Getting Out of Your Own Way; With Akhtar Khan

On this episode of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is joined by Kris Ward, the author of Win The Hour Win The Day which is packed with practical steps that cuts through the noise that you hear about so many different productivity and time management strategies and training to the stuff that works in a really simply and accessible way. More importantly, you'll be able to take away tips, tools and strategies from Kris that will help you improve your productivity  and help you win the hour, win the day. KEY TAKEAWAYSSo many people think productivity is about being organised and is a constant race against time – that certainly used to be my answer to everything, to go faster and harder. The transition happened when it was pointed out to me that I was starting to lose some of my charm due to lack of sleep. I went from 16 hours a day to 6, which didn't happen overnight, but I was lucky that I had done that because my husband got diagnosed with cancer and I had to get pulled away from the business for about 2 years. When I returned after his passing my existing clients had no idea that I'd been absent. Then I started getting asked by people how to manage their productivity.It was shocking to me how much I was working against myself, it was shocking that my efficiency, my income, my joy for the job, my productivity all went up. When I think of productivity, I don't mean getting more done, I mean getting the next thing out: writing a book; starting a podcast; whatever the next thing is for you.Simply hiring someone to transcribe my meeting notes, my first hire years ago, was like taking a pebble out of my shoe, it relieved pain throughout my whole body. The burden it took off me was immense, and on the weeks I was using I was paying her $12, on the weeks I didn't use her I didn't pay her, all of a sudden I'm not misquoting people, getting stressed and staying later and later.SOPs (standard operating procedures) aren't usually written by the end user, they're used to cover reliability and they're static in nature. My Super Tool Kits are breathing documents and you can always improve them. It takes anything you do more than once systematised so you can move on and create the next thing. It means you can get stuff done quickly without having to make decisions which fatigues the brain.A to do list is an excellent tool if you just want to stress yourself out, it creates all sorts of anxiety and open loops in the brain. What you should do is use your calendar like a time bank account where the work is measured out and prioritised. Work backwards, like you do in your personal life. I'm Canadian, so my kids play hockey: You think about the time you need to be at the rink (2pm), what time do you need to leave – adding in time for bad weather, feeding the kids first… all of a sudden you're starting off at noon, meaning you've got to start getting organised at 11am.  BEST MOMENTS‘Your business is there to support your life, not consume it. You didn't start a business just to run a business.'‘They say Eskimos have 40 words for snow. I could have easily given you 40 different symptoms or layers of being exhausted.'‘All the best inventions in the history of mankind come from when you're in rest or play. That's how the brain works.'‘We all agree McDonalds does not make great hamburgers, but it's the consistency that made them billionaires.'‘70% of small business owners and entrepreneurs expect their business to provide for them in some capacity in retirement and 2% successfully do that, because they don't have the infrastructure.' VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected]  GUEST RESOURCESKris Ward is the founder of the Win The Hour, Win the Day philosophy. She helps entrepreneurs create their W.I.N (what is next) team using her signature Super Tool Kits so you can get your Idea to execution.After the loss of her husband, Kris returned full-time to her work as a marketing strategist. She was thankful to see that her business had not only survived her absence but was growing. Now, she has completely changed the landscape for entrepreneurs by sharing the successful practises that allowed her absence.Kris has been interviewed by one of the original sharks from Shark Tank, Kevin Harrington, and ABC's The Secret Millionaire – James Malinchak. She has been featured on award winning podcasts, radio and TV shows through the world.You can hear Kris on her own podcast – Win The Hour Win The Day, where she has engaging conversations with dynamic guests covering a variety of business topics so you can get to your next win now!Website: https://winthehourwintheday.com/ Givaway: https://www.freegiftfromkris.com/optin-260379661584543434463 LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kriswardstopworkingsohard/  ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change.  CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is joined by Robin Waite, the founder of Fearless Business Coaching, to talk about how to avoid under-pricing/under-selling yourself.  