inspiring business people

The Power Of Small

10th June 2015 by VParmar Leave a Comment

Last week I finally managed to cross a long time goal off my bucket list, when I took the skies in a plane.

I’m sure most people reading this will have had some kind of experience of flying on a jumbo jet but let me tell you being up there in a two seater semi acrobatic plane is a completely different experience.

It’s both exhilarating and a little terrifying at the same time. I mean, there just a few inches of plastic and fibre glass holding us up in the open air!

Whilst up in the clouds getting used the flight controls, my instructor asked me to turn the plane to the right and that’s when something happened that I wasn’t quiet expecting.

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Let’s Be Walking In Lads!

26th May 2015 by VParmar Leave a Comment

Last week I was at Lord’s Cricket ground to watch England take on New Zealand.

It was the second day of a five day test match and things were hanging in the balance as the New Zealand team looked to be in moving into the ascendancy. Just then a chance came for a catch to one of the England fielders but it wasn’t taken and for the next few hours the England’s players watched while the batsman from New Zealand scored runs with relative ease.

It was at that moment that I remembered the voice of Jim Clarke, the ginger haired captain of Earlswood Cricket Club, the team I played for as a teenager.

‘Hands out of your pockets lad and let’s be walking in’ he’d shout just before the bowler ran in to try and remove the opposition batsman.

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Business Networking – What’s in it for me?

10th April 2015 by VParmar Leave a Comment

A few years ago I was sat in a breakfast networking meeting along with about 30 other local business people.

Part of the meeting involved each person giving a 60 second introduction to the rest of the group. As I waited for my turn I carefully planned what I should say and rehearsed quietly under my breath.

It was almost my turn.

The guy ahead of me stood up, opened his mouth and what he said horrified me.

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8 Hacks For Keeping Focused and Productive

12th January 2015 by VParmar 1 Comment

So you’ve set yourself some big goals this year and now it’s time to take action, right?

How do you make sure you don’t crash and burn?

Here are 8 brain hacks to help you stay motivated, focused and more productive in 2015.

#1 Remember why you got started in the first place.

You started this journey for a reason.

That reason was so important and so compelling to you, that it drove you to take risks and make decisions that others wouldn’t dream of.

Your body was tingly with a sense of purpose, the feeling of excitement and you were fully motivated – remember that?

The trouble with motivation is that it can quickly subside when you are faced with obstacles but installing this simple habit will not only keep you going, but will also fuel your resiliency.

Take one sheet of A4 paper and write on it your goal. Underneath write down all the reasons why this is so important for you. Keep it close to your bed.

Every night before you sleep and every morning when you wake, spend a few minutes to read them out aloud to yourself in the mirror

#2 Download Coffitivity.

This is one of my favourite discoveries for 2015 and it’s already making a huge difference to my working day.

It’s a genius little app that plays ambient coffeeshop noise which according to a peer-reviewed study out of the University of Chicago, “is conducive to creative cognition.”

In a nutshell, this means being a tiny bit distracted helps you be more creative!

Whilst I am working I have this playing in the background with my Concentration Music Spotify Playlist and voila I have an instant coffee house feeling in my office!

It is available as an app for your smartphone and also via a desktop site. Check it out here

#3 Recruit An Accountability Buddy

Most poeple hate the thought of letting someone else down, so why not use it to your advantage?

Recruit yourself an accountability buddy. This needs to be someone who you respect enough to accept challenge from and who won’t let you make poor excuses for not getting things done.

Each morning exchange a mini task list via text, email or good old fashioned paper.

As each of you completes a task you let the other know via a message until you have completed your list for the day. After a while a little competitive spirit may creep in and you’ll be surprised at how much you get done.

You can also add in forfeits for not completing tasks for a whole other dimension!

#4 Get 10 Minutes of Meditation

You don’t have to be a Yoga Master or Buddhist Monk and sit for hours in total silence to get the benefit of meditation.

Using a technique called Diaphramtic Breathing you can achieve the benefit of empting your mind, relaxing your body and recharge your brain in just 10 minutes!

Here’s how :

Sit upright in a straight-backed chair and place your hands in your lap.

Allow your shoulders to drop down and relax.

Now, without moving your shoulders or chest, take a slow, deep breath in.

Imagine that there’s a balloon inside your belly. When you breathe in, the balloon expands outward. And when you breathe out, the balloon collapses in toward your spine.

Concentrate on the movement of your belly rising and falling.

#5 Drink More Water

Grabbing a cup of your favourite java might sound like a good idea for perking up a flagging brain but instead go for a glass of water.

Water gives the brain (which is about 85% water) the electrical energy for all functions, including thought and memory processes.

Dr. Corinne Allen, founder of the Advanced Learning and Development Institute, says that brain cells need twice the energy of other cells in the body. Water provides this energy more effectively than any other substance.

