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"The focus on effort as opposed to outcome is what lies at the heart of a growth mindset." - Damian Hughes.

Author Carol Dweck in her book 'Mindset', proposes that people with a growth mindset believe that they can get better at anything by dedication of time, effort and focused energy. This is a state of mind that believes in kaizen or continuous improvement and focuses on consistent effort. For them, outcomes or achievements are not destinations but mere milestones along the way.

The journey of self improvement is unending when you focus all your effort in becoming a better version of yourself. In the process of improving yourself, you will come across many achievements/outcomes but continuing to focus on effort pushes you forward towards bigger, better outcomes and more. Keep a growth mindset and you will achieve more than you can ever imagine.

BUSINESS BASICS - Your business is a reflection of YOU!

Oftentimes I come across business owners who share with me that they are facing difficulties in their business- sales have become a challenge, profitability is shrinking and business is stagnating etc. My question to such businessmen is- "What have you done lately to grow yourself, your knowledge, capability and skills?". Most times their response is a blank stare of confusion and disbelief that I would ask such a question.

My understanding is that when a business is stagnating and not progressing, it is most likely that the leadership in the business is not growing. I believe that - "a business cannot grow beyond the competence level of the owner". Businesses grow when their leaders are working towards their own growth of knowledge, skills and capabilities.

This is one of the reasons why we see rapid growth in startups and new businesses as the founders are focused continuously on working on new ideas, exploring new markets, learning new strategies and upskilling themselves in all aspects of business. Unfortunately, as the businesses mature over time, the owners get into the comfort of routine and managing the daily whirlwind of the business. Soon enough, things slow down and hit a plateau and then the business owners wonder why there isn't any growth. The truth is that the investment of time and money by a business owner in their own growth and learning is directly proportional to the growth and success of their business. Additionally, when the owners are oriented around learning and upskilling themselves, their team also tends to be growth oriented which has a compounding effect for the business.

The reality is that businesses (like trees) need to be in a continuous mode of growth. The moment growth stops, the business is starting to wither and die under the burden of rising costs and shrinking profitability. And for businesses to continuously grow, the owners have to continuously grow their knowledge and skills and increase their competence levels.

So if you intend to grow your business this year, how are you going to grow yourself? Are you - green and growing or brown and dying?

We are an aggregate of what we do consistently!

As humans, it is so easy for us to define success as an event- Neeraj Chopra's Olympic Gold medal or India's World Cup wins. What we tend to miss or underestimate is the value of small efforts which are performed daily and consistently. We believe that massive success requires massive action and hence any goals that we set for ourselves can only be achieved by some earth-shattering effort. But when you ask these people their secret of success- they swear by the small, daily habits that they perform consistently that has been the reason for their glory.

Unfortunately, in an era of instant gratification, the slow pace of change that comes with consistent, daily habits makes it very difficult for us to sustain the effort. Whether it is losing weight, building a successful business or achieving any other goal, we get derailed from our path as we do not have the patience to weather the boring dullness of consistent effort.

If you agree that success depends on your consistent habits then instead of setting goals this year my suggestion would be to try a different approach. Instead of outcomes or goals; why not try to set a "consistent habit" as the goal. If you make "the effort" needed to achieve your goals as a "consistent habit", you will be surprised that you might not just achieve all your goals but surpass them year on year just because of the consistency of habit. Now that, according to me, is true success.

Let's start 2022 by putting in small yet consistent efforts everyday and make it a habit.

Let this New Year be a step forward- a step forward away from your comfort zone, a step forward towards your goals!

Happy New Year everyone. Make 2022 all about taking that 'one' step!

BUSINESS BASICS - What do Customers really want?

We believe that customers want best quality, cheapest price and great service. While these are obvious, one thing that I believe that our customers most expect from us is CONSISTENCY. Customers don't want a once in a lifetime, flash of brilliance. They prefer consistency of experience- how you price your products, how you deliver your service, how you treat them post transactions etc. Well established brands ensure that they provide consistent and predictable experience for their customers which makes them a repeat buyer. Be it established brands or smaller companies, all their customers love consistency.

Consistency can only be delivered when you run your organization on "Systems". Apart from ensuring your customers get products and services of the consistent quality and price; establishing systems and processes in your company helps you reduce wastage of time, effort, rejections and rework as well (along with the headache and stress that comes along with all these). Infact, I understand Systems to be acronym for Save Yourself Stress, Time, Energy and Money.

Unfortunately, establishing systems costs time, effort and money initially and a lot of businesses look at this as an optional expense instead of a planned investment. Hence choose to save money in the short term but end up with regular bouts of stress and heartburn in the long run. Unfortunately, they also end up curbing their own growth and progress.

For long term peace of mind for the business owner and providing consistency and predictability for the customers, the organization needs to be driven on systems and processes. There will be situations that will demand human intervention but they will be few and far between. My mantra is- Systemize the routine; humanise the exception!