How to double business revenue in 3-6 months and why charging by the hour is unethical.KEY TAKEAWAYSFearless isn't about being reckless. Fearless is about fearing the thing in business ever so slightly less that would ordinarily hold you back. Things like doing a 60 second pitch to a room full of strangers at a network meeting. Some people are terrified of doing that, but if you don't do it no one's ever going to know anything about you, and you won't be able to grow your business and sell stuff.Most business owners will only ever put their prices up once a year or two years, and even then just by 5-10%. They have a belief that if they put their prices up clients will leave. Actually that's not a bad thing. There are two different types of clients: your existing clients who will be anchored to a specific price point and are more price-sensitive, but you've also got prospective clients who haven't been exposed to your prices yet so aren't anchored, there's no tension, you can pitch whatever you want to them and if they feel that's a good value for money they'll go ahead.The money mindset that's been drilled into us by our parents between the age of 3-7 can be quite negative. The education system needs to talk about money and love more. These are two big questions in life: how do I find a partner to be with and how do I make more money? If you have a negative money mindset we seek evidence to back this up in our businesses. If you're always looking back at the past, you're always going to be looking at the blueprint that already exists. In order to change that you've got to look to the future; you can have abundance, you can charge more, you can have cash flowing through your business and you can create the opportunities that you want. This is something you can change in 30 days, maybe less.Too many business owners want to keep control over absolutely everything. But why would you hire someone just to look over their shoulder the whole time, then two people are doing the same job. It's pointless. Perhaps implement SOPs (standard operating procedures) and review them every month or two to make sure they work. I'll take family fit first, skills afterwards. They have to get on with the crew first, we can train them afterwards.In business there are only two things that can go wrong: Either you look a bit stupid, or you lose some money. That's it – unless you do something grossly negligent or nefarious. You can always come back from looking stupid and losing money. BEST MOMENTS‘We should try and bring in some of our core values into our business, it's much more authentic.'‘The core belief you have to have is “I'm worth it”.'‘Focus on your goals (how much you want to earn) and working backwards (what do you offer) is a good way of working out if you're charging your clients enough.'‘Record all your sales calls and meetings (with the other person's permission) and listen back to them to see if you were communicating clearly and listening properly. Or do sales roleplay to increase your confidence.'‘Delegate responsibly, don't delegate responsibility.'VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected] RESOURCESFrom the age of 18, Robin Waite spent four years as a systems analyst for a medical devices company, helping them increase their turnover by 50%, from £1 million to £1.5 million.From 2004 to 2014 he ran a successful design and advertising agency serving over 250 clients. During this time, he delivered workshops and masterclasses that helped over 1,000 business owners improve their marketing, product architecture, pricing, websites and digital advertising.Robin loves helping businesses to become more successful, and getting results for his clients is what gets him out of bed each day.Websites: https://www.robinwaite.com/ and https://fearless.biz/Podcast: https://podcast.fearless.biz/ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change.CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is joined again after a long time by Jay Munoz to talk about metamorphosis after the title of Jay's best selling book ‘Property Metamorphosis' as well as talking about his own journey of metamorphosis. The conversation includes the thinking and the mindset involved in wanting to change your path and how you can feel confident, equipped and what you need to learn to be able to kickstart your own metamorphosis. KEY TAKEAWAYSI started investing in property as a hobby alongside my career as a chartered engineer. I was comfortable and getting pay rises, but in 2014 I read an article that said “if you don't like your job, quit it”. I didn't like my job and who I was so I decided to quit my job within a year and a year later I was a property developer. Last year, in 2020 I wrote my own book for others to read about my metamorphosis and hopefully they can see themselves going on the same journey.Every time you embark on a new journey I think about this quote: “In order to have the best life possible, you have to first know what the best decisions are and have the courage to make them.” I knew at the time that that was the time that I wanted to spend more time with my family and the people that I love rather than spending all my energy on commuting and doing my job. I now have the privilege and the flexibility to return home to Columbia to spend time with my parents, who aren't very well as well as spending more time with my family at home. Hire a mentor. My mentor was the catalyst to get to where I am right now. But, make sure you do your due diligence on them and choose the one that will work best for your goals and that you share the same values. If you don't share the same values move on and find someone else.Once you have the right tools it's down to you to implement them until that becomes reality to you. Every single deal that I analysed before my first HMO – my first domino – got me closer and closer, I was getting quicker at analysing deals, there was another relationship I made with a new agent that got me closer to my goals.The biggest challenge for an entrepreneur is to balance your time efficiently, we only have 1440 minutes in a day, what we do with every single minute makes a difference. If you're not careful you give it away very easily; an hour of your time is 4.8% of your day – if you don't sleep. My AFL journal helps people with that, to write down smart goals, helps keep them accountable, helps people to review what they learn, helps with being grateful every single day because you need to write down at the beginning and end of every day what you're grateful for. This works not only for property development, but for life. BEST MOMENTS‘One of my key values is always to learn. Ignorance is very expensive.'