someone to hand you an opportunity will almost ensure that you stay exactly where you are. Instead, you have to almost broadcast to your manager and sometimes your manager’s manager exactly what you want! Just like you, managers and leaders are so busy with the day to day; navigating your career isn’t their top priority. Don’t be afraid to discuss career goals and possibly create a career plan that will help prepare you to make that next move. As I mentioned earlier, GOOD LEADERS will always develop leaders!

4. Build Authentic Relationships
Perhaps your next move isn’t in your current area. This should NOT be a deterrent or reason for delay! Take a step out of your comfort zone and schedule some time with the hiring manager or perhaps someone with whom you might be working closely with.

These networking opportunities will give YOU an opportunity to showcase your interpersonal skills and enthusiasm behind the role or area of work, whatever that may be. Take stock of what else you are doing here. Attend networking events, build your personal profile up, talk to other industry professionals, attend seminars. The list is endless.

All of these little tips are low hanging fruit that can be achieved. It all comes down to how passionate you are about your career and what you are willing to do to get to your goal. But you must put in MAXIMUM effort. At the end of the day, YOU control your career path, no one else.

Why It’s Taken Me A Year To Realise – I F****** LOVE MY JOB!

Look, I will be completely honest with you – I am not sure if it’s the passion within that’s talking right now or the pseudoephedrine in my blood from the cold & flu tablets I had to take earlier this morning but either way I can tell you now, when I take a step back and have a look at what I do for a living right now, it’s pretty bloody hard to wipe the smile off my face…

I won’t take too much of your time throughout this read, but if you could read past this point for the next 2 minutes, I thank you with all my (currently) snotty-nosed heart!

The end of 2016 saw me leave a business I brought from the ground up with a close group of friends, our visions were different, I wanted a new challenge in life and decided to make the move when offered a role here at my second (sometimes what feels like my first) home, Luxland Investments.

Yes we are involved in real estate development and investment for both seasoned and first time investors/developers but what we do on a weekly basis is change the lives of so many people in many different ways.


I would lie if I told you we do not care for the money, because whoever says that is a complete bullshit artist – BUT – do we push for the sale here at Luxland? No.

Why though, aren’t all developers money hungry bastards? No.

Then what is the motive behind it all? Again, changing peoples lives by offering a service that goes beyond stackin’ cash. We strive for the success of everyone who joins the Luxland family, and we do not have an end date in site for anyone of our clients.

The lengths we go to show the mass market how much value we provide, why we care and make money for you all at the same time, is absolutely insane. We give it a good crack to show you as many properties we purchase or look to engage in purchasing for our clients on a daily basis (within respectful boundaries requested by our clients of course), again showing the mass market that our product is established, real and authentic as well as for our client’s sake – HOW it makes them money.

You may ask that surely there’s a catch here? Absolutely not. We charge our fees accordingly, offer our service at the highest form of professionalism, make our clients money for the long term and have forged a personal relationship with every single one of them – let me just reiterate in more Australian terms – we give a shit about people more than we do our own pockets.

The pseudoephedrine has not worn off and I have the been given one hell of an opportunity to better my career, help others understand the processes involved to get what they wanted just that little bit sooner and help change the lives of at least one person per day.

*Mic drop*

STOP BEING A BITCH!

I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve heard people whinge about their current position in life. Whether that would be their position in their jobs, their business, their relationship, financial position or just their life in general. Unfortunately dwelling on our misfortunes is an easy thing to do. In fact, the majority of the population are like this but are unconscious of themselves doing it. How do I know this? Because I used to be one of those people. I used to let my problems own me instead of myself owning the problem. I spent countless years blaming others for my mistakes and misfortunes and never took responsibility for my lack of action and backwards progress. I was a BITCH.

Now fast forward a number of well experienced years in business and I now own EVERYTHING I do. Any problem that arises, I tackle it head on with full force and welcome any adversity. If things turn bad to worse, I persevere and never give up until I have my desired outcome. Many shy away from pushing through as soon as things get hard, as soon as it gets difficult, as soon as it becomes a CHALLENGE. If success was meant to be easy then everybody would be successful. Not one successful person will tell you that greatness is a straight road without its roadblocks, speed humps and detours. It is all part of the process.

