How to Redefine Success to Get Better at Achieving Results

We’re on the edge of a seismic shift in the world of entrepreneurism. The new is rapidly replacing the old, so innovative ideas need to come thick and fast in order to keep up. 

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Rob Christie on the Bond Appetit podcast. Rob is founder of the shared office and co-working space company Christie Spaces. He’s a quick thinker and prolific creative, and his approach to getting the right idea is pretty revolutionary.  

Define Your Success Like a Millennial 

I think it’s fair to say that success looks different to everyone, but when I approached Rob with the question, “What does success look like to you?” The reply wasn’t something I was expecting. 

Rob begins by explaining that for some time now, he’s been looking outwardly and observing how millennials are defining success. For him, the results are quite intriguing. As it stands, the newer generations are rating their overall success based upon their experiences rather than material goods or objects.

“What anyone over 40 did, and still does, is they rate their success quite often based on objects,” cars, houses, furnishings – that type of thing. 

There is a whiff of social media hanging around this point though, and as Rob points out, it plays a strong hand in this modern shift. “The difference with social media today is you’re seeing people you know.” A stark contrast to the previously influential, yet untouchable celebrities we would see in the magazines of yesteryear. 

While many of us would love to be in their Jimmy Choos, the faces we’re seeing in our individual social media feeds are the ones personally connected to us in some way. Therefore, when they are posting – not always truthful – snippets of their travels, successes and fun filled daily lives, we strive to emulate that and imprint those types of values onto our own successes, swapping the nice car for a “Instagramable” trip to the Bahamas. 

Expand Your Ideas by Broadening Your Exposure

New ideas are the crucial ingredient for achieving greater success in the modern working world. However, certain markets have become flooded with similar concepts and products. Just like a writer contending with writer’s block, coming up with a fresh business idea isn’t always easy. 

Rob suggests becoming more exposed. We’re not talking about dropping your trousers and walking down the high street here, but mingling within other business circles to build upon ideas.  “The more exposure you’ve got to different thoughts, different views, different people, the more likely you’re going to get better ideas, you’re going to get a better outcome.” 

Not only does this allow you to evaluate your ideas based on other’s opinions, but you’re kept within the loop of the innovative trends within industry today. “The less contact, the less open you are to new ideas, the more you’re going to be left behind.” So, stay ahead and keep the ideas flowing. 

Improve Results by Switching Working Environments

Our work spaces are important in dictating successful outcomes. Rob is the king of co-working space, and he understands that people tend to thrive when there is connectivity and an element of social interaction. “That’s important too, because we are social beings, and particularly if you’re a smaller company, do you want to operate in isolation. No,” he explains. 

“You’ve got the possibility of – or an increased possibility of – meeting someone that is interesting, or learning something, or getting a client that you wouldn’t have got, or just seeing the world differently. As in, the ability to see more clearly what’s happening because you’re getting more information, you’re getting more neuro-connections, if you like,” Rob says. 

In the neuroscientific world, it’s what’s known as ‘novel learning’ or exposure to and learning from new experiences and environments. Increasing your overall interconnectedness that introduces new concepts, gets the ol’ synapses firing, “The more neuro-connections you’ve got, the greater the ability you’ve got to understand things.”

The definition of success lies in your hands, where you place your values is essentially up to you. To bring about a greater sense of success it may be wise to expose yourself to unique thoughts and views either by changing your working environment or your business circles. 

To hear the entire conversation with Rob Christie click here.

Author: Ronsley Vaz

Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.

He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.

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