by Ika Rodriguez

Does life feel like a competition? With the ever-growing list of obstacles in today’s fast-paced society, it may feel impossible to reach your goals whatever they may be. From mounting pressures from your environment, cutthroat competition all around you, and problems appearing left and right, it may feel like your dreams are too big to achieve. However, that is the farthest thing from the truth. All you need to do is work on yourself and put your head in the game. That’s what we learned in the first part of ChatGenie’s Leadership Sessions. The CG team heard our CEO and Co-founder Ragde Falcis talk about the lessons that inspire him and how we can apply them to our lives and excel in our own ways. With members from the entire company present, we discussed what it takes to be successful, the importance of creating a personal brand, and, something that any sports fan (or otherwise) can get inspired by, Mamba Mentality.

Continue reading to learn a few pieces of advice that’ll help you create a culture of success for your team, reach your aspirations, or even just maximize every day you’re given:

Work hard - even when no one’s watching

“The greatest indicator to success is what you do when no one’s watching.”

Nothing rings more true than the oft-quoted idea that success comes from hard work for no one’s benefit but your own. Said by sorts of public figures throughout history including Henry Ford, Colin Powell, Alex Morgan, and Ray Lewis, they’ve definitely got the right idea. Being good at something doesn’t come easily and you really need to put in the hours - whether or not anyone’s watching. If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, you’ll remember the 10,000-hour rule. Although slightly controversial, one thing remains true. Whether it’s learning how to play the violin or mastering a new language, it takes time and effort to master the skills that you want to achieve - 10,000 hours or more. This applies to everyone regardless of their field. Be open to learning new things every day. In fact, never stop learning. Education is everywhere. Always seek inspiration from others: find a mentor, read books, ask questions, and always think critically. If Steve Jobs still didn’t consider himself the master of his field, then neither should you.

Create a personal brand

No matter where you are in life, value yourself and represent yourself well. Whether you’re working for a company or for yourself, you are the only one who can decide how you’ll carry yourself. Stay consistent and commit to yourself. Remember that everything you do in a day adds up - and you’re only cheating yourself. Iconic heist film Ocean’s Eleven showed it best when they showed how the sophisticated crew of burglars headed by Danny Ocean came about. They needed everyone at the top of their game to pull off their seemingly impossible caper. After all, everyone just wants the best of the best - even if you’re not trying to rob a casino. So what does that mean for you? It’s not about comparing yourself to others. It just means always be the very best version of yourself.

Be aggressive - when you compete against yourself

Is life a competition? We think so - and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Compete against yourself every day. Work harder each day to be better than before. If Kobe Bryant was known for one thing (apart from being one of the best basketball players in the history of the NBA, of course), it was his concept of Mamba Mentality. He wasn’t born a legend. To get to where he was at his peak, he had to work tirelessly every day and that’s the essence of Mamba Mentality. He summarizes it into 5 crucial pillars: passion, obsession, relentlessness, resiliency, and fearlessness. Be passionate about your goals and what you believe in. Stay obsessed with what you want to achieve. Be relentless in your pursuit of greatness. Stay resilient even when times get difficult. Lastly, be fearless when it comes to failing and getting back up again.

Know what you’re working for

ChatGenie was created to help businesses of all sizes aid their business with tech and innovation. If you’re not a coder or a tech geek, what we do here may seem a bit technical. But everything we’ve created started with one big goal: to help Filipino entrepreneurs scale their businesses, create jobs for others, and do our part in boosting the economy. Our CEO Ragde once said he’d like to see our country become a first-world country in his generation as we’ve seen with countries like Singapore or Israel. It may seem far-fetched right now but if we believe in our country and work towards it, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.

When your goals seem hopeless, it’s important to look at the big picture. Think about what YOU can do to make that big dream a reality - every step of the way. Here at ChatGenie, we know that it all begins with working on ourselves. Every step we take makes a difference and every member on the team makes an impact: from our co-founders down to every single person on the team.

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If we make every move in the hopes of making our goal happen - soon enough, the impossible will become possible.

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Learn more about how ChatGenie came to be, what makes us tick, and why you should join us on our journey to building the next generation of eCommerce here.