How do you avoid falling into the victim trap? Learn to endure the difficult times. Weather the storm through the bad times. Don’t be afraid of hitting low points. Let’s take a fitness analogy for example. When someone goes on a weight loss journey they will most always hit plateaus and times of weakness where that person wants to give up. The key is to push past these points of pain in the process to keep the process moving forward. Owning the task of losing weight will ensure you are on your way to success rather than allowing the problem of being unfit and overweight own you. Become the MASTER of your problem. I can speak from experience as when you can master your body physically, you take absolute CONTROL and no one can take that away from you.

The above example works the same for property investment. Many sell out too early as they may experience a small dip in prices due to market fluctuations, however seeing out the troughs will ensure you can take advantage of the peaks when they eventually come along. You should never deserve to have the fruits of successful property investing if you cannot handle the low points in the market. This doesn’t mean to invest in property that doesn’t perform or hold any value but to be educated enough to know that real estate works in cycles and to trust the process from very early on. By tackling the tough times head on, you can learn so much about becoming a BOSS at property investing. Own the hard times, own the mistakes and eventually own plenty of real estate!

Also, another trait that will help you become the VICTOR and not the victim is to prioritise. By this I mean what are you doing about owning your future? I see too many people worshipping The Kardashians or being absolutely fanatical about their favourite football team, however completely disregarding their own financial future. These distractions end up owning you without you even knowing it and they have you eating out of their hand whenever they see fit. These types of people who religiously follow these distractions can sometimes put so much effort into their chosen football team, favourite TV show or what nightclub they are going to on the weekend that you would think that they would have shares in these companies. Prioritising your future and cheering on for the right team (yourself) is the best way to ensure you are not falling into simply being a spectator. You want to be the star player that gets PAID.

We all have choices in life and if we choose to be negative and fall victim to every day distractions and problems we will fail to succeed. We cannot simply sit back and complain about our position in life as there will always be someone out there worse off than you. Don’t forget we live in the best country in the world to have a crack at anything, because if you fall down it is actually not that bad! We are spoilt for choice for the amount of opportunities we have at our finger-tips, we just got to go out and get it. Now stop being a BITCH and start taking OWNERSHIP today!

Millionaire BOOM in 2018!

I’m sure the title of this blog is completely confusing for everyone as the media headlines of late have been sounding like – “Sydney property prices about to crash”; “Oversupply of apartments will prompt next GFC”; “The property boom is now over” or “Australia ranked least affordable country in the world”. The media is only interested in writing headlines about two things: BOOM and BUST. Anything in between is too boring and does not sell papers so ultimately they will normally only publish what they think sells. The media will always try the usual scare tactics to get you to read their rubbish.

Don’t get me wrong, the market does dictate pricing and you can’t help that. Factors that are driving prices up are a combination of variables such as foreign investment, infrastructure development, interest rates, supply and demand, jobs growth and many more driving forces. These forces are generally out of our control as a single person living amongst 25 million people. Further more, the Australian population is projected to increase at a rate of around half a million people per year. This means that these people need jobs, housing and more infrastructure to support the migration of new Aussies.

However, not all booms need to be from the result of things you cannot control. If you shift your focus towards things you can control, such as your own education and mindset then maybe you can create your own boom. Just like in any business, you go through cycles of highs and your fair share of lows, however if you are constantly learning and educating yourself, you will find that you will be able to persevere. The more lows you seem to go through, the more resilient you become to change and market fluctuations. The experienced know that peaks and troughs run in cycles and they accept the unexpected changes in their stride and keep soldering on.

Just like a professional boxer who is tired in a fight, he is trained to duck, weave and to stay composed in times of stress and adversity. Losing your cool and letting your emotions get the better of you can cost you the fight. Business and property are very similar, where if you stay on course and keep focused, no matter what the circumstances, in the long-term you will achieve success. Training the mind is just as important as training your muscles, the more stress you put yourself under and learn to control it, the stronger you will become. Education is KING and you must never stop evolving and seeking out new information on how to become successful.

