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There are a hundred different circumstances that could kick start a business, planned or by chance. But the internal discipline is what sets successful and thriving businesses apart from the rest.
This is the discipline that Gene Hammett, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Core Elevation and Leadership Columnist at Inc. Magazine, lives by. Gene believes in investing time and effort in looking inwardly and reflecting on our own thoughts and actions to yield game-changing outward results.
These are his three fundamental principles:
Reflect deeply
Often overlooked, the habit of reflecting deeply is a crucial first step for success. For Gene, this habit helps grow businesses because it lets you appreciate your achievements, and helps you not to lose your vision and be blindsided with problems. As a coach to many successful leaders of companies, Gene has witnessed countless of times how these people – creators and visionaries – get held back by themselves.
A lot of people say you’ve got to take action, take action, take action. But I think we've got to think before we move, because we want to make sure we're moving in the right direction. – Gene Hammett.
The key to reflecting deeply is looking at the vision you want to create as you move forward. But this is more than crafting the goals you want to achieve at a given time. This is having a clear vision that you have for your life – what impact do you want to make? If this vision is clear, you can start looking at the milestones along the way. You’ll be certain you’re on the right track.
Deep reflection yields a clear, real vision. And this can be a powerful, decisive force that’ll pull you toward the life you want.
Get intentional
You can transform your vision into meaningful action by showing up as your best in everything you do. And this is being intentional.
Gene says that the guide to getting intentional is asking yourself, “Who do you need to be to create the success you want?” You’re now taking on a clear role in order to achieve your vision. When you know your role, you’ll know the personal goals you have for yourself. And this will lead you to committing to the intricate process you have to go through in order to achieve your vision successfully.
By being intentional, you’re giving yourself an advantage because you’ll always know what to do next, no matter what your goal is.
Take ownership
Although having great team-players and followers is good for your company’s growth, meeting shared goals poses a few challenges. And the remedy doesn’t always entail assigning bigger responsibilities or more tasks for everyone. It means having people take ownership.
You're going to own any challenges that come in the way. You're going to own everything it takes to get to that goal. Unless you're willing to take on it, you're going to really struggle to make that happen for you. No excuses, no blaming others. – Gene Hammett.
We often get stuck because it’s easier to put the blame on others and on circumstances. This could easily fall on the pattern of victimhood. And if you keep on blaming anyone else, you’re giving them full control of handling and fixing it.
To take ownership of your goals, you’ll need to own the process, including the challenges and struggles that you’ll encounter. Stop blaming and handing everything to the external, make decisions, and take ownership every step of the way.
Taking ownership comes from the preceding principles of reflecting deeply and getting intentional. It all starts with knowing who you are, where you’re going and what’s keeping you from achieving it. This should help you get intentional. This’ll guide you to identify your personal goals and go through the process of development in order to meet them. For Gene, the internal really is a powerful force.