‘My courage came from the fact I wanted something different.'‘Your goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.'‘Once the first domino is down, that creates the momentum for your to become unstoppable.'‘You have to turn your failures into advantages and learn from them. You are not made in a crisi, you're revealed positive or negative. You've got to be relentless.' VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected]  GUEST RESOURCESJay Munoz was born in Colombia and enjoyed a privileged upbringing. His parents were teachers when they met but his father became a successful doctor and his mother became involved in property development. Growing up in this environment shaped Jay's work ethics, and his love for building.Jay saw civil engineering as a way of improving lives; transport connections, power supplies and buildings all make a massive contribution. After a few years in the construction industry, he left Colombia for the UK.After gaining an MSc from Surrey University, he set out to find a job. He sent out 30,000 CVs and was offered 5 jobs. He went on to work on some great projects including:The London UndergroundConstruction of the Wallbrook in LondonEDF new nuclear power station at Hinkley point C, worth £20billonThen he read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and he knew he had to have his own business. Along with his friend Liam, they set up Assets for Life which ticks all Jay's boxes; he can share and help other people and improve lives through building and development. Website: https://assetsforlife.co.uk/ Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Property-Metamorphosis-Developer-Educational-Business/dp/B08STHRJFT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/assetsforlife Instagram: @jaymunozaflLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-munoz/?originalSubdomain=uk  ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change.  CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is joined by Tony Brooks to talk about leadership, specifically what leaders should be doing differently in SMEs and corporates and where thy need to be putting their focus and attention.We've been through a mammoth period of disruption with remote working, people being on furlough, and we're now phasing back into the office, engaging with hybrid work patterns, there are people who have been on furlough for more than a year, some are reluctant to come back – much to the incredulities and frustration of business leaders. How do we get back to some form of normal and start to claw back the profits we were making 15 months ago? KEY TAKEAWAYSIt's become complex recently and a lot of leaders and companies, to some extent have been in a more reactive mode over that last 15-16 months. Now is a really important time to shift back to being more proactive. But, be ready, willing and able to take feedback from their people, those on the frontline who have seen shifts and changes and engaging with customers and ask them what they think.It was – and still is – an unpredictable environment, going into and out of a recession. I believe that the majority of us and the majority of businesses get way too busy with their heads down doing the do. Without standing back from things and examining how you're thinking about your world, your people, yourself and your marketplace, you will not change the way you see things and you'll continue to do things in a similar way. That's a truism for life as well as business.How do we adapt our culture to a world that has, potentially, changed forever? How do we need to lead people differently to get the best out of them in this new world? We'll never go back to how it was 15 months ago. Use HR expertise to advise, in terms of how to handle things sensitively and the terms and conditions because it's going to be choppy waters to navigate through to deal with people's anxieties and the few people who are using it as an excuse. We are fundamentally quite tribal people and we like having leaders, rather than being solitary creatures. Even if you plan to have your staff working from home for good, have a physical meeting with them all at least once a month, bring everybody together. Start thinking about a social event in the second half of the year and perhaps make it a more regular thing. Think about how you're going to employ people, because they won't be able to get a feel for the role as they won't see a busy office and may not feel a part of a team.Companies need to remember that one of the things that retains people is that they have friends that they've made in the company, not just colleagues and the longer they're at a company the more friends they make and the less likely they are to leave. Keep wellbeing practices up, we're social creatures and it's risky not to take that on board. BEST MOMENTS‘Some companies have had a rougher time than others, but now's a good time to stand back and see it's a different climate out there, where are you going to take you business?'‘Recalibration could lead you back to the same place, but there could be some really important shifts in thinking and strategy.‘We have to appreciate that people's anxiety levels are all different. Leaders need to be sensitive to that fact. There needs to be a sensitivity, but a line has to be drawn.'