Kevin N. McMahon is a high-performance coach and business strategist, with an extensive track record of working with entrepreneurs and business leaders to achieve their greatest levels of success. After hitting a mental and physical bottom at the age of 24, due to his battle with depression, drugs and alcohol, Kevin made the decision to use these experiences as the building blocks for creating a purpose-driven life. Now more than 15 years later, he knows that it’s not how you start, but rather how you finish and is dedicated to helping others create exceptional lives, filled with financial freedom, flexibility, and fulfilment.
Now more than 15 years later, he knows that it’s not how you start, but rather how you finish and is dedicated to helping others create exceptional lives, filled with financial freedom, flexibility, and fulfilment. Make sure you follow him over on Facebook @KevinNMcMahon too!
Kevin is a smart dude… When he submitted this post, I was amazed. You’re going to love it!
Before I hand this post over to Kevin, I just want to make sure you don’t miss the next Facebook Live session during this event (there was one yesterday! Were you there?). The next one is on September 21st so make sure you’re in the FB Group (The Dude’s Brood) so you’re around for the next one.
Now, over to Kevin…
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I’d be damned if I was going to live my whole life in that four-hour time slot after work like my mother and father did. I love and respect my parents for making the sacrifices they did to provide my sister and me with a good life, but watching them come home tired from jobs that they didn’t really care about, just to go to sleep and do it all over again, was horrifying.
However, after graduating from college, I too sold out for a paycheck. But I could never quite shake that old image of my parents, following a more traditional path, rather than creating a new road for themselves.
I knew that if I was ever going to have the life I truly wanted for myself and my family, I was going to have to get uncomfortable and take a leap.
Looking back, it’s been a long road, sometimes filled with potholes and mud, but I can tell you right now that I wouldn’t trade a minute of it to be where I am now.
So what was the most important thing I learned along the way? If you’re going to successfully change your life and become a digital nomad, you need to shift your mindset, along with your ‘rules’. You will have to rethink the norm and adjust your views on the socially acceptable ways of making a living.
It’s Time to Build Your Own Path
You’re going to have to challenge yourself and really consider whether you are willing to make the effort required to change the life you have now. This may seem daunting, and at times it can be, but being a nomad means creating your own opportunities. It means continuously gaining new experiences and making connections. And above all, it means having the freedom to live life on your own terms.
In order to get to this point, though, you first need to step back and remember that building a business is a marathon, not a sprint.
Focusing on the big picture and preparing yourself for the long game can be all that stands between winning and losing. Your wellbeing, success, relationships, productivity and enthusiasm all depend on your ability to stay focused, refreshed and energized.
Take a look around and you’ll find an overwhelming number of courses and content focused on preparing entrepreneurs with the tactical strategies needed to build a business. Sure these are important, but what’s much less commonly discussed are the resources needed to work on the mental strengthening needed to overcome the barriers that get in the way of achieving your goals.
Just like a successful athlete, what separates champions from the pack is the ability to focus on, and master, their mindset. Surveys, studies and research consistently reaffirm that only 15% of your success will depend on aptitude, while an astonishing 85% will be based on what happens in-between your ears!
We all face various internal struggles throughout life, and as an entrepreneur, practical excellence alone will not be enough for you to build a successful, growing, profitable business, or life for that matter. Instead, what is needed is often the least tangible and most difficult to talk about the excellence that you create and sustain in your own mind.
Establish Worthwhile, Meaningful Goals
Confidence and self-esteem are linked to our sense of competence in the areas that are important to us. As you look at your goals, make sure you are following your own definition of success that gives you pride and passion in its pursuit.
Set two types of goals those that you have a 95% chance of accomplishing because you’ve done them before, and those where there is a 95% degree of uncertainty that you’ll accomplish them. The former will give you the success and strength to shoot for the latter, which is needed for the real growth!
Continually Take Inventory of Your Strengths and Areas for Improvement
After clarifying your personal definition of success, examine where you currently are, compared to where you hope to be. Part of your sense of self-worth will come from the belief and confidence that you have the ability to grow your business both today and in the future. At the same time, digital nomads have a natural propensity for adventure and curiosity, and you should revel in trying new things each day to stretch your limits.
