Lessons From The Sahara (With Pictures!)

Hello Entrepreneur,

Al here, CEO of RYS Group - and as many of you know, I just got back from a much-needed vacation with my wife to Morocco. 

Above is a picture of us after a local wrapped my wife up with traditional desert attire as we toured the Sahara Dessert. 

Over the course of my 2 weeks away, completely disconnected from the world, I learned several valuable business (and life) lessons that I wanted to share with you.

Isn't it strange how the greatest lessons often come when you're not looking for them?

Lesson 1 - Take a vacation, even if you're single.

This is a lesson that, until now, I knew but didn't apply, and wish I did.

How many things do you "known"...but aren't applying? What's it costing you?

This June, my wife and I will be celebrating our 10 year marriage - but this was our first real vacation since our honeymoon! 

Sure, we've taken many small "getaways", but no real, 2 week long, disconnected from technology, kid free, just us, vacay. 

Listen, you need to get disconnect. You need to step away once a quarter, if possible, but at the very least, step away from it all at least once a year. 

Disconnect from technology. 

Rest your body and mind. 

Ponder life. 

Think about your goals. 

And re-evaluate what you're doing, and if it's in-line with what you want for your life. 

For years, almost a decade, I was always saying "I can't take a holiday yet, I'm still building my business", and almost felt like I hadn't earned it yet, but the truth is, I could have grown my companies FASTER had I taken a break to recharge. 

Remember, if two lumberjacks compete, the winner is always the one who stops frequently to sharpen his ax. 

2 - You've got to clean up the garbage. 

Listen, and I know this might sound disrespectful... but people of Morocco... you have an incredibly beautiful place, but please...clean up your darn garbage.

There was trash everywhere, piles of it, and it made it difficult to enjoy the true beauty of it all. 

In your business, in your life, what garbage are you leaving around that affects your clients ability to truly enjoy what you have to offer?

What garbage are you keeping around in your relationship that's affecting your ability to truly love each other?

Or what garbage is left around the office that's preventing your staff from truly doing their best work? 

Maybe it's past bitterness, maybe it's poor communication, maybe it's office politics, maybe it's poor delivery of a product, maybe it's...

We all have some garbage, but if we take a good hard look, we'd probably see some areas where we can clean things up and it could drastically improve life. 

3 - Sell from the heart.

Should you ever decide to visit Morocco, be prepared because you're going to get "haggled" by nearly everyone on the streets to buy their stuff. 

Often, this is how your clients feel... 

And it's a huge turn off... and made me refuse to buy anything from the street hustlers. 

EXCEPT, I still spent quite a bit on stuff... so how? 

Because there are some that sold from the heart, and those are the ones I bought from.

We visited several operations from clay & tile factories, tanneries, Argan oil plants and rug making outfits. 

And the ones who talked about their missions, their values, their belief, and said - quite literally - "even if you don't buy, we'll always keep you in our heart", always had me taking out my credit card. 

When I felt like they were just trying to sell me something, I was put off.

But when they were teaching me about their culture, how they do things, and were happy to have the chance to show what they do to me even if I didn't buy, I was happy to be there and support their work. 

4 - Show your work

One of the keys the "big guys" use to selling in Morocco is by showing their work.

From the hours it takes to chip away at a piece of clay to create a mastery, or the back breaking work that goes into making a rug, or the incredibly smelly process at a tannery, the more you show what goes into a product or service, the more people are compelled to do business with you. 

Maybe it's the journey the material you use goes through before the client gets it, maybe it's the hours that go into making a service look easy, maybe it's the research that goes into an article, whatever it is, be proud of it. 

People love being a part of the process, so let them see what goes into it.  Give them a back-access pass and let them appreciate your business on a deeper level.

5 - Sell With Presentation, Reassure With Quality

One thing that really stuck out while walking the market, was that presentation wasn't something they left to chance. 

These folks put time, money and effort in making darn sure that whatever they were selling, was displayed in a beautiful, even shocking, fashion. 

Here's what's important...not only was everything presented well, but it backed that with great quality. 

How are you displaying your product or service? In your retail shop... on social media... on your website... in person...

6 - Prove Your Quality

Do you claim to have extraordinary quality? Great - prove it! We're in a time where EVERYONE says whatever they're selling is high quality, or that they're the best. But very few actually PROVE it.

Do you know how to tell if you have a high-quality leather? 

You burn it. 

After we toured the tannery above, and we were taught the crazy process the hides go through before being turned into leather things like jackets and bags, the guide grabs the corner of his leather jacket and says watch this. 

He grabs a lighter, gets a flame going, and holds it directly against his jacket. 

We all gasp, waiting for it to start smoking.

A few seconds goes by, and nothing. We wait another couple seconds, still nothing.

No flame, no burned mark, no hole, nothing.

It was untouched, good as new 

At that moment, he looked right at us and said "anyone who tells you they have good leather, ask them to prove it with a flame." 

I was sold, and bought a jacket. 

How can you prove your quality?

7 - Details matter

One thing I noticed in Morocco was the attention to detail.

Whenever possible, extremely careful attention was put into every corner, every inch of every place. 

They wanted to build places that meant something long after it was built. 

See the ceiling in that photo? Guess where that is? 

It's a small little restaurant in a rather rough area of Fes, Morocco. 

Sure, the outside was a bit bland, but once you opened the door and walked in, you were blown away. Are your clients blown away when they walk into your business? ?

8 - Cutting corners isn't worth it 

One thing I noticed a lot of is buildings with large pieces of rebar (metal used in construction, usually with concrete) sticking out of the top of seemingly unfinished, but still being used, buildings. 

I was told that they do this because it saves on taxes.

When the building is "un-finished" and not yet complete, they get to cut a few coins off their tax bill. 

That's great, and I'm all for saving a few bucks, but here's the thing... often, saving a few bucks isn't worth it. 

The benefit of having a finished product is worth it.

In business, in life, in your relationships, don't go 95% of the way.

Don't cut corners.

Don't leave some in the tank.

It's just not worth it. Too many people work their butts off only to give up a few steps from the finish line. Don't rob yourself, or your clients, of the feeling of a true, finished and beautiful product.

Play full out, and know you gave it your best. 

9 - Build something that stands the test of time. 

Pictured above, my wife and I are posing in front of ancient Roman ruins. 

Now I'm awfully rusty on my Roman history, but I know that these are crazy old! 

And yet, despite most areas damaged and gone, some, like the area behind me, still stand strong. 

Let me ask you this... are you building a company, a relationship, a career, a life that's going to stand the test of time?

Or are you focusing on short term gains, at the cost of long term wealth and legacy? 

10 - last but not least - Do it with someone by your side. 

Call it a partner, a spouse, or just a team mate, business and life is best when you can share it with someone. 

And if that someone happens to be your best friend, and your spouse, you've hit gold. 

Business is tough. And truth is, business success often comes at the cost of MANY relationships. Don't let it cost yours. 

Take the holiday, your future heart and enjoyment of life will thank you for it. 

To your success, 

Al 

PS - Now get back to work ;) 

Alain Blais

Chief Marketing Maestro at RYS Group

alain@rys.group

RYS, an acronym for Raise Your Standards, embodies the culture and philosophy we live by. We believe in continually raising our quality of life, our relationships, our business, and our clients. All things in life suffer from atrophy when not continually consciously and intentionally challenged to grow and become the next best version of itself.

We specialize in making dreams come true. If you're serious about stepping away from the 9-5, know you were meant to do more than just work, pay bills and die, and are ready to embrace your own power, your own personal brand, and build a business that not only provides you with the lifestyle you want and deserve, but does it automatically, let's talk.

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