As somebody who has taken a lot of pleasure from playing tennis over many years, I enjoyed watching Ash Barty’s wonderful display of tennis to become the first Australian woman to win the Wimbledon Ladies Singles final since 1980.

However, what took my attention was the credit Ash gave to her success from working with Ben Crowe, a mentor & performance coach.  In an interview with Ben after Ash’s win, this quote took my eye:

“The big lesson is focus on the ‘human-being’, and less so on the ‘human-doing’ and the power of acceptance and gratitude are incredible superpowers to enable you to let go of FOOPO (Fear of Other People’s Opinions) and own your story. 

“And if you can focus on that, and avoid these distractions, it doesn’t mean you’ll win — it just means you’ll bring the best version of you to the dancefloor each day.”

Whilst these words were said about the benefit Ash gained from working with a coach, these words mirror my approach in working with business owners.   My approach is to help business owners acknowledge and own their own space as it is today, not for who they need to be in the future, or they were in the past.

I believe success in business and life will come when we act as who we are and not who we believe others want us to be.