Be Completely Accountable For Your Actions and Decisions – and Their Outcomes
Do you know your why? If you can honestly answer why this lifestyle is so important to you, then you can move forward knowing that your actions and decisions are getting you closer to your goal. If at any point, however, you step back and recognize that you have fallen out of alignment with your plan or intentions, you have to step up and hold yourself accountable.
Being honest with yourself is the quickest way to right the ship and get back on track. Own the favorable and unfavorable results, and adjust accordingly. Equally important, give yourself recognition for each and every accomplishment – regardless of size.
Competition is Healthy, but Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
There will always be those who are more and less successful than you, but your sense of worth, and success, should not be defined by them or what you think others expect from you. Make you and your current reality the base, and keep building upon that. Don’t be jealous of others, but rather use them as a source of inspiration. Likewise, don’t ever stop trying to get better. Just because you may be ahead of someone today, doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to beat you. You are always gaining on someone…and someone is always gaining on you.
Surround Yourself with Positivity…
Fear of failing can be a great motivator, but very frequently it becomes centered in negativity and actually winds up acting as a barrier to success. What if I challenged you to adopt an attitude of positivity in all that you do? Could you do it?
It’s essential to always be looking for ways to be better, but rather than constantly focusing on shortcomings and what you’re doing wrong, shift your spotlight onto what you’re doing right.
Stop looking at tasks as things that you have to do, and instead things that you get to do. There are so many variables that affect your chances of achieving success, it is essential that you take control of your own mindset and use positivity as a way of identifying opportunities.
…And People Who Support and Inspire You
Jim Rohn, the successful entrepreneur, once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend your time with.”
Remember that most people, including family and friends, are trained to be employees and have a real fear of the unknown when it comes to being an entrepreneur. They can’t understand why you would voluntarily put yourself in an “uncomfortable” situation. They don’t understand the meaning of following your passion. And they don’t need to. Your life, your rules.
You don’t have to shun anyone, but make sure you are also surrounding yourself with people – like your friends at The Dude’s Brood Facebook Group – who will be there to celebrate your successes and also keep you going during the inevitable tough times.
Take the Time for Personal and Office Upkeep
Your surroundings have a significant impact on your attitude and if they aren’t up to your liking, your mindset is going to bear the burden. Whether you’re a nomad bouncing around the globe or simply working from the local coffee shop, keep your space somewhat neat and organized. And even if you’re not meeting with a client, take a few minutes each morning to look good. It’ll put you in the frame of mind to attack your goals.
Your Past Doesn’t Determine Your Future
Forgive yourself for past mistakes and poor decisions. Learn from them and free up any negative energy to instead foster a pattern of selftalk that validates your abilities and strengths. Strive to feel worthy, accountable and capable, and develop the mindset that allows you to continue following your entrepreneurial passion.
Focus On What You Can Control, Not What You Can’t
Your short-term destiny cannot always be controlled or planned. However, what you can do, is make a commitment to do your best in whatever entrepreneurial environment you find yourself.
And for those who are just starting out, if you’re in business simply to make loads of money, you’ll likely seal your fate before really getting started. In the beginning, there will most likely be a financial sacrifice so be careful not to tie success to money. Be passionate about what you do, and let it be the fuel you need to get through the expected lean and tough times.
Understand Your REAL Value of Money
Would you rather be in the corporate world, stretched past capacity, working 70 hours a week earning $500,000 a year or as a digital nomad working 20 hours a week, but earning $80,000?
The value of money changes depending on what you do, where you do it, and when you get to do it. Now this isn’t to say that you can’t make $500,000, or even a million, doing what you love, but the point isn’t the number. Instead, it’s the lifestyle and working pattern that YOU choose.
Now don’t get me wrong – the digital nomad lifestyle isn’t for everyone and you need to have the confidence to be successful. Sometimes the road is going to get rough and you might even want to throw in the towel at times. But it’s going to be your resiliency during those tough times that determines your entrepreneurial journey.
Always remember that as important as it is to keep pivoting and learning, if you’re neglecting your inner voice you will do yourself disservice and limit the potential for living a life of freedom, flexibility and fulfillment.
You want to know the secret to success? Get comfortable with uncomfortability – embrace it. Don’t let the obstacles beat you. Use them as the stepping stones needed for greatness and the strength to keep fighting and SURVIVING!
Feel free to drop any questions or comments below!
