Five Months as CEO: Four Crucial Lessons I’m Learning About Leadership, Business, and Life

It's been almost six months since I became the CEO of I.N.A Hub. Everything I thought I knew about leadership, business, and life has changed dramatically.

I have to say, it has been a rewarding and fascinating journey. I've encountered challenges and learned a lot from them. Leading a young organization is not easy.

Every day, I engage in urgent activities related to growth, such as identifying new business opportunities, boosting sales, fostering team building, and fostering product innovation.

I used to think money, knowledge, and tools were the most essential tools to build a successful organization, but these few months have proved me wrong.

I've met people who had money but failed to achieve their goals. I've met highly educated individuals who can't finish anything. 

You probably know someone with similar qualifications who struggles to use them to get a job, start a business, or even use them in their personal lives. Why? The harsh reality is that learning is easier than putting in practice what you know.

It takes a lot of effort, willpower, and resources to apply knowledge. Here are four lessons that I'm learning.

Execution on your ideas.

Apply what you learn.

Jeff Bezos is the one who said that ideas are useless without execution. Everyone has ideas. Everyone can dream, learn, or copy others. Do you know what makes a difference? It’s the degree to which you apply what you know.

While two people may work on the same idea, their results will differ. Why? Because of execution level. Therefore, the worthlessness and insignificance of any idea you may have becomes apparent unless you implement it.

No matter how much you love something in your mind, heart, and soul, it will never come true unless you pursue it, apply what is necessary, and execute it.

Solution:

• Start small, but implement something you've learned.

• Be a doer.

• Keep your promises.

• Hold yourself accountable.

• Increase urgency and speed.

• Increase your standards and expectations for yourself.

Be disciplined.

They say that discipline is freedom. No one has ever accomplished anything without being consistent. Discipline is conditioning yourself to do one thing for a long time in any condition.

It is the ability to make yourself do what you love even when you don’t feel like it. It’s the ability to remain in the game even after the tournament.

It’s the ability to remain hungry and thirsty for excellence even when you’ve reached your limits. It's the ability to remain curious and persistent even when everyone else is resting and has lowered their guards.

Discipline is the system that enables you to maintain what you’re executing. Execution without discipline leads to chaos, distractions, and procrastination. You will lose track of your goals if you don’t have discipline.

Discipline is about having a routine, a daily action plan that keeps your eyes on the target. A lot of people will start, but only a few will finish based on their discipline. 

Character is the most important asset you need.

Leading people and growing an organization will bring out the worst in you. Whether you like it or not.

If you have consistently worked on your character and ensured there are no hidden skeletons in your closet, you are fortunate.

Sooner or later, these secrets will surface unexpectedly. Life without character is like building a castle only to overlook the subtle mold that could eventually bring it crumbling down.

Continuously strive for personal growth.

Average college students learn ideas once. The best college students re-learn ideas over and over. Average employees write emails once. Elite novelists re-write chapters again and again. Average fitness enthusiasts mindlessly follow the same workout routine each week. The best athletes actively critique each repetition and constantly improve their technique. It is the revision that matters most. ~James Clear

No matter what you do in life, you should always grow. Always invest in yourself. Invest in your physical health, mental health, knowledge, emotional well-being, social interactions, and more. Those who don’t grow become stagnant and die. We were not created to sit, relax, and expect to grow.

Your health, wisdom, skills, finances, and purpose are a reflection of your growth.

As John C. Maxwell puts it, growth is intentional. It is not automatic. Aging and death are the only things in life that are automatic.

Solution:

• Have a growth plan: A Book you read per month, a podcast you listen to, etc...

• Create a budget for your expansion.

• Read personal growth books about psychology, money, and higher purpose.

• Have a daily workout routine.

• Make it your life's mission to be physically, mentally, and emotionally fit.

Thank you for reading. What lessons are you currently learning?