Accessing Your Creative Mindset

Connecting more regularly and effectively with your Creative Mindset will increase your chances of driving innovation into your organisation. By accessing this zone, you solve problems more effectively, difficult situations in business are approached objectively and options on how to progress a new project become considered and well thought through. Admission to this heightened state of awareness is only possible when we do away with pride, black and white thinking, and dominant beliefs that distort a forward thinking mindset. Such interference results from deep-rooted prejudices, however, when we quieten the mind we tune into our inner voice, this produces clarity of thinking that delivers inspired focus and guidance. We enter the Creative Mindset through absolute silence and stillness – creating a successful business means working ‘on it’ and not ‘in it’, this means time is needed to escape the noise that comes with the day-to-day grind.

Successful business people in my experience allocate a significant proportion of their time to uninterrupted thought. Whilst hustle and bustle is familiar territory for ambitious people, so is solitude. It helps to work out solutions to the challenges and opportunities growth presents. By making time for silent reflection we hear much louder our inner voice. You will be surprised how effective it is in navigating your actions in the right direction.

The flashes of inspiration and fantastic ideas that we enjoy from time to time come from a completely relaxed state of mind, they don’t present themselves when we are anxious or stressed. Often the harder we try the further what we want to achieve moves away. This noise resulting from unhealthy states of mind totally dampen the voice of reason that lies deep within us.

Don’t use the excuse that you don’t have time for silent contemplation, let go of being too busy and allow your Creative Mindset to speak. Here are some simple steps:

• Write down the challenge, opportunity or issue you need to resolve – be precise and specific
• Repeat three times what you need answers to
• Find your place of sanctuary – no telephone, radio or noise of any kind
• Use the slow breathing to meditate on the challenge
• Do this for 15 minutes and at the end of the session – write down any ideas

The answer will come to you at the right moment. Practice is vital, you must be consistent and you must commit to this activity. No one is too busy to find 10-15 minutes a day. It is these moments of planning that will deliver a lifetime of freedom.

 

For more advice around success mindset for business growth, visit Winning Pitch, Business Challenges page

 

Personal and business growth starts with the way you think

Our mind is constantly in dialogue with itself about what it is observing in the outside world. These internal discussions stimulate a whole raft of feelings and emotions some positive and others negative. As part of our conditioning for success and growth, it is vital that we listen very carefully to what we are saying to ourselves as this commentary can have a powerful effect on the shaping of our life and the business we run.

The debates can influence our outlook, what we want and what we believe – the perceptions that result from what we are thinking ultimately builds the framework for how we perceive the world – for many of us this perception is reality. Used correctly we can use mind discussions to give us exactly what we want, it will catalyse your route to success. However, if used the wrong way our dreams and aspirations can be seriously sabotaged by negative self talk. Think on!

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny

Sustained periods of failure can lead to a decay of our internal motivation, incidents or experiences that resulted in humiliation, anger, disappointment, fear, hurt or injury can trigger a whole series of inner discussions that result in negativity. Moving into the winning zone means that you must be acutely aware of the words and thoughts that swirl around in your mind – you can quickly rewire your thought patterns by simply ignoring any negative self talk such as “I will never achieve”, “I just cant do it”. You must replace these with more positive words.

Some simple and easy steps can be embedded within your daily routine to ensure you eliminate the negative self talk that all too often stunts our personal (and ultimately, business) growth and hinders the progression to achieving our goals:

1. Take time every morning to clear the mind of negative experiences that the day before held. Telling yourself that today will be better gets us off to a good start.
2. Be constantly and consciously aware of what you are saying to yourself
3. Stop judging what you see as being right or wrong, just accept it for what it is – by doing this you use far less emotional energy.
4. Eliminate phrases such as I can’t – replace them with I can or I will

Internal self talk has a great influence on the outcome of your success, make it a habit to keep using positive phrases of thought – over time you will become more positive and the peaks and trough in your moods will flatten out – you will become energised by positive thoughts and you will attract circumstances and situations that match your frame of thought.

Personal and business growth starts with the way you think.

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John Leach founded business coaching and training company Winning Pitch ten years ago this month. View more articles like this, and sign up for future events or tools & techniques here >>>

Get connected – Be part of a success community

In whatever arena you want to succeed you must identify and ultimately become part of the community where individuals with common interests share and connect with each other. In these communities you will meet like-minded people whose experiences, thoughts and attitudes could be of massive contribution to your own success. The entrepreneurial world has seen a dramatic increase in the number of business networking groups in recent year’s, these have acted as a source of personal and business development for ambitious people who want to progress their enterprise. These groups encourage networking and interaction – not only do they stimulate business activity, they also act as a portal of real life experiences, these can help in times when:

• Difficult decisions have to be made
• You really don’t know how to address a particular challenge
• You are unsure as to which direction to take
• You are exploring growth options
• You have hit a ceiling in our growth staircase
• You need to break out of our comfort zones

Being part of a community can teach us that ‘everything is possible’, they help to extend our comfort zones and believe that life holds far more than the status quo. The Quaker slogan ‘live adventurously’ is one we should all embrace.