‘Zoom has been amazing for communication, but you miss certain subtleties in body language and energy that's there in the room. Perhaps, going forwards, it makes sense to have an initial sales meeting over Zoom to assess whether it's worth sending salespeople across the country.'‘People, for the most part can be trusted to get on a do the things they need to do and balance their work. But we need to be careful that it doesn't swing too far the other way permanently.' VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected]  GUEST RESOURCESTony Brooks is a leadership psychologist with over 14 years experience working within the SME sector. Through his work as a motivational speaker and trainer, he has an enviable record of significantly raising the performance of leaders and their people, delivering sustained profitable growth and positive company culture.He's a speaker on leadership and leadership mindset and he's the author of the book PI Leadership: The 7 Positive Insight Steps To Peak Performance Leadership, which is a practical guide to applying positive techniques to the way we view ourselves, our situations and other people, to achieve greater success and fulfilment.Website: https://theleadershiptrainingworkshop.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybrooks63/?originalSubdomain=uk Podcast: https://thetonybrooks.com/podcast-episodes/  ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change. CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is joined by David Taylor and Clair Carpenter, the co-authors of the book ‘BLISS: How to Be Truly Happy For the Rest of Your Life', to talk about happiness.David and Clair come at the world from very different points of view, David sees it through the lens of possibility, potential and purpose, Clair sees it through the rigour of science and robust research. But, both are looking for what we should be focussing on to find happiness. KEY TAKEAWAYSIt's time to put aside people's differences on psychology and psychiatry and focus on find out what works for individual people. The biggest parallel virus to Covid is mental health and we're absolutely dedicated to getting people to living the rest of their lives pretty happy.Western schooling systems are all set up to test you against a completely fictional thing that you're meant to have achieved and then you're made to focus on the bits you're not so good at. This entire way that our society is engendered and hard wired impacts the way individuals see things, and it filters into science and psychiatry. There's nothing ‘wrong' with individuals you're trying to ‘fix', it's all about playing to their strengths.We judge things from our experience, education and imagination and because we don't immediately remember everything that's happened in our lives, imagination plays a big part, and if there's a 50/50 leaning on something we tend to lean to the negativity for the protection of ourselves. It's very difficult to switch it the other way, but Clair has given a working EMBR (event, meaning, behaviour, reaction) model that gives a level playing field for real life, real people in real life situations that they can apply a gap of infinite possibility: is this definition you're giving going to help you and other people, or is it not?When we feel in the thick of a very powerful emotion, sometimes we become that emotion, rather than feel it, acknowledge it, put it to one side and take a step back and time to breathe. What if it didn't have this meaning? What if I could interpret id differently? What if I stepped into somebody else's shoes and saw this information from a different point of view? I thin those two things can really help recast and reattribute meaning.What we've all learned through lockdown is the magic of human connection, and we've all been missing that. It's enabled me to get to a point where I really value that rather than take it for granted. Rather than looking back over the last 18 months and thing “haven't I missed a lot?”, I'm coming forward from today and thinking “I've really gained a lot”. The mind is everything, what you think you do become. BEST MOMENTS‘Psychology is a lot of the answer that we can make life extremely happy and blissful.'‘No event has any meaning other than the meaning you choose to give it.'‘One of the most powerful questions we can ask ourselves if “what if?” Go and make a cup of tea.'‘If you address the happiness of those who need help first, that's when other things happen, especially in corporate environments.'‘We achieve success every single day, if people recorded their successes from the moment the woke up, you'd get into an abundance mindset. Celebrate everything you do.' VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected]  GUEST RESOURCESClair Carpenter is the founder of The Naked Psychologist, and main psychology adviser to Naked Leader, stripping away the hype, jargon and mystery from behavioural science.Her clients include Amex, CGI, IBM and Google. She is a Harvard qualified Psychologist and visiting Professor of Psychology and Leadership at Ulster University Business School, applying her learning, experience and skills to ensure that people actively choose to do what their organisations really need them to do. Clair has delivered breakthrough results in senior roles for blue chip organisations including EDF Energy, BUPA, HSBC and Bank of America to perform, transform and thrive under the auspices of Cultural Transformation, Business Strategy, Leadership Effectiveness and Talent Development.https://thenakedpsychologist.com/ David Taylor is the founder of Naked Leader, a group of Independent Business Coaches, supported by Academic/Behavioural