January 11, 2013
Innovative Isolation: How to Reach Your Full Potential by Separating from the Pack
Earlier this week, I was speaking with author and national business mogul Hasheem Francis about how one can prosper in the real world at a relatively young age. He then referenced his book, Built to Prosper, and stated that we were all born to prosper. With much conviction he said young people fail to prosper because they don’t understand the value of separating themselves from their family and friends. “When you separate yourself, it’s easy to become No. 1 in your field,†he added. To realistically achieve this level of influence you must arm yourself with an achievement plan.
Francis went on to detail a 3-step achievement plan:
Step 1: Understand the significance of separation.
When you isolate yourself form everyone else, you can hear your own thoughts and develop the dreamer within you. The dreamer inside of you is screaming for birth, but it can be suppressed by your social environment. Francis encourages you to stop burying your dreams so they can live. This is extremely important for your overall level of happiness and well-being.
Step 2: Develop a growth plan for your period of separation.
Before you develop a plan you must undergo a process where you will have to isolate yourself from physical and mental distractions. It’s vital that you make an internal commitment to develop a personal growth plan during this process and period of separation.
You should intensely study your craft and conduct a self-assessment so you can calculate your talent and skills. Also, write a journal that includes your vision, mission, purpose, and measureable goals. You can dedicate 10 minutes a day to read 10 pages of a developmental book and listen to an empowerment podcast or video on YouTube for about 15 minutes each day to help you with your goals. Furthermore, you must find a mentor that will be in your corner for you while you’re separated from the pack.
Step 3: Set a 90 day timeline and then evaluate your growth.
Similar to performance reviews that your boss conducts with you at work, after a few months you want to evaluate your progress so you can track your personal growth. This will be a lonely period, but it’s an absolute must that you give yourself at least 90 days to grow. Oftentimes, right when you become lonely is when you will experience the most growth if you’re truly committed to discovering how you can prosper.
Francis closed by emphatically stating that knowledge is the number one asset that young professionals can acquire while they are alone. With this simple 3-step achievement plan you can cut your learning curve down tremendously so you can prosper and become one of the top young professionals in your field.
You can connect with Francis by visiting his Facebook page.
Antoine Moss, Ph.D., (@2PositiveTweets) is a nationally recognized resource on internships, early career achievement, leadership and motivation. CEO and founder of CEO Style Consulting L.L.C., Moss empowers professionals and organizations to reach their full potential, and serves as speaker, workshop instructor and consultant. The author of Learn to Intern CEO Style, Moss has been a featured expert on outlets including Fox 8 TV News and George Fraser’s 2011 Power Networking Conference.