7 lessons every entrepreneur should know

Recently, I thought it would be a good idea to attend a kidnapping survival course.

It sounds nuts, I know. So why did i do this?

One reason is to learn critical performance and stress management mindsets and skills.

I think it’s all about that way of thinking. It can be the difference between success and failure. He can determine if the business will grow from 5 figures to 6 figures, or 7 figures and beyond. Mindset is essential to your success.

I learned this concretely in 2002 when I picked up Robert Kiyosaki’s first business book. His timeless, must-read book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, completely changed the way I think and changed the trajectory of my life. Since then, he has invested over $100,000 in dozens of books, classes, and workshops in educating people to upgrade their mindsets.

That’s why I decided to take a kidnapping survival course. Realistically, I don’t think I’ll be kidnapped anytime soon. Still, I thought that if I could survive a kidnapping by being trained by the same people who train Navy SEALs, the CIA, and the FBI, I’d be able to control my emotions when a major crisis hit my business. rice field. I have control over communication when working with customers, clients and my team.

What did you learn and how can you apply it to your business?

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1. Prepare

Every entrepreneur needs preparation. Without preparation, you become more vulnerable. To survive a kidnapping, you must first prepare yourself. Preparation always helps you stay one step ahead of the ups and downs of your business. It doesn’t matter if you’re preparing a pitch deck for soliciting investments or preparing your tasks for the week. You can’t control when you get kidnapped or what happens in your business, but you can control your reactions. Being prepared is essential to making it easier.

2. Make a plan

As mentioned earlier, preparation is essential and planning is a key part of it. To survive a kidnapping, they must develop a plan to escape their captors. It is imperative that you choose a secret persona that blends in well with your environment and does not stand out. This is also essential in business. A solid plan can keep your business running smoother and more efficiently. The more knowledgeable and detailed plans you can develop, the more likely you are to succeed.

3. Breathe

This is the simplest and most underrated lesson we have learned. Kidnapped Navy SEALs are trained to manage their breathing. why? Breathing regulates the brain’s stress response. When you fear something, your amygdala responds. Heart rate and adrenaline and cortisol levels begin to rise. If you can learn to slow your breathing, your heart rate will be under control and stress hormones will begin to wash away. It also improves brain function so you can focus better and make better decisions.

RELATED: How to Find Clarity Through Conscious Breathing

4. Adaptable

During the kidnapping simulation, we went undercover all day while the bounty hunters were looking for us. I had to change clothes regularly to blend in with my surroundings. You had to hide if you were spotted and run away if you were chased. We had no control over when we were stressed and had to react instantly. This is a lot like business. Too often entrepreneurs (myself included) get bogged down in resisting change. It is often the main reason most businesses fail. Having a solid plan and sticking to it is important, but so is knowing when to adapt and transition.

RELATED: Why Resisting Change Can Only Hurt Your Business

5. Work as a team

We worked in teams of three throughout the kidnapping simulation. I had to complete 14 missions throughout the day while avoiding getting caught by bounty hunters. I did this without a phone, internet or money. All we had to rely on was training, planning and the team. My team decided to start by planning who would tackle each mission and how.

Missions included getting someone to pay for bus tickets, translating phrases into Russian or Portuguese, and finding free food and water sources to survive. Just like in business, we discussed plans to accomplish each task as best we could. Every company has a team that must make daily decisions about what the plan is and who will work to accomplish the mission.

Related: Why You Need Teamwork and Collaboration

6. Learn to sprint

If bounty hunters found us while we were undercover, they would seize us and handcuff us to benches and poles. After a week of training to survive a kidnapping, I made up my mind not to get caught.

Towards the end of the day, my team was walking through an outdoor mall when a bounty hunter spotted us. We looked at each other and sprinted through the mall. This led to chasing through the back rooms of various stores, running through parking lots, and running circles inside Macy’s his department store. As you can imagine, pedestrians thought we were fleeing the police. Our teams all went in different directions. Just when the bounty hunter turned the corner at that moment, I thought I was safe and started walking. I turned another corner and dove behind a building pillar. Unfortunately, when the bounty hunter passed by, he saw my reflection in the window and grabbed me. He then handcuffed me to the bench and walked away with a smile. For the next few minutes, I shyly took my handcuffs off and made the most awkward face as I watched people pass by.

Business is very similar. There are deadlines to meet even when you don’t want to. Achieving the impossible often requires pushing boundaries. You have to sprint as fast as you can and hustle with everything you have. The more prepared you are for these moments, the better you will be able to handle them when they arise.

RELATED: 5 comfort-shattering tips to help you reach your goals

7. Everything is possible

The final lesson was that all things are possible. When your goals are broken down into a simple step-by-step process (making a plan), you can easily overcome the hurdles and obstacles in front of you. Kidnapped, handcuffed, blindfolded, duct taped, waterboarded, stunned by a stun gun, evaded bounty hunters, making it nearly impossible to complete her 14 missions in one day. I think But we made it through. That’s because we were able to prepare, plan, work as a team, be adaptable, remember to breathe, and run as fast as we could when we needed to.

We firmly believe that anyone can build a business if they believe in themselves and their dreams. Learning how to survive a kidnapping was just one of his ways to reassure me that anything is possible if you believe.