I’m creating my own boom by educating myself on all things that have to do with my businesses and property portfolio. I am selling off assets that no longer produce the required amount of income needed to achieve my 2018 goals. No emotional attachment to anything, just logical decisions to keep moving forward. I see 2018 as the year of opportunity as I can see the bigger picture while most others are scared sitting on the side lines being a spectator instead of being the star player.

I am focusing on surrounding myself with other millionaires within my space to help this boom EXPLODE. Yes, bad things will happen in the market place that will affect many hard working individuals. No doubt. However the experienced know that when this occurs, this is when the most opportunities arise. As Warren Buffet famously quotes, “Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.” Don’t think of the prices now, or next month, or the end of year. Think of the prices in 10, 20 or even 30 years time. What are the long-term opportunity costs of you not getting involved in property today?

Getting Focused for 2018!

It’s that time of year again!

Christmas first and all the busy days and long nights that come with it. Then there is New Years Eve. And there you have it. Another year closed out, and under the belt. Many are not too dissimilar when it comes to goal setting for the new year that lies ahead, but I personally need this.

As you acquire more responsibility and control over your career or your business, the task of defining your priorities falls on your shoulders.

I am a firm believer that, failing to plan is in fact planning to fail! Too many people jump straight into a fresh piece of paper, with “NEW YEAR GOALS” and then they go about writing down their ambitious, cherry-picked, nice to have objectives ready to hit the ground running. How many times have we done this? Better still, how many times have we looked back on our cherry-picked list 12 months later and reviewed the year that has just passed?

It is critical to do a year in review of your own goals that you set out to achieve, and speak to them directly. Did you achieve them all? Which ones were ticked off, which ones weren’t, and are you content with your results this year?

You can never really commence a fresh year without first reviewing your previous list that has helped to shape and define you for an entire 12 months.

Now that you have reviewed your 2017 goals, lets make a clear plan for 2018. Here are some important reasons why you should ALWAYS stick to a plan to help you get where you want / need to be next year:

– Keeps you FOCUSED

– Provides you with DIRECTION

– Gives you greater control over your FUTURE

– Ultimate MOTIVATOR

– Helps you to manage your TIME effectively

– Gives your life meaning, and above all PURPOSE

Here are my top tips on creating a 2018 plan, which will help keep you motivated for the year that lies ahead:

Have a VISION

Create a poster board for your home office, or for somewhere private that you can always refer back to. You may be a visual person, which means you could use images that inspire you, quotes that resonate with you, and even old photos that may remind you of your overall purpose

Set S.M.A.R.T Goals

Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Time Bound.

If your new year goal is big and fancy, and even with all of your great intentions, may be out of reach, then the chances of you actually achieving this without a plan are very minor. Break these bigger goals down into smaller goals, and give yourself STRICT deadlines and small ways to measure or reward success.

Make a PLAN, but remain FLEXIBLE

A goal without an actual plan is just a dream. Plan ahead, and write it all down. If things come up that are outside of your control, then you must give yourself the ability to be flexible with your goals, and adjust where necessary. This will ensure you are not setting yourself up for failure.

LEARN from your Mistakes

Nobody knows you, better than you. 2018 is guaranteed to bring pain for some, failure for others, and adversity for a few. Learn from these shortcomings, put things into perspective, and pick up and keep going.

Don’t be a PASSIVE player

Nothing will ever work unless you do. Taking action is the ONLY way to keep moving forward and to make progress. If things aren’t going your way at times, just keep going. If you are truly willing to put in the work, then eventually you will reap the rewards. Be prepared to go the distance and outwork yourself all year.

Stay MOTIVATED

Constantly connect your day to day actions with a bigger future. Commit to personal development on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Read books. Study something to upskill yourself for your future. Exercise daily to release endorphins. Be inspired by the movers and shakers of the world.

Happy Holidays and best wishes for a CRACKER 2018!

The Powerful Entrepreneur

Building a company from scratch requires a great deal of CONFIDENCE, FOCUS, and most of all, MOTIVATION. The 3 key reasons why not everyone usually cuts through the barrier and makes it in the end as a successful entrepreneur.

