I just spent four days on Kiawah Island in South Carolina with my mentor, Alan Weiss, and over 75 of the top consultants and professionals on the planet (a few pictures below). Kiawah is one of my favorite spots to visit. Besides some of the best food and wine I’ve enjoyed in a long time, there was a tremendous amount of learning and development.
Here are my ten learning points I wanted to share with you:
1) Look Forward – You can’t look back at your successes and say “WOW! I did a great job!” Instead, look forward and say “WOW! Okay, now let’s do that again, but make it even better!” Success is about constant growth. If you’re not growing, you’re stagnant.
2) Speed wins – Do things quickly. Speed is as equally important as content. Most people move way too slow.
3) Be open to new ideas – People who struggle are the ones who look at new ideas and say “that won’t work.” People who thrive embrace new ideas and new learning. They say, “how can I apply that to my own situation?,” “How can that work in my business?”
4) Refuse to be bored – If something is boring, why continue? We’ve all got a finite amount of time on this planet. Use it wisely.
5) Don’t go crazy about money – There is always money to be had. Get crazy about your philosophy, goals, accomplishments, and value you can provide to others.
6) Self-esteem – Your biggest challenge and hurdle is yourself.
7) Mastermind – You have to find people to interact and learn with. You need to accept the fact that no matter how good you are, you can get better.
8) Disciple wins – Discipline is what allows someone to grow the fastest. Schedule everything and get it done.
9) Global Trends – Here are a few global trends we discussed:
- The US will be energy independent within 10 years.
- Wars will be fought over air & water, not oil.
- Demonstrated expertise will increasingly trump credentials.
- We’ll see the rise of a permanent disenfranchised lower class.
- It’s foolish and folly to believe things are ever going back to the way they used to be.
- There will be a massive small business boom.
10) Give yourself the freedom to fail – If you’re afraid to fail you’ll never go anywhere.
