Change your mind and let’s make things happen…

At the inaugural edition of Afrexim’s Intra Africa Trade fair in 2018 in Cairo, Egypt, I had the opportunity to discuss the transformation and expansion of a friend’s business.

She shared some exciting and ambitious plans with me, 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.”

I picked up this question when I read 2 of Peter Diamandis’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 decisions.

The rate at which things have moved has been purely astonishing.

On reflection, the only thing that changed during this process is that my friend changed her mind about timelines for her project. 

And I believe that the moment she changed her mind, all the pieces on the board also realigned to accommodate the new thinking.

It 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.

I draw a lot of inspiration and knowledge from different authors.

This exercise is designed to allow your mind to move into areas far beyond your self-imposed limits.

Our thoughts and actions significantly impact what happens in our lives. Hence we must guard and build our mind (which controls our thoughts and actions) daily.

As a business leader, your mindset ultimately will determine the failure or success of your organization. 

I study the stoics, and it’s been a fantastic journey so far. 

Ryan Holiday’s “Daily Stoic” is part of my morning routine, and one of the benefits is increased self-awareness, where I can 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, will, and actions. 

I use the term “learning” because it’s a journey where I grow and get better daily, 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 three disciplines:

1. The discipline of Perception is down to what meaning I attach to things around me. Focusing on questioning my Perception has become a game for me. Whenever I catch myself operating on automatic mode, I take a step back and ask myself questions like, am I operating from a scarcity or abundance mindset? Do I see myself as a victim or a victor? And it goes on. As I practice daily, I appreciate the beauty of managing my Perception.
2. The discipline of Action — It is not our choices that ultimately determine what happens to us. Instead, the choices that we act upon determine what happens to us. As I reviewed my 2018 plans as part of my preparation for 2019, I discovered so many exciting ideas that I didn’t act on them. However, I also noticed significant progress on some of my ideas. The difference is clear — it’s action.
3. The discipline of Will is essential to understand and accept what’s outside your control. It 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 within my control and act accordingly.

It is a daily process of growth, and there will be many times that things will be challenging; however, like a baby learning to walk, we must get up every day 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 modelled after the approach from Robin Sharma’s “5 am 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 always to ask yourself — what will it take to get it done in 6 months?

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