Psychologists, Research and ‘C' level Advisors. He works with top leaders around the world, including the CEOs from Ford, Veolia and NHS Blood and Transplant. He is the Business Ambassador for The Princes Trust, has written 5 best-selling books in over 30 languages and over 300,000 people have attended one of his events, across over 50 countries,https://www.nakedleader.com/ https://www.thorlhome.com/Social media: @nakedleaderBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLISS-Truly-Happy-Rest-Your/dp/9692293424 So much of Mental Health focuses on what is 'wrong' with us - Bliss does the very opposite, and focuses on what is 'right' with us, as Human Beings, regardless of how we may be feeling at the moment. With this 'Mental Wellness' as its base, Bliss provides powerful, practical and proven ways to true happiness. These can be applied straight away, with very fast results, that work with everyone. Co-written by David Taylor, author of The Naked Leader series of best-selling books, and Harvard psychology post-graduate Clair Carpenter - aka 'The Naked Psychologist', 'Bliss' is a combination of real-life tools, tips and techniques, backed up by science, research and academic references. It will help anyone who reads it move closer to happiness. ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change. CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is joined by psychiatrist, Manuel Astruc to talk about how to identify the signs of burnout, how to address and turn around from experiencing burnout and the antidote to burnout. Manuel share his own experiences and those of countless clients that he's worked with. KEY TAKEAWAYS12 years ago I found that something had to change in my life. I was experiencing burnout after my twin sister passed away. Even though I was healthy and my business was doing fine, I was miserable and I made a decision then to enjoy the ride no matter what which has led to a lot of changes over the years to get me where I am today. There were some things that happened immediately: 1) Committing to stop wallowing in my negative thinking. 2) Turning away from things that were negative in my life like the news, listening to sports radio and began listening to podcasts and audiobooks that helped me learn and grow. 3) Changes to what I ate – I changed my breakfast from bagels to smoothies. 4) Started exercising – minutes a day that was sustainable and I built it out as I created the habit. 5) Sleep was also something I'd been neglecting, so I put in a regime. When burnout starts, it starts small and gets bigger and turns into things that are more than just burnout. The early signs are unrelenting exhaustion, cynicism/bitterness, starting to feel like you're losing effectiveness which intensifies to actually losing your effectiveness at work.The roadblock in my head, with growing my practice was hiring other people. In my head that was adding drama, complexity and an additional source of frustration. But it was suggested to me; what if you employ people that you get on with and are good at their job? That one question removed that roadblock. When we give ourselves uninterrupted time off, where you don't connect with work, it starts a virtuous cycle where we get renewed, refreshed, more creative, more focussed when we come back, we have more energy. If you don't know what to do with your time off you should build a structure of what you're going to do – that's not work.  BEST MOMENTS‘Even though I help others. I had to take a good, hard look at myself – what I was thinking and doing with my life.'‘Success was supposed to lead to happiness, but when I got there every day just looked like a treadmill.'‘We can use 3 key phrases to help ourselves and others when they're having a hard time, emotionally: There is hope, change is possible, and you don't have to be alone.'‘What areas of your life are you still enjoying? Come up with 30-40 things that light you up. This will get you out of the mindset of cynicism.'‘Success doesn't create success, happiness drives success.' VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected]  GUEST RESOURCESAfter seeing the change that consciously making an effort to embrace the journey and block out negativity made his own life, Manuel Astruc knew he needed to share the knowledge he had with others. Manuel started ‘Your Next Act' to help high-achieving entrepreneurs find the mental strength to not just survive their ventures, but thrive.Manuel has been working as a psychiatrist for over 20 years, the last 15 years in his private practice in general psychiatry. He also works in the addictions field as the medical director of Saratoga County Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services. Manuel has previously worked as the medical director of the Saratoga Hospital Mental Health Unit.https://manuelastruc.com/ ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change.  CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is joined by Hannah Williams to discuss generational differences, specifically about how employers/business owners/managers can engage with Generation Z to get the most talent and benefit from them.KEY TAKEAWAYSMy dad was an entrepreneur ever since I can remember, 10 years ago at 12-years-old I went out with him to pick up the rent, he handed me his phone and asked me to close a deal on a duplex. It broke and rebuilt my self-confidence pretty quickly. He allowed me to enrol in online university at 14, I graduated at 18 with an international business degree. It just shows that you don't need to take the standard educational route.There is a massive misunderstanding between Millennials and Gen Z-ers and where they differ and companies  are spending billions on recruiting and retention efforts on Gen Z that are millennial-based practices, and they're wondering why they're not working. So, I used this as an opportunity to help companies shift gears to become viable for the future, being proactive instead of reactive.5 key differences between Millennials: 1) Pragmatism vs idealism. 