Nail It!

How to Master Life & Business.

Are you struggling to see the forest for the trees? Do you feel inundated by the demands of life and work and don’t know which path to follow? Do you live in fear of failure?

I can tell you that I lived with fear and failure for many years. I desperately needed something to change but didn’t know where to start. Then, I remembered Mum’s advice:

Make a commitment.

Master life and work.

Forge your path by doing it your way.

These lessons led me to reflect, and write about successful people who have done all of the above. Here is an extract from my book Nail It! 7 Steps to Life & Business Mastery for Entrepreneurial Leaders:

“My parents have been married for 57 years. I was looking at their wedding photos and asked Mum what it took to remain together after this much time. Her answer was that it was as complex or as simple as you wanted it to be, and she pointed to one particular photo. In a traditional Indian wedding, the couple walks around a fire (or something representing a fire) 7 times and once done, you have committed to mastering life and your marriage together, no matter what the odds. It was important that Mum talked about both life and marriage. Which led me to think…

There are millions who have achieved business/work/career/financial success but confessed that it did not always translate to life success. Is it that difficult to gain both life and business mastery? Are the two mutually exclusive? Is it true that we can’t have it all? We have been struggling with this for years: telling ourselves that we may be miserably unhappy but never mind we have our careers to fall back on. Or the converse – your life couldn’t be happier but you wish your career would get off the ground.

Enter the entrepreneurial leader who shows that actually, you can suss both. However, you have to have the daring to do things a bit differently. You have to make small changes to the way you live, work and think to get it right. And you have to work hard at it. Really hard. I interviewed 7 leaders who did it their way. And do both life and business well. Their 7 steps were not easy. But they are super ordinary people who do extraordinary things.”

How did they do it? One of their tools is the use of coaches and mentors. Coaching brings out in the open things that we sometimes don’t want to acknowledge or wish to avoid altogether. Sometimes, it can feel like a baptism of fire. But, like fire, coaching brings light, healing, knowledge and wisdom to your daily life.

Coaching acts an enabler and helps you name and shame your dirty, little self-limiting beliefs. Once you bring your self-beliefs out in the light of day and prod them; they squirm and lose their power over you.

Try these self-coaching questions to take that first step to master life and business:

• Can I name my self-limiting beliefs? Where do these beliefs stem from?

• How will I get them out in the light of day?

• Which part of my life needs me to believe in myself the most?

• What will be different when I achieve this self-belief?

• Close your eyes and visualise what success would look like. Who is there with you? What are people saying to you? What have you done?  

• What is my side gig? What skill and experience do I have that will help me with my goals?

• What do I most want to achieve? Why do I want this?

• How much of this achievement is within my control? What options do I have for starting my side gig?

• Which people in my life perpetuate my self-belief?

• Who must I let go of as they are my constant naysayers and feed my self-limiting beliefs?

Warning: this isn’t for the faint-hearted. But when you’re ready, let’s walk through Step 2?

If you feel stuck, take Mum’s advice: Make the commitment; you can rock life and work; do it all with an entrepreneurial flair.