As 2017 is coming to an end, I wanted to reflect on my journey
so far. It’s been an interesting adventure. I know, I only
launched the podcast in Oct 2017, but there are a lot of lessons
that I wanted to share. Both professionally and personally.
2017 was a big year for me as I made some massive changes.
The bigger surprise was around my own personal
development.
- I wanted to share the 2017 adventures
- My own surprising personal transformation
- Walk through my own lessons of what worked and didn’t work
- Plus, share my 3 big goals in 2018
2017 was another milestone year for me. I feel like I take a new
adventure on every 10 years. 10 years ago, in 2007, I decided
to move to England. I wanted to work and travel Europe. Did that
for many many years. Now, I'm back on Canadian soil and ready
for my next adventure.
I have my own version of a bucket list that I need to
experience. This time, it was to do something entrepreneurial. I’ve
been working in big corporate worlds in the field of management
consultancy for nearly two decades … From Accenture, to Rogers
Cable to Amdocs. I’ve been a corporate bunny for quite a bit of my
life.
I’ve always been on the side line, helping clients develop &
shape their growth strategies, enabling innovation with their
customers and employees, launching new systems and products and so
on. I’ve done this for many clients globally and learned a
lot. I love learning. The truth was, that I wasn’t learning
much anymore. I’ve always had a fear of my brain elasticity no
longer being stretched. I was up to speed and had developed
thought leadership and insights around industry and technological
trends. I found myself teaching & coaching more than actually
learning. The thing about my natural DNA is that I need to learn..
I’m curious about almost everything and anything.
So, in April 2017, I left the corporate world to start a new
adventure. I’ve always wanted to do
something entrepreneurial and building something on my own. I
wanted to play in the sandbox with other
entrepreneurs. Learn by doing and on my own terms. I became
a strategic advisor for a few start-ups, worked on a few Internet
of things product launches and wanted to launch a podcast.
The originally intent of the podcast was to prove my mentor
wrong and to show case Canadian Innovators that are changing the
conversation. This podcast has been one of the projects that
has had me over the moon excited and fired up!
Developing & launching the podcast was an eye opening
experience. I learned a lot and discovered more than I had
originally bargained for. I’ve always been able
to build, define a vision for my clients.
However, building and defining my own vision was hard. I
fell victim to the Imposter Syndrome. For those that don’t
know what Imposter Syndrome is, it’s a concept describing
individuals who are marketed by an inability to internalize their
accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as
a‘fraud’. It is very real and really hard to overcome. It’s the
internal struggle and our own inner voice that creates this
syndrome. I never thought that I would fall victim to this
syndrome. I’ve always been confident in my abilities for my
clients. This was about me and my confidence for me. I never
thought I would face this barrier.
First, I had to recognize what I was going through.
I have to thank my friend, Amanda for teaching me about the
Imposter Syndrome. Then I needed to CRUSH these inner fears.
I used a lot of different tools and tactics that I used with my
clients in Innovation workshops. After talking to many
others, I’ve noticed that this is growing in nature and many others
are facing these fears. So, in 2018, I plan on sharing those
tools that I utilized, so that Others can break through their own
barriers.
Confidence doesn’t happen overnight. This leads me to my
next adventure that I didn’t see coming. Learning to take the
microphone and having a voice!
I have learned a lot in 2017. Here are a few of my
lessons learned and that I’m going to apply in 2018.
Some things that I could’ve done better
- Having courage to have done this sooner!!! That 5 seconds
of courage is all I needed.
-
- Deciding to no longer be a corporate bunny
- Finding my own voice
- Understanding my natural DNA - the things that truly make me
happy
- Launching the podcast and so on…
- Asking for help - my goodness… I forgot the biggest and most
important thing… asking for help. Entrepreneurs become
victim of the HERO complex all the time. I can do everything
myself…. TRUTH IS.. we probably can.. but WHY? No one became
successful by themselves. Everyone needs support. Well, I
have finally taken steps to get help. Ricky has now joined
the CanInnovateh team and is going to be instrumental in helping
build and drive the infrastructure. There are tonnes of requests to
be on the podcast (I’m behind and slow on emails), editing takes a
lot of time and so on… Ricky is going to be brilliant! You’ll
hear more about Ricky and his amazing bag of tricks, skills and
tools. I wish I had engaged him earlier to help.
- Needed to learn when to say ‘YES’ and when to say ‘NO’.
The ‘WHEN’ part of that statement is key. I genuinely
want to help everyone… however it needs to be at the right time. I
need to stay focused and not let others derail my goals. So,
I’m always happy to help, but the ‘WHEN’ doesn’t come at a
sacrifice to my own goals. Sometimes, I’m like a little puppy that
gets excited about EVERYTHING…
Here are some things that worked well
- Being out there in the industry & networking. I really enjoy
meeting and learning from people. Getting out there in the industry
and the different events has been really helpful in promoting the
brand and building relationships. These relationships were
the early adopters that took a chance on being on my podcast as we
were building visibility.
- Getting a podcast mentor, Jeff Brown. He was amazing. I
don’t have a media background, so I did get intimidated in
launching a podcast (plus the Imposter Syndrome). You really
need to have someone to talk to.
- Tapping into my natural DNA. Taking the time to do an
inventory check in what I really enjoy doing and what being part of
has been instrumental. Doing what I naturally enjoy
doing has been key.
2018 is going to be an exciting year. I have a goals for
2018.
- Rebrand CanInnovateh podcast - dropping the ‘h’ but giving it a
little bit of face-lift. I was able to test and try early and
now it’s time to tweak and further enable the growth. We have
already proven that Canadians can Innovate. We are now going to
continue to focus on Innovators that are changing the the game.
However, we are also going to create tools for others so that they
can innovate their businesses to become more innovative.
- I took the corporate world lessons and applied it to
small/medium sized businesses and then some concepts to start-ups.
But I’m seeing is that there are lessons/tips from the business
world that can shape our personal development. For example,
Every business struggles with cash flow and I’m seeing that
lots of individuals are struggling with the same thing. Cash
Flow is instrumental for any sized business. How we manage
our personal cash flow is going to be applied to our businesses.
I’m going to create some tools to help others with this and many
more. I’m going to create some training courses to help people
succeed.
- Give Back - I love volunteering and helping others, especially
helping others change the direction in their lives. I’m going to
look for a non-profit to volunteer in. Everyone deserves a 2nd or
3rd chance to change their lives
As 2017 comes to an end.. a new beginning starts… a new
chapter
I really challenge each and everyone one of us…. To have 5
seconds of courage and do something differently. There is no
downside. In 2017, The 5 seconds of courage has given me the
courage to leave the corporate world, defeated imposter syndrome
(for now), tapped into a creative outlet and continue to learn and
grow.
There will be no episode next week as I’m going to take some
time to connect with Friends & Family. However, I do
want to leave you with a few thoughts throughout the
holidays:
- Unleash your curiosity and see where it takes you
- Embrace your inner child
- Apply 5 seconds of courage
Thank you all for being part of my journey and I’m really
pumped for 2018. Sending you all positive vibes and can’t
wait to hear about your new adventures.
Remember, focus on growing our lives, not just our businesses…
Have a very happy, healthy holiday season that is filled with love,
curiousity and laughter!
Best Always,
Sapna