How involved are you with the community relevant to your situation? How visible are you in it? Do you participate? Personal success for you will improve significantly when you get involved with your community of interest; it will give you the opportunity to:

• Mix with individuals who have similar aspirations
• Build personal relationships that can be vital to you in times of need
• Share your wisdom with them
• Exchange contacts that offer mutual benefit

Don’t be a passive observer in your community network, be an active part and ‘giver’ – this will come back to repay you many times over. Be vocal, let your thoughts be known and immerse yourself in what is going on. In today’s rapidly expanding wireless environment these communities can be virtual as well as physical. The exponential rise in online communities created through Facebook, YouTube and Twitter provide alternative routes to getting involved – don’t ignore the opportunities these tools give you to accessing the “Connectors”. These are the people who open doors in the quest for success; they will emerge from your community.

It is vital that you get hooked in as being an active contributor, and you will over time build a GCC – “Golden Circle of Connectors” – people whose opinions and inputs you both trust and respect, most of all they help you to make things happen.

Get connected and start to build links with those communities that will help you to move forward!

Growth wish entrepreneurs should train with the best

If you want to excel in your professional life and get the most out of your business, work with those people who will take you to new limits. Training with these individuals will extend your comfort zone, teach you new skills and more importantly, allow you to gain insight into how they think. Many businesses fail to grow because their founders get stuck in a rut of the same old, day after day. Only when they immerse themselves with a group of high performers do they appreciate what is possible. High performers think in a different way, they have a mind-set that is conducive to grasping opportunities and ruthless execution to make things happen.

Defining who you believe to be the best in your field of work provides a benchmark for raising your own performance. Do away with any feeing of personal pride or sense of undermining your own capability and explore how you can spend time with those you identify as best in class.

High performing organisations consciously create conditions that get the best to push each other to new levels of performance. If you want to achieve greater success then align yourself to those who consistently out perform the rest. Be open in your approach to these people and ask them – Please can you help? Or please can I ask your advice? By asking in this way you are delivering a compliment and acknowledging their expertise and achievement mind-set. More often than not people will help. Your aim should be to:

• Shadow them on meetings and in their day to day activities
• Ask for some time to share their thoughts on why they constantly outperform
• Seek insight on how they think and what drives them
• Enquire what motivates them and what they read
• Try to find win-win ways of working
• Work out how your expertise can be of value to a high performer
• Seek out strategic partnerships

By training with the best you set intentions and expectations that lift your mind-set to new levels of attainment. Individuals you train with are different to mentors – they are the sparring partners that you work with to develop and grow your skills on a real time basis – they are pivotal to moving your business to a higher level. If the person you want to work with views you as a potential threat, the relationship will not work. Be honourable about your intentions and by no means use it to gain insights that would be of disservice to them – be clear, be up front – if a conflict of interest presents itself then walk away.

John Leach, CEO Winning Pitch

For more leadership and entrepreneurial advice, visit: winning-pitch.co.uk/for-business-leaders/

The power of your personal brand

It is not uncommon for people to choose or buy their favourite branded goods and items. This is because we have an affinity with them both emotionally and functionally. This is a concept you must apply to yourself – personal brand. An ability to strike a good relationship is dependant upon the personal chemistry we develop with others. Successful people have a powerful ability to connect with others through their personality and personal power.

Start to cultivate your personal brand as the success of future relationships. Partnerships and connections will largely hinge on how others view and perceive you. You can think of your personal brand on three levels:

Functional mastery – the expertise you bring and what you are good at. This element of your personal brand should articulate that you are accomplished at your vocation, trade or profession. Others will trust your judgement when you know what you are talking about.

Social Mastery – this is the ability to communicate effectively with others and develop meaningful dialogue. The social dimension also extends to our personal networks with which we associate. Credible, honourable and professional people tend to maintain ethical and similarly professional company – all too often we can be judge by the alliances we have – so be careful.

Spiritual Mastery – this relates to the how you conduct yourself, personal beliefs and values we maintain. Strong personal brands deliver on their promises, they are extremely ethical and transparent in how they conduct themselves and their life.

Think about your own personal brand and how you are perceived. Do the best job you can, develop an ability to engage with your community effectively and be a great communicator. Also be clear on what you stand for and don’t deviate from a strong ethical position. By doing this, you will build a strong personal brand – one that others will want to associate with.