When your brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, you will be able to think faster, be more focused, and experience greater clarity and creativity.

#6 Put Some Omega 3 In Your Diet

Pay more attention to what you put in your mouth and you could improve what comes out of your brain.

Foods high in omega 3, such as oily fish (salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines), flax seeds and walnuts are great for improving concentration and motivation as they improve cognitive function, which means they help with the brains ability to think and process.

Keep some nuts or trail mix on your desk for your to snack on and put a little more thought into what goes into your lunch box.

Time to skip that Gregg’s sausage roll!

#7 Get 30 Minutes of Exercise In Every Day

A study in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management concluded that people who exercised during their workday were 23 percent more productive on those days than they were when they didn’t exercise.

Just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise will improve blood circulation and flow to the brain meaning that your thinking becomes clearer and sharper.

Published research found that after doing an easy half-hour bike ride, subjects completed a cognitive test faster than they did before exercising… and just as accurately. On top of that the brain-boosting effect lasted for at least 52 minutes after the ride.

#8 Take Regular Breaks

It might seem couter intuative to getting stuff done but a growing body of evidence shows that taking regular breaks from mental tasks improves productivity and creativity.

Just like any other muscle in your body, when the brain is subjected to long periods of activity it becomes fatigued and needs a rest period before it can recover.

Taking a few minutes break every 30 – 40 minutes to stretch, talk a little walk or simply look away from your screen can help to reenvigorate your thinking power

Do you have super tips for keeping focused and productive? Please share below!

Make Rejection Your Friend and 2015 Could Be Your Best Year Yet.

8th January 2015 by VParmar 3 Comments

OK, so it may sound counter intuitive and you might be thinking that I still have some kind of New Year’s Eve hangover but stay with me on this.

Today, I was chatting to a young entrepreneur who has dreams of setting up a charity. One of the strategies we discussed for her was to identify people who had experience in setting up a charity and reach out to ask for help.

“You have to ask?” she said.

Suddenly her child like excitement was sapped from her body.

I asked her what was wrong and she said “what if they said no?”

I said to her “How will you ever know if you don’t ask?”

In my experience of helping people to improve their results, whether it’s in their business, career or life, here is what I have discovered.

I’ve come to learn that most people who are not achieving the results they want, are not willing to put themselves ‘out there’ or take action for the fear of being rejected.

They are held back by the fear of an investor or a key customer saying “No”

They are paralysed by a fear of being passed over for that big promotion or being ostracised by people around for sharing their ideas.

They procrastinate over the fear of who they might become if they are successful or if they fail.

As a result they choose to play it ‘safe’ locking their dreams, ambitions and ideas deep inside their internal Fort Knox.

Whilst I understand that nobody (including me) likes being rejected, the simple truth is that without exposing yourself to this often painful experience you will never move forward and get what you want.

How can you really achieve greatness if you are not willing to present yourself fully to the world?

I suffered this same fear when I first started writing blogs and recording videos. I’d ask myself “what if people don’t like what I am saying?” or “What if no one watches my videos or responds to my blogs?” Or “What if I say something wrong?”

There is no doubt that the experience of rejection can be crushing but it can also be incredibly positive and powerful.

It’s all a question of perspective.

When somebody says “No” you can either walk away with your tail between your legs or you can choose step back and ask yourself some powerful questions.

It is like using Google. The quality of your results depends on the quality of the search terms.

Most people simply ask “Why?” The trouble with asking ‘why’ is your brain will give you an answer whether it actually knows or not.

Instead try asking yourself questions like “What do I need to learn from this experience to help me get better next time?” or “What do I need to change in order to get the results I want next time?”

The point I am making here is that rejection is part of your refinement. It’s like a testing process.

It’s not a reason to give up and throw in the towel but rather an opportunity to be more innovative, creative and to grow your skills.

The bottom line is that In order to get what you want you have to be prepared to be rejected.

Instead of running away, embrace rejection like a friend and you’ll be surprised at how much more you could learn and achieve.

3 Questions To Help You Find Your Mojo.

1st December 2014 by VParmar Leave a Comment

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you’re starting to question if what you are doing is the right thing?

Maybe you’ve started to wonder if all the time and energy you’ve invested into your career is all really worth it?

When you are going through a tough spell those questions can circulate in your mind, begin to chip away at your motivation and play havoc with your mojo.

I’ve developed 3 questions which have helped me keep hold of my mojo, stay motivated and driven – even in the toughest of times.

Check out the video below for the full low down.

Looking for just the questions?

Here are the 3 which now form part of my daily practice.

How is what I do important to ME?

How is what I do important to the people I LOVE?

How is what I do important to the people I SERVE?

Try these as part of your daily practice to remind yourself of and reconnect to your purpose.