2) Gen Z may be tech natives but we're not tech lovers. 3) Gen Z is more open to non-traditional education pathways than Millennials were. 4) Gen Z is much more loyal when it comes to companies. 5) Gen Z focusses on individualism over teamwork, which has pros and cons that leaders of Gen Z need to be aware of.Companies looking to attract Gen Z are going to have to do a lot of thinking and research on shifting their benefits and messaging to show Gen Z-ers that we care about their long-term stay with the company and their life habits.Leaders need to think about recruitment as creating talent instead of just recruiting talent. Instead of hiring college degree applicants, hire straight out of high school and develop skills-based training programmes in your company. This will be much more attractive and instil loyalty, especially when you're saving them thousands on a college degree. BEST MOMENTS‘The world is not an easy place: You have to work for things and work hard.'‘Gen Z was born between around 1995 and 2012, if you're 25 or younger this year you're a Gen Z. Millennials were born between 1980 and 1995.'‘A lot of differences comes down to parenting, Millennials were told to think of the world as an open space for them to accomplish anything they wanted. Gen Z was instilled with the idea that hard work is necessary to get where you want to go.'‘Gen Z-ers will be very sceptical and point out when companies are not walking the walk and talking the talk.'‘NarcisStory: Gen Z's reputation is manifested through its actions, fashion choices, habits, work and personal decisions they make.'VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected] GUEST RESOURCESHannah Williams is the author of ‘A Leader's Guide to Unlocking Gen Z', in which she answers these questions:- Who is Gen Z . . . and why do you need to know?- What is the “NarcisStory” and why must leaders understand it to effectively recruit, retain, and communicate with Gen Z?- What do HR executives, recruiters, business owners, and forward-thinking managers need to do to remain relevant?- What are simple steps leaders and companies can take with Gen Z to unlock their potential?https://www.hannahgwilliams.com/ ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change. CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gavin interviews Akhtar Khan, successful business investor, property entrepreneur whose mission is a commitment in supporting others to build wealth through property and business so they can live life on their terms. Akhtar talks about his journey from a difficult childhood to a successful career and property portfolio allowing him to retire at the age of 37 and concentrate on guiding others towards their financial goals.KEY TAKEAWAYSAkhtar grew up in a challenging environment where his parents split up when he was 5 years of age. He was the eldest of 5 children in a single parent family.This left him with trauma and self confidence problems which caused him to go off the rails. He was expelled from his grammar school and got in with a bad crowd and ended up in a string of low paid jobs but eventually became a DJ. Eventually he became involved in recreational drug use.Eventually, feeling at a dead end, Akhtar moved out of home and moved into his own one bedroom flat in South London. He got to know his landlord and asked him how, at his age, he became a property owner. This is how he learned about becoming a property investor and how to use his money to build a property portfolio. It took ten years for him to finally overcome his self doubt and take the plunge.After meeting a business coach in passing who recognised his ability and skills Akhtar gained the confidence to move forward. He started selling training packages to corporations which allowed him to recognise his own talents and begin to develop them and to address his self sabotaging behaviours.Learning Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Hypnotherapy allowed him to see patterns of behaviour in himself and other people. There are phases of implementation of change. The first is Euphoria ; the exciting phase of discovering a new goal. At this point you have confidence but you are lacking knowledge. The second phase is Epiphany ; when you realise its not as easy as you thought and you lose that confidence. At this point you may experience  past trauma emergence. The third phase is Evolution phase ; when you realise you have to change your patterns of behaviour into a new comfort zone. Self examination is crucial. We need to find someone we can really confide in on how things are really progressing. Entrepreneur's tend to only want to share their successes with the world but this does not benefit moving through difficult times, past trauma and blocks to your progress. Be it a friend or business coach it pays to have someone there who you can really express your difficulties to.Understanding that your motivation must change from a “should do” to a “must do” to achieve is of utmost importance. Try to to pin point the results of not achieving your goals to fully power your efforts. Once you understand consequences you are less likely to fail. BEST MOMENTS‘When it came to doing stuff I'd procrastinate. I'd talk myself out of it. I'd think “what if it goes wrong?”'‘You have to find one person with who you can be honest. It could be a mentor or friend, someone you can confide in..'