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Vital Stats:
- Company:Alex Granger Speaks
- Player:Alex Granger
- Contact:alexgrangerspeaks.com
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Alex Granger is a business motivational speaker, MC and facilitator with executive leadership qualifications from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).
He flies around the country giving inspiring and dynamic talks on sales, customer delight, leadership, creating effective teams, and the power of purpose; and he’s living his dream. But it wasn’t always this way. For 18 years he’d worked for someone else. Here’s how he made the leap using the SHIFT IT methodology.
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“One of the hardest things for people to do is to wake up to their passion and pursue it. I was a part-time speaker for 12 years while holding down a steady job, and I realised that fear was holding me back from doing what I really wanted to do.
“I experienced a defining moment with an executive coach when she asked, ‘What are you afraid of?’ My first response was ‘Not making money,’ but as we explored it more, it wasn’t the fear of not making money that kept me back. I knew I could make money and be successful as a speaker, so the fear itself was holding me back,” says Granger.
So in June 2012 he set a goal to speak full-time by June 2013, and he did. Here’s how you can follow your dreams too.
SHIFT IT, starting today
S -atisfaction interrupted.Realise that you can change your future and make a difference but only if you interrupt your present comfort zone. I was an exec for a large corporate. I could have stayed comfortable but I wasn’t contributing to the world. I also couldn’t give talks on living your dream s if I wasn’t walking the walk.
H – arvest your history.Mine your history for all experiences, not just career. You’ll see the hurdles you overcame and you’ll realise your own resilience, strength and gifts that will form your path.
I – nvestigate your now.Look at your situation now. Are you working but bored? Be introspective to determine whether you’re equipped to follow your dream. Do you need more knowledge, skills, qualifications?
F – ocus on your future.You must have a crystal clear picture of where you want to be. If you can visualise your future, you can get there more easily. I visualised myself speaking at a huge conference. I didn’t know it at the time, but two years later I was speaking at the Millionaire to Billionaire conference.
T – rouble at the border.There will always be curveballs and you need contingency plans to prevail. I needed to sort myself out financially and save to see me through quiet months, and I needed an additional revenue stream for those times – so while I’m primarily a speaker, I also do mentorship and coaching.
Ink it.The brain is a curious thing. The minute you write something down rather than just listen, the brain knows you’re being serious, focuses better and retains more. Write down your objectives, successes, and plan.
Take action.You can have all the plans and strategies in the world, but if you don’t act on them, they’ll remain a document that doesn’t come to life. That is the magic of waking up, it’s the action.
Legacy In The Making
For Granger, having your own business is about being the authentic you. “There’s one more step on Maslow’s pyramid of needs after self-actualisation: It’s legacy. It’s knowing that when your life is over, you’ve changed people’s lives by doing the thing you’re best at.”
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