As an individual, you are your greatest asset. Learning to be in control of yourself as well as nurturing and supporting yourself are absolute necessities if you want to become an exceptional CEO in future. You need to be deliberate about training yourself to take on the role of CEO, long before you become one, otherwise you can’t handle what comes with the package. Here are some nuggets to help you take control of your mind, time, choices, networks and life’s storms.
CEO of your Mind
- EMBRACE NEW CHALLENGES – Business set-backs, environmental changes, life’s challenges, difficult relationships are every day scenarios that force you to stretch your mind and ponder through numerous alternatives in order to gain effective solutions or move on defiantly. The more you use these to train your mind, the more your mind gets accustomed to acquiring creative, flexible and focused thinking patterns. If not, you will not be able to handle and overcome the enormous challenges that come with being a CEO.
- FEED YOUR MIND
Your mind needs to be nourished if it is to perform maximally. Feed your mind with relevant information and watch your intelligence soar to levels that will amaze you. How to do this is to read – read – read! Read both information within and outside your scope of expertise. The former broadens your knowledge base while the latter helps you tap into ideas from other fields to incorporate into your area of specialty in ways that make you always stand out from the pack!
- PRACTISE ACTIVE LISTENING – Active listening is listening with your ears, your eyes and your heart. This means not only focusing on what the other person is saying, but also observing body language and discerning the emotions behind the spoken words. This trains your mind to be on high alert and helps you to detect the minutest bits of information often overlooked by others. You need this to be a discerning and shrewd CEO.
- MIND SCANNING – Use your mind to scan your thoughts and imaginations. This enables it filter distractions, junk and obstructions and focus on only relevant and empowering thoughts. To do this, listen to your thoughts, then deliberately delete the negatives while pondering and meditating on the positives. Mind scanning enhances your efficiency and focus as an individual and a leader. As a CEO, you need to be able to focus and perform in the midst of numerous personal and corporate distractions and obstacles. The time to train your mind is now.
- FIXED OBSERVATION – Practice focusing your gaze and mind on an object for 60 seconds. Mentally pick out all the detailed features of the object and see how many you can notice within that short time span. This helps your mind block out all distractions and trains it to fully concentrate on only the essentials. Add this to mind scanning and keep practicing them until they become part of who you are.
