10 Top Lessons to Take Into 2018

If you look back at the year that's just gone, you'll always find that there were major events that happened in your life.

A death of a loved one, a new, amazing person you met, the launch of your new company, a new partner, an awesome, perspective-changing trip abroad, and so on.

Everything significant that happens in our lives is teaching us new lessons and setting the foundations for new experiences which will help us grow.

Last year, I learnt both new, eye-opening things in business as well as in my personal life that I intend to take into 2018. Here are my top 10.

1. There's no easy way to success

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. I've seen this over and over again.

There is no short cut to long term success.

Sure, anyone can create a bit of hype around them or their product temporarily, but can you make it last?

I've seen people in the music industry, for example, who, knowing they aren't the most talented musicians out there, go down the controversial route, doing something outrageous and pushing ethical boundaries, simply to hit the spotlights, not realising that they're damaging their brand in the long run.

“The main thing that is driving people like that is capitalism.

"The capitalist system wants a product to be talked about and this is done by making something new or outrageous,” Lawrence Parsons tells me, a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at the University of Sheffield.

I'd prefer to use the term turbo capitalism.

It's so important that you map out a viable plan, create processes and then work hard. Don't rely on controversy, leave that to those who lack talent.

2. Processes. Processes. Processes. 

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

This old adage is popular because it's true. It couldn't be more true in the business world.

One of the most important foundations you need to set your business upon are strong processes. It will help your business run more smoothly.

Before you get to work on marketing your latest product and growing your business, ensure you have your BPM (Business Process Management) in place to ensure things are done properly. 

Gartner defines BPM as “a discipline that improves enterprise performance by driving operational excellence and business agility.”

Without it, you'll lose sight of what you're doing and become sloppy along the way.

These processes must continue to be refined if you want to remain competitive.

Failure to invest in processes is likely to result in higher costs, lower revenues, less motivated employees and fewer satisfied customers.

3. Be an extremist

This may sound odd. But if you look at every hugely successful business person, they've gone to the extreme to succeed.

Whether you're talking about Larry Ellison, the $61bn owner of Oracle, whose aggressive nature has seen him stop at nothing to destroy his competitors (and even trash talk them), or Warren Buffet, worth $85bn who reads 12 hours a day, or Michael Bloomburg, the $47bn owner of Bloomberg News, whose motto is work until you drop, even if the world around you is collapsing, they're all early morning risers, who don't waste a second of their time.

4. Read. Read. Read

Yes, you read that right in the previous paragraph.

Warren Buffet reads 12 hours a day.

Reading incessantly, not only improves your knowledge, but it makes you more creative and stimulates wiser, better-informed business decisions.

By reading everything and anything related to your business, you'll know where both the pitfalls and the opportunities lie.

Not only that, but because of your depth of knowledge, you'll always be a step ahead of everyone you meet.

I recently met the impressive British hip-hop artist Akala, known for his socially aware, politically motivated music.

For the 45 minutes I was with him, he dropped so much knowledge of history and geo-politics, I almost felt shy to counter any of his points, simply because he was so well versed in what he was talking about.

Knowledge is power, as Akala often says.

5. Set 3 business goals and 3 personal goals everyday

It's one of the most simplest things you can do, but also one of the most effective.

By setting out 3 business goals and 3 personal every morning, you'll ensure you keep both of your worlds in check and provide a basic structure to your day.

By working towards these and getting them done, you're not setting yourself a huge, daunting mountain to climb, but you'd have definitely achieved a good amount in the day.

It's also important to remember that your business and personal life overlap. If you're content with the work you've done, you'll feel more at ease in your personal life, and if your personal life is going well, you'll feel more motivated to achieve in business.

6. Learn to understand people

Not everyone is like you. And that's the beauty of the world.

We all bring to life our own, unique set of experiences which creates the wonderfully, diverse place in which we live.