So start by systemising routine tasks and slowly you can build systems and processes into most aspects of your business. I can promise you, this investment will reap huge return in the long run.

The biggest risk you take is to do NOTHING

Life is a series of calculated risks – nothing more. Everything that you decide to do has a margin of risk. No outcome is ever 100 percent certain and, therefore, any attempt at anything has a chance of failure. We risk something, every day of our lives without knowing it.

But because we are daring to risk a little something, we move ahead daily and progressing one step closer to our destination. If we don't take that risk, we are guaranteed to never reach our destination, our goals. Now which risk is bigger- possibility of success by taking a chance OR guarantee of failure by not taking a chance?

As Wayne Gretsky - one of the legends of ice hockey once said- "You miss a 100% of the shots you DON'T take". Get out of your comfort zone and take a shot at your dreams. Who knows what magic awaits you on the other side.

FRIDAY INSPIRATION

I have to confess that I am an avid Himalayan trekker and have had the love for the mountains since childhood. So any movie on this subject was always going to interest me. But I happened to watch a documentary this weekend that really amazed me- "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible". It follows the travails of Nepali mountaineer Nirmal 'Nims' Purja who embarks on a near-impossible dream to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in seven months.

While there are several stories of human determination and grit to push themselves to the limit for personal glory; what really stood out for me from this documentary is the larger purpose that drove Nims to take up this journey- he wanted to showcase the invaluable contribution of the Nepali mountaineering community to the world which most times doesn't get its due. This higher purpose drives Nims to attempt summiting the 14 peaks in 7 months where the previous best record was around 8 yrs. This deep sense of purpose is what drives the human spirit to achieve unbelievable feats and take humanity to the next level and we have so many examples of the same in history.

The other highlight for me was the strong sense values that Nims and the Nepalese mountaineering team hold very close to their heart. They will risk everything but will not leave a fellow mountaineer who is in trouble. At the risk of jeopardizing their mission and risking their own lives, these guys do everything in their power to rescue fellow mountaineer who is stuck at high altitude without oxygen- not once but twice! "It's not in my blood to leave a person behind" - Nims.

Peppered with learnings on so many levels; this documentary is a tribute to the human potential and truly inspires us to dream big and create a huge vision and drive ourselves to great heights of achievements fuelled by the energy of discipline & hard work while never letting go of your core values of 'being human'.

I am inspired by stories that question my limiting beliefs and challenge my potential. What inspires you?

It's so easy to get caught up in fixing problems, addressing the urgent and surviving the daily whirlwind. Particularly on a Monday! Holy moly!

But don't let your challenges dictate where you go with your life. Let your Dreams and Goals be your North Star, guiding you at all times and keeping you focused on your direction. Stay focused on what is important for you and live a life by design.

Here's wishing all of you an awesome week ahead!

Friday Inspiration

What is the best time to follow your dreams or passions?
Which is the right time to achieve all your goals?
When is the right time to tick goals off your bucket list?

The best time is always right now. If not now, then when?
There is just this Now and the choice is yours. What are you going to do about it?

To go from where you are to where you want to be, you must do things you’ve never done before. You must be willing to get uncomfortable because discomfort is the only path to growth. There is no other way. The truth is that to really ascend, rise above your former self, and completely change your life, you have to not only be okay with discomfort, you have to fall in love with the journey it bears with it.

FRIDAY INSPIRATION - Jim Rohn's 4 Questions that Changed My Life.

For many years; I was involved in training, coaching & facilitation semi-formally along with my being involved in my family business. But coaching was my passion and I loved it! Friends & family urged me to take my passion forward and pursue it professionally. But like most other people, I covered my self-doubts and the procrastinating mindset with the question - Why? Why do I need to do it? Why should I make the effort? Why would anyone care?

That's when I came across this video of Jim Rohn that changed my life!! His follow up question to my 'Why' question flipped my reality as I knew it! "Why Not" follow your passion? Why not live to your potential? Going deeper- "Why Not Me?" and "Why Not NOW?" Why should I doubt my own potential and not follow my passion? And if I don't work on it now, then when? Pondering over Jim's words made me re-look at myself and that's when I decided to pursue my passion for coaching and made it a profession. And boy, am I glad I did. Today, I have trained/coached over hundreds of enthusiastic business owners and looking forward to taking the number into 1000s. And, it all just started with some very basic questions.

If you are at that cusp in your life and are unable to take the leap- I challenge you to ask yourself these questions- Why NOT? why not YOU and why not NOW? It might just change your life.

Would love to hear your story or your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

Attaching the link of the video for you 🙂

https://youtu.be/r3kb9dkddX0

The single most important factor influencing a person's success -- whether personal or professional -- is 'Mindset'. And a small thing that makes a huge difference to your mindset are your thoughts which play a vital role in determining your future. So, it's important to get this fundamental ingredient right. If you are serious about achieving success in any area of your life, you must learn to master your thoughts and keep a positive mindset.