There are some critical habits that separate the rare breed, to the rest. In addition to their distinctive drive and determination, and tireless pursuit of their dreams, below is a list of habits that powerful entrepreneurs will unconsciously possess:

Entrepreneurs focus on OPPORTUNITY COST

Whatever an entrepreneur does in any business decision, or life decision they make, they are sure to think smart about costs and their return on investment. The value must be larger than resources exhausted.

Entrepreneurs think way beyond their capabilities

TRUE Entrepreneurs will always be thinking about ways to grow bigger and better. They rarely stay in their comfort zone and place themselves under good stress in order to progress. They will constantly self educate, and seek out new ways of improving to stay ahead of the pack.

Entrepreneurs have VISION

Entrepreneurs always think bigger picture, and think about where they need to be in order to be successful. Everything they do, is in keeping with their overall vision, mission and values. They have the capability of thinking ahead of how something should be. They do all of this without fear of being mocked, rejected or laughed at for trying new ways of doing things.

Entrepreneurs are POWERFULLY FOCUSED

Being focused is one of the most critical attributes to have as an entrepreneur. They will become very organized in everything they do, down to their home life and their daily routines. Sometimes they will be very difficult to work with for this reason. Nobody will work harder than them. When the majority of the population are out socializing, or sleeping, they are working.

Entrepreneurs spend money to make more money

The big difference between an entrepreneur and most people is when a normal person comes across a large sum of wealth or receives a bonus, they will apply instant gratitude, and go out and get that new car, r book that European vacation. An entrepreneur sees money as a way to make more money, they will leverage over and over again.

Entrepreneurs are not paralysed by the FEAR

Entrepreneurs love the rush of a problem. This is why most will have new ideas, they are forced into the corner to re-create, or re develop in order to keep moving forward. Most of their solutions are coming from a problem that they have experienced before. They feel like there is no imminent danger, but instead just huge potential for opportunity.

Entrepreneurs are truly extraordinary people. Their ability to spot opportunities, innovate, overcome adversity and build brands is astonishing. They will have a thrilling approach to business and to life in general that many established companies will look at in awe, and are desperate to copy.

Are you an ENTREPRENEUR?

Health Is Wealth

Health and wealth seem to be two totally different words in the dictionary however, they work hand in hand when it comes to building prosperity in life. Many assume that wealth is only determined by the amount of dollars that you have in the bank rather than life as a complete package. We spend most of our time running around trying to do as much as possible for money and we often forget about ourselves in the longer term, potentially resulting to stress, anxiety and unhealthy habits. Knowing how to make money is important, however without a healthy lifestyle you can often fall into unproductive ways which will eventually unravel all the hard work you have accomplished. What is the use of making all your money and not being able to live a healthy, fulfilling life to enjoy the fruits of your labour?

My life has not always been about healthy eating, exercise and a full nights’ sleep. My days and nights used to be fuelled by recreational stimulants, alcohol, bad food and no sleep. I was working in the nightclub industry where I became the environment I was constantly immersed in. Everyone around me were the same, limited amounts of exercise, irregular eating and sleeping patterns, and only living for the week ahead. Any longer than a week and it was just too much to think about. It was a blurry ride in my twenties where I thought I was invincible. I thought I would live that life forever, even investing in a nightclub as my first business venture. However the feeling was some what artificial, as though it was make believe. It all came to a massive reality check for me when I was diagnosed with chemical hepatitis. The fast life eventually got the better of me and I was ordered by my doctor to either slow down or live a potential shorter than normal life. That was a turning point for me as I decided to leave the nightclub industry and pursue a venture in the health and fitness industry.

The health and fitness industry taught me to delay gratification, to be disciplined and to not only look after myself but also help others live a healthy lifestyle. All these great skills that I learned in the industry helped me transfer my knowledge and principles to building wealth through property development and investment. The model is almost identical but instead of using your body as the vehicle to be improved, we use property investment as the vehicle to build long term wealth. Anyone who has embarked on a weight loss transformation or a dramatic change in lifestyle habits, for example quitting smoking and junk food, will tell you that it takes plenty of hard work, grit and determination to see you through to your goal. It is no different when building wealth through property investment. It takes careful planning, motivation, massive action, hustle, patience and incremental habits everyday for the rest of your life. It is more so a lifestyle rather than a destination.