Some people have been bullied throughout school, others have been traumatised by parents, some have led a life so easy and privileged that they're not capable of walking in other people's shoes.

Yet, all of these people have something really valuable to offer.

Instead of becoming frustrated by not understanding the decisions they make, first of all realise that they may not be able to understand you either, and that life is all about learning from each other's perspectives, ideas and journeys.

This is also what makes a great leader.

Humbleness, according to a study conducted by the University of Washington Foster School of Business is what defines a good leader.

Humility, however, isn't thinking less of yourself. It's thinking less about yourself.

7. 4th time lucky

Things don't always work out the first time. Or the the second. Or the third. But sometimes on the 4th.

Recently, I started going to a Flotation Centre, it's basically somewhere you go to relax, switch off and clear your mind. It takes place in a Sensory Deprivation Tank, a soundproof, isolation tank in which you float on a bed of salt water, lying in darkness.

The first three times I did it I experienced nothing.

My mind was whizzing at 100mph, my body felt the same and my mind was as cluttered as before.

I was on the verge of giving up after the third time, but I decided to give it one more shot.

On the 4th time, I was lucky to find this time at the reception, a 'Float Guru', or that's what he calls himself.

He was a man from India in his 30s, who had mastered the art of floating and read deeply into spiritually and mindfulness.

He gave me some awesome tips on how best to float, which I did, and benefitted massively from the experience.

This applies to the business world, too. A large percentage of successful business owners originally had failed businesses.

Whether Reid Hoffman, co-founder of this very platform, Linkedin, and now investor in Paypal and Airbnb, who created a failed social networking and dating site, or Sir James Dyson, who created 5,126 prototypes of the Dyson before developing a bagless protype that worked, or Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony who originally launched a rice cooker that burned rice, the list goes on.

Failure often lays that grounds for success. The key is not to give up.

8. Set your intention from the beginning

As a person of faith, intention underpins everything I do.

In fact, the intention behind something is more important than the act itself, as the intention is yours, whereas the outcome of your action is not always so much in your control.

Whenever I begin working on a major decision, I try to ask myself whether what I'm doing is rooted within my fundamental, ethical values.

As someone who works with Influencers, like musicians and Youtubers, I've seen people who have set out on these types of careers, hit the big time, but then not knowing how to handle it all.

If they had created a good, firm intention from the beginning, rather than embarking on a new, often dangerous career without much thought (only to gain as many views as possible), they could have saved themselves from losing themselves. 

9. Take care of your mental health 

One of the challenges a lot of Influencers face when they reach stardom is maintaining and protecting their mental health.

Fame is a scary thing. And if you're not inoculating yourself from the hate and negativity from people, you may find yourself becoming bitter, angry, perhaps depressed and often reactionary. 

I'd strongly advise Influencers to take time out of the spotlight, to spend quality time with friends, family and mentors, meditate (if that's something you do) and even get therapy.

Therapy is something all of us need, whether we're in the spotlight or not, it helps us process events properly, and it's certainly not something to be ashamed of. 

10. Be patient with people

This leads on nicely to my final point. Not everyone will follow your journey.

Their journey is their journey and yours is yours.

Others may make mistakes along the way, but we all do. True, their mistakes may appear to be more harmful, but you have to give people space, not everyone reacts well to being told what to do and what not to do.

And sometimes we have to learn the hard way, we have to slip to get back up. 

That's not an excuse to deliberately make hasty, ill-thought out, dangerous decisions, but even if people do, most of the time, you probably won't be able to stop them.

What you can stop, however, is falling into those errors yourself, and showing others where you've seen people go wrong. 

Conclusion

In short, 2018, I hope, will be a year of working harder and smarter, 'floating' more, reading more and being more compassionate with others.

2017 may have seemed dark, but every misfortune lays the foundations for wonderful, new and positive opportunities for humanity to come together and work harder.

Let 2018 be that year where you implement everything you've learnt to make it your most successful yet! 

Happy New Year!