My Secret Sauce for Success in Life, Leadership, Business and Beyond.

I usually do the interviewing, questioning and speaking. Whether it's as a moderator for a panel, interviewing on the Lead to Soar podcast, running events and training for the Lead to Soar Network or writing articles.

Occasionally, I get asked to share my life story and my secrets to success. I don't think any of these are particularly revolutionary. Still, they have served me well in life, leadership, business and beyond. 

I do hope that my 10 secret sauce steps will be of benefit to you

The Secret Sauce ... in no particular order. 

1. I sleep 8 hours a night, 90% of the time. Stop kidding yourself. You don't need 8 hours of sleep a night. You do. I foolishly told myself for years that 4-6 hours of sleep a night was sufficient. Bollocks. If it was, why did I have to go to bed for a whole weekend of rest at least once a month and get regular coughs, colds, and stomach upsets? I am an 8-hour sleep-per-night convert, and I do not compromise. I'm healthier, happier, more productive and more creative. I'm a bit nicer to be around too! 
2. Reflective practice is a regular habit. The most influential people in the world take time out for reflection. Stop, breathe, reflect is a familiar refrain of mine. I make the time to get off the hamster wheel of life, stop, breathe and reflect. What is going well for me? What could be better? What still serves me? What no longer serves me? What will I do about that? 
3. I know my purpose. "The day you were born isn't the most important day in your life; it's the day you figure out why you were born."  Why were you born? Who are you called to become? Being guided by my higher purpose means I have clarity and decisiveness when I reach crossroads in my life and career. 
4. I have a crack. People have asked me what drives me. I really don't know other than I always had a nagging feeling there was more to life, and I never wanted to be at the end of my life and wondering, 'What if?" Carpe Diem – Seize the Day, or Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained, is a great way to describe my mindset about exploiting opportunities. I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen? So, if it's aligned with my purpose, I have a crack. 
5. I've banned busy: Busy can mean many things and is, unfortunately, part of the everyday vernacular. I do not say I am busy because busy means (to me) being out of control and living someone else's agenda. I lead a deliberately full and fulfilling life meeting the goals linked to my purpose. I'm never busy. 
6. I have an "I Don't" list: My I Don't list helps me to eliminate the word busy from my life. I consider how to accomplish the essential things and align them with my purpose. To achieve and accomplish those things means I have to be able to say no, gracefully and abstain from some activities and opportunities that come my way. I am no superwoman, and I refuse to spread myself so thin that I am doing a whole bunch of things in a mediocre way and, as a result, feel like a constant (busy) failure. 
7. I strive for a growth mindset: I read Carol Dweck's Mindset book, which profoundly affected me. Whilst I like to think that I always lean towards a growth mindset, the reality is that I have a combination of fixed and growth mindset traits. Being conscious of this means that I (mostly) try to adopt the habits and behaviours of a growth mindset person. 
8. Inclusion matters: This one is simple. I genuinely ask myself every single day, "Who have I included today?" it can be as simple as being kind to a stranger, ensuring that people feel welcome and included, not just tolerated in my workplace or home, being more deliberate about the language I use or planning meetings or events that do not exclude anyone. It takes work to live a considerate life, and I could be better. But I am being deliberate about it. 
9. Embrace vulnerability: When I first watched Brené Browns Ted Talk The Power of Vulnerability, it was one of those aha moments. When I learned to drop the armour, I realised that life and leadership can be much more joyous and fulfilling. 
10. No Dickheads Policy: I have a no dickheads policy which includes myself. If you're behaving like a dickhead, I'll call it. If you keep acting like a dickhead, I'll simply walk away. If I'm behaving like a dickhead, I want to be called on it. I've no room for dickhead behaviour in my life or the lives of those I care about. 

So, there you go. The 10 secret sauce steps that help me to try to live a life where I AM being a decent human and NOT being a dickhead!

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