Reinvention – a crucial mindset for getting out of a rut

You must accept that you have far greater control over your life than you realise – who you are, what you want and what think. Your mental outlook on life, the dreams for your business, as well as your character, and personality remain under your own leadership and guidance.

When things don’t go to plan or you feel that you are stalling in your business, career or personal life, then its time for doing some different. Successful people recognise the need for constant change. When the results don’t come through a period of reinvention is invariably needed because what you are doing is not working. We can’t excel if we are not aligned to what we want out of life. If you are fed up with your career, your business is not growing or not getting the new job or promotion after constantly trying then you must change. Successful people that go the extra mile understand the need to adapt.

The process of reinvention means that you need to critically appraise the status quo – look at your business, life or career from different angles.

Where is the stale you? Why are things not working or going to plan? Are you feeling fulfilled and happy with what you have and what you are achieving? Ask others for feedback on you and your performance. Open up your surroundings. Has the passion gone for what you do?

Where do you want the new you to be? – Get back to reviewing your goals, are they clear and precise or are they lacking definition and clarity. Everything flows from ‘intention’ it’s what all visions are built upon. Without intent you will just bounce about feeling frustrated and fed up with your lot.

List the key transition points? Define what specific things need to change. Draw up an action list. Detail the new partnerships and relationships that are needed to move things. Draw up the new tactics and work out the vital things that will deliver a different result.

Have you tried experiments? – try to experiment with different ideas and projects, kick the ones into touch that don’t feel right. Experimenting is a very powerful personal development tool. No great discovery was ever made without work in the laboratory – trial and error.

Act out the changes – make a conscious effort to implement the changes that you need to make the transition to what you want to become. Without action nothing will happen.

Albert Einstein’s famous quote on insanity is one we should keep close to our heart when looking to reinvent and do something different –

“insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Control the things you can

The extent to which we can grow our business can largely be guided by our thoughts, actions and behaviours. However, there are external factors often at play that we can’t control, many of which could impact on us progressing to what we want. All too often we end up spending time worrying about issues that with all the will in the world you cannot have any direct impact on making them go your way. These could range from global economic factors, through to political and social issues, down as far as the behaviour and actions of other people.

Spending time worrying about the big things we can’t control can result in energy being absorbed in non value added thought. Here is a great way to think about control:

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference

Reinhold Niebuhr

Success comes from managing the things we can control. Embracing this principle will get you motivated to moving forward on those pressing issues that need sorting out. Focusing on factors outside your sphere of influence could create stress and reduce the effectiveness of your actions. Your mental toughness will become eroded by the enormity of the task associated with thinking about the things you can’t change. This habit becomes emotionally draining and will impact on your efficiency and effectiveness. Accept it!

Focus on the 10 things you can control:

1. Attitude – believe you can, growth starts with believing you can
2. Learning and knowledge – you must learn and acquire knowledge if you want success
3. Friends – who you spend time with and who you share ideas with
4. Motivation – the invisible force that comes from within
5. Time – how you spend your time – who with and on what
6. Capabilities and offer – what you are providing to others and how effectively you deliver it
7. Financial matters – what you spend and your means
8. Treat and deal with people – always with respect, honesty and integrity
9. Deal with the environment – being aware of sustainability issues and how you treat your surroundings
10. Reputation – what you stand for and your personal effectiveness

Successful business people tend to have a strong belief in their ability to take control of the circumstances, issues and factors that will give them their desired outcome, in particular they will:

• Actively take part in initiatives that improve their current situation
• Have a strong internal control orientation, this is hungry for goal achievement
• Actively pursue a policy of self development
• Inquire and actively commit to understanding why things turned out the way they did
• Embrace learning to ensure positive outcomes in the future
• Ignore people who drain their energy

When we master the art of controlling the controllable, additional energy will be made available for doing, consequently you will gain a better balance between activity and thinking. Success is well within your control!

Stop talking and start doing

Allocating time to thinking and doing, in the right proportions, will significantly increase your chances of achieving business and personal growth. However, you must give due consideration to the quality of your thoughts as crisp and clear thinking will drive your plans in the right direction. Spending time thinking how to achieve your goals in stressful conditions creates chaotic thought patterns. This frame of mind adds no value and delivers minimal contribution to business success. You must make provision for Quality Thinking Time (QTT) – space to ponder without interference or distraction. A hectic life style resulting from trying to balance work, family, relationships and career can make QTT a challenging task.

