Reviewing The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

 Bismillah

I read 3/5 of The Gap and the Gain, by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy this past weekend. I thought the principles and concepts presented were absolutely excellent and useful.

High level, the two authors discuss the importance of focusing on your progress every day by measuring it by looking at your past accomplishments, (THE GAIN), rather than an ambiguous ideal goal (THE GAP).

Dan Sullivan says, "Your future growth and progress are now based on your understanding about the difference between the two ways in which you can measure yourself: against an ideal, which puts you what I call 'the GAP' and against your starting point, which puts you in 'the Gain', appreciated all you've accomplished. "

The authors also present the idea of wants and needs; and how one should not tie their happiness or sense of worth to external factors. Basically, if you 'need' something external to be fulfilled, you are always putting yourself at risk. Instead, look internally to find your self-worth and contenement, and turn your needs into wants, thus, limiting external factors' ability to affect you as a person. 

I will plan to share more in the upcoming days, iA.

Take care and be safe

NR

The power of consistency

 Bismillah

Consistency. We all hear about how consistency in thought/action leads to success. How do we make this part of our life? 

One of the Merriam-Webster definitions of consistent is "marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity."

Consistency means being steady in your actions in a routine manner to me. There are many habits that I'm trying to make a consistent part of my life (e.g. working out, writing on this blog, learning about investing, programming, community services).

What habit or action are you trying to be consistent on?

Anyhow, hope to share some more thoughts on this in the future.

Be hopeful

Bismillah

Choose hope over despair. Hope is a beautiful and meaningful emotion. We all go through tens of emotions every day. Remember to be grateful for your blessings and try your best to be hopeful.

In my faith tradition, one of sayings of Prophet Muhammad is, “you will not have complete faith till you love for your brother what you love for yourself.”

I find that this state of wanting the best for others is healthy and helps me stay hopeful.

How do you stay hopeful?

Lots of love and peace

Gary Vaynerchuk's Twelve and A Half: Leveraging the emotional ingredients necessary for business success

 Bismillah

So I have been listening to and following Gary Vaynerchuk on Instagram for a bit and appreciate his approach to business. Gary V. is an investor, serial entrepreneur, author, and public speaker.

I wanted to understand his philosophy better and I started reading his book, Twelve and a Half: Leveraging The Emotional Ingredients Necessary For Business Success. 

Gary proposes cultivating and developing the following emotional ingredients within oneself on a consistent basis:

1. Gratitude
2. Self Awareness
3. Accountability
4. Optimism
5. Empathy
6. Kindness
7. Tenacity
8. Curiosity
9. Patience
10. Conviction
11. Humility
12. Ambition

I just finished the introduction and will plan to shares more tangible lessons/reflections in the upcoming days. I believe his basic thesis is to focus on happiness and the importance of using emotional intelligence in leading "successful"/fulfilling lives.

Enjoy this Friday.

Making the Most of Our Mistakes- quick review on John Maxwell's podcast

 Bismillah

Some of our leadership team and team leads recently discussed John Maxwell Leadership Podcast's Making the Most of Our Mistakes.

We had an interesting discussion on the importance of taking advantage of our mistakes in achieving success. 

The podcast shared an Arianna Huffington quote, "Failure is not the opposite of success, it's part of success," that set the tone for the discussion.

A basic overview of the podcast is the following:

1. Stop Fearing Mistakes

2. Don’t make the biggest mistake of all: Do nothing

3. Learn from the mistakes of others

4. Focus on progress, not mistakes

5. Focus on the future

6. Don’t make the same mistake twice (Admit it, learn from it, don't repeat it- Coach Paul Bear Bryant)

7. Remember that the size of the person, not the size of his mistakes, determines success or failure

8. Evaluate your mistakes and respond accordingly

9. User your mistakes to take yourself to a higher level

I appreciated Mark Cole's advice on John Maxwell's lessons: "Our attitude toward our mistakes will determine our altitude after our mistakes." Cole gives his prescription on mistakes:

1. Fail First

2. Fail Fast

3. Fail Frequently

4. Fail Forward

The main thesis here is to be courageous, reflect, and take action. It is too easy to second guess our next move or action, and ultimately not make significant progress. We should plan and take tangible steps forward towards our goals and aspirations on a routine basis.

Anyhow, hopefully, this summary and reflection were beneficial to you. Talk soon. Thanks, Marie for the reminder to write the blog post.