I meet people everyday who say “diet starts on Monday” when they should be eating clean today. Or people who say that they are going to start some new fancy circuit training gym that just opened up because it is the answer to ‘quick fix’ their weight problem. These same types of people generally have the same attitude when it comes to building their long term wealth. “I’m thinking about getting into the market” or “I’m going to invest when the prices start to drop”, I have heard it all. The people who succeed are the ones who say “I’m going to execute on my plan and reach my goal no matter what it takes”. These are the people that go to the gym everyday because it is a habit that they love. They ENJOY the hard work and the process of improving. They strive for greatness in everything that they do and they do not stop when they are tired, they stop when they are finished. Because they are constantly setting new goals for themselves, they obsess with getting better every single day and their results have a compound effect year on year. These people end up truly successful.

Living a healthy lifestyle is not something that can be done overnight. Small incremental improvements should be made every day, every week, every month and every year. When I first started exercising in the mornings I would walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes! Now I complete 12-15km every morning 7 days per week even when I am away from home travelling. My discipline and motivation in looking after myself physically has transferred into my business life which has helped me build a healthy portfolio of assets that produce year on year growth. Without this mindset of choosing to live a healthy lifestyle I would not have been able to achieve what I have today. It is never too late to start eating cleaner, getting to bed earlier and exercising just a little bit more. Start with baby steps and slowly work your way up and one day you will be making improvements by leaps and bounds. Also watch other things grow in your life such as your wealth and you will be thanking yourself you made the change when you did!

Growth Mindset

So many people I know these days have a mindset that is totally working against them. They know what they want but they are unsure how to achieve their goals, or how to get to where they truly need to be. There is a fear of failure, and what will become of them if failure sets upon them.

So what is a growth mindset? It is exactly what it sounds like. A tendency to believe you can grow in the most difficult situations and circumstances. A mindset that can be cultivated at any point in your life. (It’s not too late!)

Whilst a “fixed mindset” might assume that our nature and abilities are static which we cannot change in any purposeful way, a growth mindset thrives on challenges and views failure not as evidence of unintelligence or incapability, but as a catalyst for growth in ourselves so that we are able to improve.

Going through university, and through the earlier stages of my career, I was always taught that “failure was not an option”. It kind of stopped there. “Just don’t make any mistakes and you’ll be ok” But, what exactly is failure? Failure to me, is not the error in itself, it is never learning from the error.

If we really want to succeed, we need to figure out a way to think outside the box, and we must understand that we need to oversee our own gridlocked mindset, and our usual ways of thinking and working. This fixed mindset can negatively impact all aspects of your life.

The most important methods from my experiences to form a growth mindset are below:

Immediately replace the word FAILURE, with the word EDUCATION

It’s ok to make a mistake, but only if you learn from this mistake.

View a challenge as an opportunity for change and growth Having this growth mindset during difficult times mean you enter the “CHANGE ZONE” – you are self-improving and forming better habits for the future.

Stop seeking constant approval

Know the value you bring to the table, in order to give yourself the best opportunity of growth potential. Those with a growth mindset really do have a greater sense of purpose. Remember, BIGGER PICTURE.

Trust and Value the actual journey

Too many people are focused on the end goal and not enough on the journey itself. We must learn to enjoy the learning process, and the challenges we are faced with, for it is this that will shape us.

Take the time to reflect on your progress

We need to be able to keep ourselves in check constantly. Are we on track? What have we learnt from mistakes? Is there a better way of doing this?

Double down on your WORK

Cultivate determination and don’t be afraid of bold opportunity. Make progress and seek less approval from others, and more approval from yourself in the process.

Take risks in the company of peers and colleagues

If we never take calculated risks, when will we ever grow? Understand that it is ok to mess up every now and then, and doing this in front of others will allow you the opportunity to be ok with risk in the future.

Take complete ownership over your mindset

Own your mindset, and your attitude towards your work and your life in general. Accept that you have a growth mentality and let this mindset guide you through you career, your personal life and through your relationships.