If you have been following my blog, you will know, I was at the National Achievers Congress in London a couple of weekends ago where I had the good fortune of being able to hear international leaders and champions in business, sport, personal wealth creation, success and fulfilment.

On the first day Tony Robbins was the main speaker – find out my insights here.

On the Sunday I returned.  To be honest, I felt to a degree that cracks were starting to appear in the conference. I had only really gone back to hear Donald Trump. And as you would expect, he was billed last. Throughout the day, there were a number of presenters who were basically selling their ‘get rich quick’ schemes and for me, cynicism began to kick in.  I felt a little that they were preying on the vulnerable (people who had gone there for business advice and were getting roped in to  too-good-to-turn-down ‘special offers for one day only’). It’s lucky I’m not an impulse buyer or they might have got a couple of grand out of me too! These are some of the best sales people I’ve seen in action so I can see how someone could find themselves signing up for something that an hour earlier had never even crossed their mind.

Still, always one to look out for the silver lining  I listened intently and paid attention to the lessons that were hidden between the hard-sales lines. Again, I would like to share with you the sound-bites that I found useful.

First up Dr Rohan. “Invest in you and don’t let other people’s negativity hold you back.”

WHAT HOLDS PEOPLE BACK? He listed 5 things that stop average people.

1) Negative friends and family

2) Spending not investing

3) Wrong or no education

4) Fear and no vision

5) Procrastination!

He talked of two traits required for success. Clarity and Commitment.

Next up – Alex Madozia. “Start honouring time. The wealthy get wealthier because they buy time”

He made a great point. “What is worse than going in the wrong direction? Going in the wrong direction enthusiastically.”  Think about that one 😉

He also said “A great marketing strategy is called … (dum dum duuuum *drum roll please*)

… TELLING THE TRUTH. Transparency in this day and age is not a choice. It’s a must. You have to tell the truth.”

He added, “The most powerful force in any business is MOMENTUM.  And momentum is like a water pump. You must keep pumping to keep it coming. If you stop pumping a water pump what happens? The key is to keep pumping even when you are not thirsty.”

He talked of EXECUTION INTELLIGENCE – the ability to make decisions and act on them. A trait of great leaders because when you have this you get things done!

He talked of mentors and advised us to seek out mentors who have already walked the path we are going down. Pointing out that mentors allow you to accelerate your path, he used the example of Socrates, Plato  &  Aristotle – how each was mentored by the one before, and this gave them a spring board to develop further and faster. Finally, he highlighted the two biggest reasons for failure as .. .

1) People don’t do what is required.

2) People don’t do things for long enough.

Do what it takes!

Enter Donald Trump, “What does it take to be successful”

He actually had a different approach to everyone else I heard speak over the weekend. He was a hard hitting no shit kind of guy (as you would expect taking in to consideration the levels of success behind him.)  His anecdotes were short and sharp, loud and clear. At first I didn’t warm to him as a person – still his words were like music to my ears.  Although his messages erred on the side of caution they were not at all doom and gloom – more  the sober words of wisdom from someone who has lived the experiences of those environments.

Be Tough and Pay Attention

He said “As an entrepreneur, be careful of the deals you make. Be prepared for the worst. Be untrusting. Get the best people but don’t trust them. You have to be really tough and really smart.”

I’m not sure that I agree with the sentiment of not trusting people, it goes against my nature. However, I understand his point. Actually, if it goes against my nature, it is probably a great piece of advice for me to be aware of, right?  I choose to interpret this not as about being mistrusting but more about keeping your eyes open and paying attention to those who are around you to make sure that you are not being taken for a ride by anyone. I would develop this thought by saying, ensure that the people you have around you as friends and those who you work with are the right people for you. To me, the way to do that is by taking your time and paying attention to their nature, behaviour and characteristics. Time always reveals the truth of a person. So sitting back quietly and watching will give you the answers you truly need. Don’t be afraid to cut the dead wood away. This is YOUR life.

The Warrior

“Be a warrior. To be a warrior you must think like a warrior and act like one! If someone hits you, you have to hit them back five times as hard – leave  a message to say they can’t mess with you. You have to hit back.”

