If you look at any of my businesses and you know what my influence in the business is, you’ll see how much I’ve taken from the world around me and used it as an inspiration to build on.
I still do today. See, we humans don’t make anything original; We just build on what has been built before. We build on ideas and inventions. That’s how life works. That’s how the universe works.
So it’s only fair that I give credit to the people and things that have helped me create what I’ve made. Are from FantasticServices.com to a diving center in Mexico – I built them, inspired everywhere.
Let’s go a little deeper.
Inspiration of focus and purpose
When do you come up with your best ideas?
Let me answer that for you – that’s when you’re doing something non-work related or actively thinking about something. That’s why shower thoughts and breakthroughs are so popular. Our subconscious does the work while our conscious relaxes.
Meditation can do the same thing
But to get those breakthroughs, you need to know where to focus your efforts and what your goals are.
Let’s start with focus, as it tends to be a precursor to purpose. Before you achieve anything great, you must put your whole heart into it – whether it’s your day job, your career, your relationship, or even your business. You have to make a conscious decision that you are going to focus on that particular thing.
One book that has been important to me as an entrepreneur is Mike Michalowicz’s “Pumpkin Plan”. The book’s message is simple, and it takes a closer look at pumpkin growers and how they grow squash ready to compete.
See, pumpkin growers start each season with a handful of plants. Once they begin to grow, all smaller vegetables are discarded and growers focus all of their time, effort, resources and skill on the largest pumpkin.
This is a simple but important premise in the business world – focus on what works and don’t be afraid to cut out resource-intensive tasks.
Purpose will help you decide exactly where to focus your time and resources. Now, I tend to look at purpose through the lens of success. What is real success?
For me, for a long time, success represented growth as a professional. Today, another change is happening as I focus more on family.
Robert Holden’s book “Success Intelligence” was crucial in understanding what success was for my business partners and me. It’s also one of the main reasons we focus our efforts on people, planet and profits, in that particular order.
We have built a company that cares about people and the planet, treating profits as the product of good deeds. That’s called finding purpose.
Going through tough times
Every business is bound to encounter barriers of either two… or three. It’s only natural because if you don’t, chances are you won’t have an impact on the world. But, the hustle culture is rarely about the hard times when running a business. It’s all sunshine and rainbows, mansions and Lambo’s.
“The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horrowitz was born as a natural successor to “Success Intelligence”. It taught me that, when times are tough, businesses should think about their employees first, products second, and profits last.
It also highlights the fact that if you are never alone in business. You have your team, but you also have access to unlimited information on how to solve any problem.
Then, as I got older in my business life, I turned to Rachel Elnaugh’s “Business Nightmare.” Rachel argues that success is getting through tough times, not good times. I couldn’t agree more, but it’s also a point every entrepreneur should experience for himself.
I used to think my company was successful, but it was only when Covid was successful, and we saw first-hand how quickly my business partners stopped, that I realized real success. what is. It’s not about growth, it’s about sustainability when everything else around you falls apart.
Success and creativity go hand in hand
The business landscape is rapidly changing into a world where ‘data’ counts for everything, and invention and innovation are rapidly disappearing into the background.
I understand that. After all, people want 100% security in their investments, and the kind of data that gives them a sense of control, no matter how vague that may be. However, if you look into the world of data analytics and market trends and what people are buying, you can easily see products that have no specific purpose in mind that are thriving.
Gary Dahl invented Pet Rocks. It is a rock, sold in a box, marketed as a pet. Ironically, he walked away with $15 million in profits 6 months after founding the company. We had genius cameramen a few years ago. No market analyst predicted the demand for any of these products, but they have been a resounding success.
That’s because data is only valuable if you know how to use it. Yes, you can improve your product by analyzing what your customers think about your product. Yes, you can make decisions about expanding your business, but don’t let data make your product. John Doerr’s book Measure What Matters taught me just that.
And when it comes to invention and innovation, Austin Kleon’s “Steal Like an Artist” is by far the best 160 pages you’ll ever read in your life. The book speaks to the fact that nothing truly original has ever been created. Everything is a combination of previous human inventions mixed with creativity and willingness to take, mix and see what happens.
And if you feel like you’re stealing (I mean), and it’s underneath you, I highly encourage you to watch “Everything’s a Remix“. You may find your favorite author or musician or director a master at stealing like an artist.
Building for the future
Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by what we now call “memorial”. Literally translated, it means “remembering death”.
Philosophically, it stands for remembering that whatever you do in life will be the only thing that will last after you’re gone. When you look through that lens, your actions begin to change, and you really begin to look for positive ways to leave your mark on the world.
My friend Daniel Priestley’s “21 possessions” follows the same logic, though not to the extent of death. The book shares his views on creativity in business. Oftentimes, founders and CEOs focus on creating things that drive revenue. But real growth happens when you’re building assets.
Rune Sovndahl
Rune Sovndahl, is the co-founder of Fantastic Services – an international brand with over 10 years of experience that combines technological innovations with dedicated customer care to provide services for home and office. and garden. Rune, from Denmark, moved to London 20 years ago to study for a Bachelor (Hons) degree in Business Information Systems Design at South Bank University. After completing his degree, he was admitted to a graduate program with British Telecom. In 2003 he also founded the European Young Professionals committee in London and was involved in the creation of the website and recruitment of over 200 new members, also worked for lastminute.com as Head of SEO before founded Fantastic Service in 2009.