‘I got to a point where I realised my life isn't working, this isn't getting any better.'‘It's too easy for us as entrepreneurs to want to hide and only show the world when we've smashed it out of the park when behind closed doors we have challenges and its not going so well.'‘Sometimes you have to have a bigger reason than yourself and if you don't have that big enough reason you not going to be motivated to push through that resistance.'VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected] GUEST RESOURCESAkhtar Khan is a successful entrepreneur, business and property investor. Through careful and targeted investment Akhtar was able to retire form work at the young age of 37. He now mentors others on how to achieve the same results through his coaching and mentoring organisation Reaching Excellence LTD. He is author of the book “The Code of Reaching Excellence” and contributed to the book “Play the Game ; How to Win in Todays Changing Environment”. LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/akhtarkhanpropertyProperty https://www.akhtarkhanproperty.co.uk/Coaching and Mentoring https://www.reachingexcellence.com/Book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Play-Game-Todays-Changing-Environment/dp/1784529532/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2IL6LEPOKAXTL&keywords=play+the+game&qid=1639520819&s=books&sprefix=Play+the+game%2Caps%2C160&sr=1-1You Tube https://www.youtube.com/c/ReachingExcellence ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change. CONTACT METHODS• Website: www.gavinpreston.com • LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1 • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/ • Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Gavin talks to psychiatrist Dr David Lee on the relevance of quality sleep to the operation of business. The importance of sleep is widely acknowledged currently so Gavin and Dr Lee talk about  ways to improve your sleep pattern to best support you during your work day. They have a fascinating discussion on  the biology and psychology of sleep, the effects of deprivation and over sleeping and the importance of routine. KEY TAKEAWAYSDr Lee has seen sleep problems double since the beginning of the lockdown due to anxiety, work life balance from home working being disrupted and routine changes. These present as problems going to sleep, problems staying asleep or waking up too early. Executives have problems turning off their thought processes to relax and tend to be older so often suffer from broken sleep. An easy fix can often be not drinking as much in the evening to cut down on being woken up repeatedly by bladder urges. Find other ways of relaxing other than alcohol.The often repeated adage of requiring 8 hours of sleep is a myth. Most adults require between 6 and 9  hours. People will intuitively know if the are a “lark” or an “owl” so you should consider allowing work around this requirement especially when it involves shift work.Anything that is a stimulant, i.e. blue screen work, alcohol, caffeine, exercise etc should be avoided in the few hours before sleep. You could you mindfulness or meditation techniques can assist with this wind down time. Usually Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI) is recommended by the NHS which capitalises on these positive behaviours for sleep while discouraging negative habits which block sleep. Sleeping tablets are limited to 3 months use as they are habit forming.Power naps can be useful in extreme situations for achieving your required sleep but they are not ideal as we seem to function more efficiently with solid blocks of rest. Napping is useful for children below 3 years of age, older people with dementia and brain injury patients but not so useful for busy executives. If you feel you need to nap during the day this means you're probably not achieving quality sleep at night. Exposure to daylight builds up melatonin on your pineal gland. When the light fades this is released making you feel sleepy. This is why a day out on a bright day can often seem tiring. Go outside on your lunch break and get yourself some melatonin! Electronic gadgets like fitbits and sleep apps tend to provide false information to you and mess with your sleep pattern. They make your quest for sleep pressured when it should be left alone and relaxed. BEST MOMENTS‘We cycle between REM and non REM sleep perhaps four or five times during a night. Alcohol will knock off the REM sleep and the deep non REM sleep so we spend more time in light non REM sleep which isn't that helpful for us.'‘Really important to have a good routine, one that works for you if you're “larky” or “owly” and then stick to it.'‘It's about doing a decent assessment at the beginning of it to chose the different tools within the CBTI toolkit according to what that person is going to need.'‘One night of sleep deprivation is thought to be the equivalent of 8 pints of beer.'‘In order to be really functional you need to get the right amount for you every night regardless of what else is going on.'