Hearing this produced a wry smile on my face. At first hearing, it sounds mean and cut-throat. But at the same time, in life, you have to be prepared to fight your corner, stand up for yourself and what you believe in.

You must be able to handle pressure. A lot of people cannot handle pressure.

Certainty ~  “Inner confidence is the number one trait you need to succeed. To be a great entrepreneur, you must have certainty in business and in life.  Know who you are. Love who you are. And really want victory. You have to love what you do. If you do, you will be better at it. You have to work hard, but if you love it you won’t feel like you’re working anyway.”

Be Reliable ~  “You have to be reliable to be successful. Ensure your word is good.”

Focus & Perseverance ~ DON’T QUIT!  Trump made a VERY good point here. He said, “so many people quit who are smarter than the successful people, I have seen so many people fail because they quit!”

This leads nicely on to the next point and for me one of the most important ….

Instinct  ~ “You MUST have instinct about what you do. Your best deals are going to be made when other people are telling you don’t do it! Have commonsense, be smart and sharp. Go with the gut.”

Don’t I know it! I cannot stress enough just how important it is for your progress in life and business that you learn to block out the noise around you and start listening to your instincts. It is your in-built guidance system and quite possibly the most reliable indicator that you have in life. If you disagree, think about this … how many times in life have you done something even though there was a voice niggling inside you saying ‘don’t do that’. But you did it despite, only to come out the other side saying ‘I knew I shouldn’t have done that! I should have listened to my instinct.’

These days we are becoming less and less connected to this, our tendency is to override our instincts. I’m telling you FIND IT! It’s SUBCONSCIOUS but it is very real.

Make your own luck  Some people are luckier than others. The simple fact of this is that they are making their own luck.  Look closer at the people you think are the ‘lucky’ ones. If you pay attention, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Final thoughts …  

One thing that I came to realise over this weekend  was that many of the men who stood on that stage were not particularly exceptional – they were regular people who had the balls to get out there and do something with drive and commitment.  They kept on pursuing. And got results.

Something else I noticed, they all talked of the same success formulas – they may have expressed the points differently but the crux of each was the same. Additionally, they all had had great mentors to guide them and weren’t afraid to ask for help and accept guidance from people who had come before them.

That said, I do believe that Tony Robbins is one of those special charismatic types who has an ability to INSPIRE people on an unprecedented level. That’s his gift.

Donald Trump, a different breed – extremely savvy business man. There was a heart in there amongst all of the warrior talk. See, warriors do have hearts. But remember, they are tasked with carrying nations too. 😉 This reminds me of one of my favourite Bob Marley quotes, “Heart can be soft as water yet hard as stone.”

If anything, it got me thinking about the traits of the world’s greatest leaders – I have studied a few. In all of them, was a great capacity to do what was necessary when it mattered. Each with an ability to make moral decisions not swayed by other people’s views or expectations, but what they believed to be right in their heart and gut. Guided by intuition.

I realised a few things for myself. In fact a lot of things. I received so many gems this weekend and it drilled some important principals in to me once and for all. It was another accelerated learning point. I once was told (and have experienced it to be true) that I have the ability to manifest things in to my life and to the lives of those around me very quickly – that I am an amplifier. Yes, I have an uncanny knack of shaking things up. Unfortunately most people don’t like change – so this poses a problem. These changes can be too much too soon and evoke negative reactions from many. It’s not always fun. Sometimes, I wish that the biggest challenge of my day was to decide what colour nail polish to wear. Sometimes, I get a fleeting moment, and giving it all up to become a wife and mother becomes an appealing option … but just as quickly as the idea pops in to my head, it passes. I wouldn’t have my life any other way.

If there is one thing we can all be certain of in this life, it’s that the ground is constantly changing beneath our feet. You never really know how life is going to go. Be prepared, be open and embrace it. Lift the smoke screen, let go of attachment, stop looking at closed doors, living in the past or even focusing too much on the future. There are beautiful treasures all around you, presenting themselves to you, and you may be allowing these gems to slip through your fingers and pass you by. Focus on living in the present and SEE. Do what it takes to succeed.

Much Love, Corina