Remember, it is vital for you to avoid over thinking situations, circumstances and options as this will lead to inertia. It will stop you from taking action. A maximum of 20% of your time should be allocated to gaining clarity of thought. The remaining 80% should then be devoted to doing. Individuals that fail to realise their goals can be sometimes be guilty of spending too much time thinking about what they are going to do and never getting on with it. Avoid pontificating about your desires and needs, be sure to get on with it when you have decided just exactly what it is you are going to do. Positive progress is only made when doing follows thinking, Dreams and visions will remain at home in the mind if you don’t push ourselves towards implementation. Failure to move on in business is often down to not grasping the nettle, however when we do the right things a personal momentum builds which manifests into positive outcomes. Think less, do more!

Thoughts + Doing = Results

The difference between success and failure is often down to whether action has been taken or not. The final thoughts are from Christopher Columbus:-

“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his or her chosen destination”

Avoid energy sappers – surround yourself with energisers

There are two groups of people that you will come across in your quest to grow your business – one group will provide inspiration, the other will drain you of energy and make you question your very being. These groups involve:

Energisers – These are the people that view life as one big opportunity. They are motivated individuals who set ambitious goals and constantly look out for the next big thing. They are people on a mission. Their positive outlook on life is built up on clarity of thought and a desire to genuinely make a difference. They are warm and welcoming to others and they refrain from judging what people do and don’t do. Energisers create a positive environment and their positive mindset is genuinely borne out of a sense to do good. These individuals have a sound reputation because they deliver on what they say they will do and their sense of direction is clear to everyone they come into contact with. Energisers can make the unthinkable a reality.

Sappers – These are the individuals who view life as one big problem. Such people have no sense of personal clarity and their lack of vision makes them quick to judge others that have. They are envious of other people’s success and in the worst case, organisational saboteurs. Sappers are to be avoided at all cost as they can quite easily suppress the desires and motivations of ambitious people. All too often in organisations we experience the work of “sappers” – their behaviour manifests itself as gossip, rumour mongering – they become the architects of bad feeling and their negativity brings an unhealthy atmosphere of discontent. Success is difficult enough without having to deal with such people

It is vital that your desire for success is only communicated to those with a genuine heart felt interest in your success. Energisers should form the most significant part of your own personal network. Whilst energisers are positive in their outlook, they are also pragmatic and can view situations and opportunities with ruthless simplicity. They will tell you how they see it, however this will be communicated with candour and respect – be sure to associate with these individuals.

Energisers are the mental stimulants we need to keep going, they become the booster we so dearly need in tough times. Energy sappers are the disease that eats away at our internal motivation and dreams.

You must become an energiser, because in turn you will attract others, this magnetic effect starts to create a group of people that think in the same way. With sufficient critical mass these individuals start to make massive change within our communities. The Impressionist movement in Paris in the early 1800’s and Motown in the 1950’s both came about by groups of Energisers – energetic individuals with a passion to do something big – Energisers spark off each other, they debate and enthuse. They are the pioneers that work out new possibilities that deliver ground breaking ideas – they help us grow our businesses!

Energisers can change the world, make sure that you are surrounded by them!

Ultimate competitive advantage – Self Improvement for entrepreneurs

Personal development is the ultimate source of competitive advantage. When you stop learning you run the risk of your business becoming stagnant. Growing a business is one continuous learning journey and every new experience presents itself as an opportunity to acquire more knowledge. Entrepreneurial high achievers I have worked with are lifetime learners combining both formal and informal means of absorbing new information. What is your strategy for learning? Do you have a personal development plan? Are you open to the advice and guidance of the wisdom of others?

The growth of a business takes many twists and turns and growth comes in chapters, each one presenting its own challenges – you need to be prepared. 

Openly speak to mentors, your peer group and trusted colleagues and ask them how they think you can improve. What could you do better? Rate yourself out of 10 in each of these areas:

1. I have clear business and personal goals, they are pursued with a passion

2. I am resilient and deal effectively with setbacks when they arise

3. I take ownership for the decisions I make but I listen carefully to the views of people I trust

4. I am motivated and just get on with it – success is down to me

5. I am a strong and effective leader (myself and others)

6. I work well with others and take a collaborative approach to business

7.  I am innovative and take a creative approach to business

8. I am a respected individual within my market

9. I am an effective connector and communicator

10. I always aim to excel at what I do

By answering these questions honestly you start to build a picture of where your self-development needs to focus. Drill down into the specifics of each of your answer and define very clearly what things you are going to change. Identify the resources that you will need to move you on. Explore courses, new reading material, self-study or one to one coaching to address the shortfalls. Everyone has a preferred learning style, find one that suits you. However there is lots of wisdom in the Confucius philosophy of:

• I hear and I forget
• I see and I remember
• I do and I understand

The minute you think you know it all – complacency sets in and you could quite well be entering into dangerous territory.

You will not advance or achieve your business goals if you don’t commit to constantly learning.