‘Good sleep requires…nothing. The more help you try and give it the more it runs away from you.'VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected] GUEST RESOURCESDr David Lee is a biologist turned psychologist and chartered psychiatrist. He is is Clinical Director at Sleep Unlimited who provide specialist training, assessments and treatment promoting the health, wellbeing and safety  of individuals and employees. They also train professionals in the application of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia. Dr Lee was educated at Loughborough University and has a PhD in Sleep Psychology and has lectured at Newcastle university. He is author of “Teaching the World to Sleep” a book about assessing and treating insomnia for sufferers and practitioners . LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dr-david-lee-780b0472Clinical director at https://sleepunlimited.co.uk/Book available on www.Amazon.co.uk ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change. CONTACT METHODS• Website: www.gavinpreston.com • LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1 • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/ • Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the second episode of season two of The Business Mastermind Podcast, Gavin is again joined by Melanie Lee to further discuss the return to business after the pandemic. They talk about how you can make your team feel secure in a safe space, how you can engage with them to convey any changes in pace or operation and also how you can deal with non compliant individuals who refuse to return to work or fully reintegrate into your organisation. Gavin and Mel discuss psychological concepts that can be applied to your team building and processes to comfortably welcome and support your people. KEY TAKEAWAYSYou may not have teams that are as focused and motivated as you are upon your return. Don't be tempted to jump into conversation about any problems with their processes or working practices that you may have at this stage. Acknowledge your shared experiences of the lockdown together to receive the response you require in the long run.We will feel we are doing the best job we possibly can if two conditions are met. The first is that we feel we are working towards  life goal we feel unrestricted and  we have had a productive use of time. The second is it enjoyable and fun? We will put a huge amount of effort in if we feel it encompasses our personal values and goals and if it's fun and enjoyable. Make it clear to your team what their contribution adds to the delivery of the outcome. Offer praise individually to your team members, group affirmations are often meaningless as they can be perceived as disingenuous.Use celebration events to effectively bond your team. As leaders we can often forge ahead and lose sight of the people supporting us. When a goal is met it is good to use that success adrenaline to reinforce your gratitude for their effort and to cement their value and place in your organisation.When meeting with team members try to have in mind what your intention is in that meeting and keep that line throughout. To achieve this adopt a second person viewpoint and be aware of everyone's reactions and motivations to get a more rounded viewpoint of the trajectory of the conversation. Without people in your business with trust in each other, having open and candid adult conversations you are never going to be able to sustain profitable growth and momentum. Maintain your interpersonal skills to facilitate honest communication. Be aware of the capacity of individuals attentions and their past traumas to map out the psychological map of your team.  BEST MOMENTS‘Let's give some space and acknowledgement to what a year it's been; “What's it been like for you?”.'‘If you want to change a behaviour, punishing it is just simply less effective.'‘This is part of what the adrenaline of celebration is about, keeping that connection with your team.'‘Come from an assertive place. Say “I'm noticing this, how are you doing, lets see what just happened here.'‘If you label a conversation difficult before you start it is going to be difficult.' VALUABLE RESOURCESThe Business Mastermind PodcastTo get 20% off at Knowable, go to www.knowable.fyi and enter the code GAVINGet your copy of Survive And Thrive NOW at https://www.surviveandthrive.cc Keep Your Boat Afloat – https://survivetothrive.biz/[email protected]  GUEST RESOURCESMelanie Lee is an experienced Clinical Psychologist, CAT (Cognitive Analytic Therapy) Practitioner and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) therapist with a passion for integrating the mind and the body and working with repeating relationship patterns in therapy. Melanie specialises in building trusting relationships with adults who have experienced complicated psychological traumas, as well as those suffering with pain and long-term health conditions, to offer hope in a better future. In addition to offering one-to-one therapy, Melanie enjoys working collaboratively with her colleagues to create innovative team approaches to client care, alongside her experiences in teaching, training and supervising others in psychological approaches. Melanie has published her clinical psychology doctoral work and co-authored two book chapters within the area of therapist learning and development. Melanie loves to inspire others to believe in themselves, live their best lives and dream big.  https://trustpsychology.co.uk/ https://trustpainmanagement.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-melanie-lee-819865158/  ABOUT THE HOSTGavin PrestonGavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach.  He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating the creative strategies to accelerate growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue chip corporates over the last 20 years.Gavin's energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change.  CONTACT METHODSWebsite: www.gavinpreston.comLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinpreston/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gavinpreston1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GavinPrestonGrowthStrategies/Twitter: @gavinpreston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.