Entering the Dragons Den – Prepare yourself for world domination

Entering the Dragons’ Den. Something perhaps similar to entering the world of work. Why do I call it the Dragon’s Den. Well I guess because, if you are not sufficiently prepared, you may risk getting your eyebrows signed.

People can be awesome, amazing and open doors. And people can be judgemental, confrontational and close doors. The question is what do you do? Who do you listen to? And what advice to you need to seek to enable you to achieve what you want to achieve?

Well if you aren’t clear where you want to go, you are likely to be stuck at the first gate or junction of choice.

The TV program of the same name in the UK, called Shark Tank in Australia and other things elsewhere is a wonderful lens through which to learn from the knowledge, skills and experience of others who been there and done that. They know what works and why and they also know, from first hand experience, what does not work – they done it and it hurt!

So whose going to help you? Whose in your Dragon’s Den? Whose your panel of experts on whose advice you can draw, on whom your seek feedback on your ideas for your future?

I like the idea of pitching for success. The world is obsessed with paper. Sadly that applies to schools too. However pitching is key. After all that is what interviews are all about. You are pitching yourself at the ideal candidate for the post. Often this is where the interview process falls down. The pitch is flawed for one reason or another – the wrong questions are asked or the answers not fully explored to validate what information is being provided.

So what are you selling? The more aware you become, both in terms of who you are, what motivates you and what skills, knowledge and experience you can offer – the more respected you are likely to be by others. Invest in yourself. Learn the art of communication, understand in detail how you work and others work in terms of how people think, how people feel and how people act and you feel become a person of influence in the world in which you live.

The Carpenter: a story about the greatest success strategies of all

by Jon Gordon

“I love it!” exclaimed the carpenter, “And now you must do the same thing with your life. Now you must ask yourself these questions: What does it look like when you are at your healthiest, strongest, and best? What does your family situation look like while you are pursuing success in your work? Are you ignoring the people you love the most or making more time for them? What matters most? What priorities drive you each day? What are you doing that makes you come alive? What are you doing to live and share your purpose? When you look back on your life what do you want to be able to say about it? How do you want ot feel? What will you have wanted to accomplish? What legacy will you have left? Years from now people will be telling stories about you, and you must ask yourself what kind of stories you want them to tell. Powerful questions like these help you design and create a great life.”