Interviewing Kevin Abdulrahman on A Winning Mind

What inspired you to write your motivational books?

I want to make a positive difference in the lives of people by unlocking their true potential. My vision is to inspire people to attain a winning mind. Over the years I always pondered what separated the successful lucky few from the masses? I wanted to know what separated winners from losers. When the majority attributed it to luck and being at the right place at the right time, I knew there was more to it. I was hungry to know the answers and would not back down in my search. I wanted to know what made those select few do well in any chosen aspect of their life, their sport, jobs or business.

Over the years, I realised that life is a game and, unfortunately, there are many who don't know the rules of the game. As a result, many wonder why they are unhappy, unsatisfied and as a result inefficient. This is costing organisations a premium price and on an individual basis, people are paying the ultimate price - their life.

My findings were then distilled into what I refer to as Secret Weapons in my books.

What are the major factors that stop people from getting what they want?

Along with complacency, fear and limiting beliefs, the challenge I find with most people is not in the lack of knowledge, but their application of knowledge. Just because you have learnt new information does not result in you seeing changes. You must start applying the information diligently, i.e. you take action.

The world we live in is a world that is constantly evolving. If you are not evolving your mind in a winning way, being open to change, accepting it and adapting to it, then you will be left behind. Period.

When I ask most people 'what do you see with?' The majority respond with the simple answer, 'my eyes'. Yet the reality is that we don't see with our eyes. We see through our eyes. What we see with is our mind. The obstacle to overcome is the realisation that it is not what we see, it is how we see it. Once you realise this, you will value the importance of having a winning mind.

What kind of nutrition does the mind need to succeed?

No matter who you are, you have a mind, and it constantly needs to be nourished. You feed your body with food, you fill your car with fuel, you clean your clothes on a regular basis, yet most neglect their mind. The reason I call it mind nutrition is because that is exactly what is needed, nourishment to turn an ordinary mind into what I call a winning mind.

Success is a result of your actions. Your actions are the results of the constant choices you make. The choices you make are the results of the thoughts you have. The thoughts you have stem from the quality of mind you possess. That quality depends greatly on how well nourished it is. The majority of people want to jump straight to attaining success but forget to nourish their mind. To achieve success in life, whatever it means to you on a personal or professional basis, you need to seek to attain a winning mind.

How does your work help businesses and individuals?

Imagine being able to have a workforce where your people are not sitting around waiting for the next command. Imagine being able to have a workforce that is made up of leaders who lead from within, have a vision aligned with your organisation, make decisions when needed and take accountability for what they do. Imagine a work force void of blame, denial and excuses. As a manager or CEO, how much would that be worth to you?

At a time of crisis, I see a great deal of raw talent in the Middle East that would benefit immensely from working on attaining a winning mind. The organisations and individuals who will embrace it will become the champions of tomorrow. When everyone is going for cover, those individuals and organisations that posses a winning mind will rise above the rest. They will be able to shift smartly, smoothly, sooner and with much greater confidence. They will be the ones ready to enjoy the fruits of an upturn. Any winning organisation knows that their most important asset is their people. And what is the most important asset for each one of those individuals? It is their mind. Ensuring that the mind of your people is nourished is no longer an option, it is a must. Apart from the financial crisis which inherently affected everyone in some shape or form, we are facing a more horrendous crisis and that is a psychological one.

All we have to do is look at the state of people right now and there you will see the answers. I see and speak to a lot of people on a daily basis. Very few are truly utilising the resources available to them. Most people are fearful. Most people are holding back, most people are not trusting their instinct. Most people are driven by limiting beliefs.

How can you expect to increase your sales? How can you expect to increase leadership? How can you expect to increase productivity and therefore your bottom line without working on the most important asset any organisation has, its people. Embracing a winning mind is not only something that is deemed as a positive social responsibility for organisations, but also one with infinite long-term rewards. If one tip could inspire your team, if one tip could result in a team to take more ownership, if one tip could help align your people with your organisation's vision then again, my question to you is, what is that worth to you as a manager or CEO?

People want change in their lives and are hoping it would come in from the outside.

Change begins from the inside out, it begins in the mind.

So how would you define success?

Success means different things to different people. Success is not a race with anyone; it isabout being the best that you can be. Life is a game and we are playing different games in life. Winning is achieving success in whatever way that is important to you. For some winning is having a successful business, for others it may be their relationships. For some it could be having the job they have always dreamed of, and for others, it is qualifying for the Olympics. Success and winning are measured by each individual based on the values that is of importance to them.

Most people associate winning with the destination they have in mind when in actual fact, winning is a sense of being. Winning is not about arriving at your destination, it is about how you feel today, as you are reading this article. A winning mind never loses, it only learns. So even on the face of it, your business may have been affected by the crisis, you may have just broken up from a long-term relationship, you may have got to the Olympics but did not get a medal or you could have unexpectedly been made redundant. A winning mind learns, moves forward and asks the question, 'Where is the opportunity in this situation?' There is no real loss when you think like a winning mind.

To achieve success, you can learn, understand and apply certain timeless truths. Success is not by chance, it is a science.

In my book Winning The Game Of Life, I share 19 secret weapons that separate successful people from the masses. Most people attribute success to luck. I am a big believer of luck but I do remember a wise man once saying, LUCK stands for Labouring Under Correct Knowledge. Gone are the days when working hard was the answer, we live in a world where you must practise having a winning mind for your results to stand out. Those with a winning mind will stand the test of time.

Kevin's secret weapons' and how to use them

Successful people have an orientation for the outcome. They are result-orientated. Everything is based on results. Not the resources spent on something, not the time taken, not how much energy was put into something. None of that. It is simply all about the results.

Message: Results are everything. What are your results saying about you?

Successful people take control of their life. They don't just take control when the times are good. They take control all the time. If something good happens in their life, they know it is because of their direct efforts and actions. In contrast, if things don't go as planned, they know that the ?nger points only at them.

Message: Take control. Don't let things happen, learn to make it happen.

Although many never plan to fail, they fail to plan the route ahead. They fail to plan their roadmap, their strategy in order to win the game. By failing to plan they have, with complete intention, planned to fail.

Message: The next five years will only be different to the last five years if you plan it.

Constantly learn and grow. Successful people know that they will never know it all. If they were to become complacent, the people around them who are constantly growing would soon overtake them.

Message: Be open to ideas and suggestions from the right people to help advance in the game you are playing. Constantly learn and grow.

Successful people are persistent. The majority of people stop at the early stages of resistance. That's why they stop growing. Successful people understand that if they are not faced with resistance of some sort, then they are not growing. Learn to outlast the resistance.

Message: The only time when you truly fail is if you quit.