Surround yourself with winners

As my entrepreneurial journey evolves, one of the key truths I’ve learned is the importance of keeping high-performing teams continuously positive. There is no easy formula for this but success is contagious. Winning teams are often made up of people who share a winning mindset.?

I take inspiration from any championship team in sports. Teams that go onto win championships, season after season are made up of very crazy high standards. The same goes for business. If individuals in a team want to perform at their highest level, they must surround themselves with winners or people who are ahead of them. The kind of people who are growth-minded, who are always striving for more and turn every problem into an opportunity to fix.

These are a few life hacks that have shaped my professional journey, and I hope they resonate with whoever is reading: ?

Easy goals = average results. Hard goals = amazing results.

Whilst it may sound a little debatable to some, I believe the bigger the challenge, the greater the growth. Choose your hard. You either struggle now to achieve your goals, or you struggle later due to the absence of them. There’s no escaping it, specially for the ones who are still relatively young in their professional careers. Essentially, you should get to choose when and how you grow. This is how ambition works: it forces you out of complacency and brings clarity like nothing else can.

Think of Elon Musk as an example. He could have stopped at PayPal—an already successful business. But he chose harder, bigger challenges with SpaceX and Tesla and so on. Elon didn’t settle or chose easy wins; he pursued what most called impossible. When you surround yourself with people who think like that—people who see challenges as opportunities—you begin to realize that what’s possible is only limited by the people around you and your own mindset. ??

Complacency kills ambition.

If your friends or colleagues are satisfied with mediocrity, it’s time to reassess your circle. Full stop. Surround yourself with winners. Positive people, who are like-minded, driven people, who will inspire you and challenge you to aim higher than your current abilities. Over time, challenges bring real growth.

Think ahead of your time.

Great achievers aren’t just thinking about the next step; they’re thinking multiple steps ahead. A few days ago, my brother talked about the evolution of Formula 1 pit stops and it really resonated with me. In the early days, pit stops used to take over a minute to change tires and refuel a car—now it takes less than three seconds. Why? Because teams had the foresight to think ahead, improve processes, and challenge the status quo at the time. Just like in Formula 1, thinking ahead of time in your career means identifying the potential for improvement long before the need arises. It’s about creating your future, not waiting for it to happen.

Push yourself out of your comfort zone.

It’s not about chasing rewards—it’s about the journey itself. Ambition becomes an intrinsic motivation, an inner drive to continuously level up and become the best version of yourself. When you focus on hard goals, the results are never just about the outcome. It’s about the strength you gain, the lessons you learn, and the person you become along the way.

So keep yourself at the center of change. Surround yourself with people who elevate you and who you, in turn, can elevate. Ambition thrives in the company of winners, and it’s this circle that will push you to achieve the extraordinary.

Just remember—you attract what you are. Be ambitious, and surround yourself with those who do the same. That’s where the real magic happens.

Hamza Madi

Leadership Team | Adtech | Digital Marketing | P&L | Ex Omnicom | Ex MCN

4 个月

You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with ??

Nitesh M. Upadhyay.

Director- Growth. @ BEglobal | Sales, Digital Media Industry

4 个月

Valuable insight, Waseem Afzal. Cultivating a winning mindset truly sets the foundation for long-term success. Keep inspiring!

回复
Abdallah Bibi

Driving Strategic Growth & Media Solutions | Connecting Brands with Innovative Media Opportunities

4 个月

Good narrative and examples from your experience , sports and great leaders. keep them coming. Inspiring for all to read.

Mohammed Chehab

AI in Education | Building the Student-Centric School X-Ray | 3x Founder with 2 Exits | Innovator in AI, Edtech, Fintech, Retail tech & Growth Strategies | Engagement & Retention Specialist | Keynote Speaker

4 个月

Waseem Afzal , Absolutely agree! A positive mindset and shared vision make all the difference. Would love to exchange thoughts and learn more about your experiences on this front. There’s always something new to learn from each other's journeys!

Danish Hussain

Digital & Media Strategy Consultant | Growth & Performance Marketing Specialist | Martech Innovator | Experiential Marketing Expert

4 个月

Very inspiring, keep it up ????

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