Thinking Business > Straight talking with Europe’s No.1 motivational speaker on mental toughness
Gavin Ingham, Motivational Speaker.

Straight talking with Europe’s No.1 motivational speaker on mental toughness

Online he describes himself as a leading mental toughness expert, motivational speaker, author and coach. Helping people be more, do more and have more in business and life. He even goes on to describe himself as Europe’s no1 motivational speaker on mental toughness. That’s some claim, but having seen him in action, we weren’t about to disagree.

Gavin Ingham bears many of the hallmarks typical of someone you’d want working with your team – direct, honest, quick thinking, affable and with huge presence. But he also possesses that rarer gem – empathy, which is what sets him apart from so many.

He’s an enigmatic character and we wanted to find out what it takes to become so influential and learned some truths, pretty quickly:

Your father died when you were 13 – do you think this had a big effect in terms of shaping your career path, especially given the theme of your work is about helping others to take control.

“It certainly had an impact, had he not died I’d have limped through the academic route – my father was a strong character, a school headmaster and it’s unlikely I’d have ducked out of academia. I’d probably have stayed at school and done what I needed to do to be successful, albeit in a very different career. As it happened, I  became a policeman and then fell into a sales role.

I was always taught that you should get your head down and get on with things in your life, so whilst it definitely had an impact on my chosen career path that’s not to say I would have been any less successful, just possibly not as happy!”

Having had to grow up aged 13, do you believe this was a destiny defined by a significant life changing moment or rather the result of attitude borne out of having to grow up at a young age?

“Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man,” and all that. I do not think that, at 13, this event changed my personality. My parents had worked hard on instilling values and beliefs that they thought were “right” and these remained despite the situation.

In the short term, my father’s death did impact me and my behaviours. It set me on a different trajectory but with the same strengths and weaknesses. I believe that I would probably have ended up in a role where I was helping people achieve their potential and one which required me to make presentations and coach but maybe via a very different route. Who knows?”

Having failed your GCSEs, you were a copper before landing a sales role, realising very quickly that sales was the career for you. What, then was the turning point at which you realised that ‘mental toughness and peak performance’ was actually the career for you?

“I can track it back to one significant incident. A friend gave me a personal development book by Anthony Robbins when I was struggling as a salesman. I took away from it that ‘you are responsible’. I already knew that as it was instilled by my parents. But I never realised how much control you have over your mood, approach, demeanour. I saw very quickly the difference this made to my mind set and whilst it wasn’t overnight, when I was running teams I saw the impact I was having on other people. So it became obvious to me that taking responsibility of what you HAVE got control of became a significant conduit to a change in mind set.

Looking back in my life I’ve come to realise the other times where a positive change in mind set had had an effect on me. I remember back when I was 11 in a CX race coming 2 last against all the boys and girls – that was Jan. In June the same year I ran 100m and beat the 100m champion. I then ran the 800m and won it too J. It was a complete change of mindset that got me there, because the 100m win had given me belief and made me feel good. That was a real moment of clarity – the impact of changing your mind-set.”

Your mantra is “I am 10” – tell us more

“This is about being the best you can be in business and in life. We should strive to be a ‘10’ in terms of positivity, because that attitude affects our behaviour and that behaviour affects the results that we’re getting. Unfortunately, a lot of people are motivated from the outside in, so they allow people, events and circumstances to affect how they feel and they end up demotivated. Top performers are motivated from the inside out. They find ways to motivate themselves and pick themselves back up irrespective of what is going on.

This is the big thing that changed in business in recent time and will continue to do so. Increased competition globally, online, automated sales process. And, of course the robots are coming! So if you want to stand out – you’ve got to be a 10.

The Mantra ‘I am 10’ is all about BEING the best I can be. We get people to stand in the shower in the morning, say ‘I am 10’ and think about being the best they can be that day – very simple but VERY powerful.

It gives you the ability to deal with what you’re given in the best possible way.”

A lot of your programme is around people taking responsibility; Bearing in mind that the Thinking.Business audience is largely business owners and employers, so they will already have taken responsibility, what then for them?

(Said with a stifled laugh) “But have they REALLY taken responsibility? Yes, of course business owners have responsibilities on a daily basis, but are they accountable? Are they making excuses for themselves rather than taking responsibility and doing a better job. Excuses which often masquerade as beliefs and truths. 

I meet a lot of people through my work and have met a lot of people bemoaning the Brexit Fiasco and the damage it ‘might’ do to their business. Now here’s the thing. Whether you’re for it or against it, whether you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing it’s still likely to happen and you’re still going to have to take responsibility. As a business owner, you need to take responsibility. Change the mind-set from moaning about it to ‘what can I do’? Because that’s the reaction your business needs.

It’s all about focusing on the things you DO have control of rather than allowing yourself to lose focus by concentrating on those things which are out of your control so you’re in the best position to react positively.

In any area of life ‘taking responsibility’ is one of the most critical elements to success.”

Are great salespeople born or made? (explain)

“Babies are different and have different characteristics early on. Whether this is nature or nurture, I really do not care but…

The vast majority of what would lead to being a success in sales comes down to nurture. How you interpret what happens to you and what you learn from it. By the time we get to a work age, some are already showing more potential than others for sales or leadership or whatever else. So my real answer is, nature vs nurture… ‘Who cares?!!’

The better question is ‘can we do anything about it’? The answer of course is ‘Yes’, as long as there is a desire by the individual. People have a very stereotypical view of salespeople but they’re a thing of the past. Nowadays its about relationship building. Empathy is so important. People expect authenticity. People see through the veneer nowadays. Trust and reality is key and of course, the ability to listen. 

So yes, they are definitely ‘made’ but it often means changing mind-set and that requires a deeper sense of ‘want’ than changing your skillset.”

Coming from a sales background – what is the biggest mistake you see being made in businesses when it comes to driving more sales?

“Businesses spend too much time looking at things from their own perspective! People call me and say, ‘we need to achieve more sales’ or ‘we want to improve our sales function’ or ‘how can we close our deals more effectively’.

Nobody rings me and says how can we understand our clients better? If you want to achieve great  things, it’s got to be all about the other person not yourself and those are the questions that most people are not asking.”

If you could impart one piece of information to our subscribers to help them on their way, what would it be?

“Spend some time working out what is really important to you! Decide what you want to achieve in those areas (your dreams and your goals) and then break that down into activity and hold yourself to account on a daily basis. Few people spend enough time on the really important stuff. You need the conviction that comes from knowing what is important to you so you can focus on the results that you want.”

The business world is awash with motivational speakers promising to ‘energise your team and get you more sales’. How do you differentiate between the wheat and the chaff?

“People with valid experience who walk their talk and understand you and your business. How do you measure it? Look for people who have a strong pedigree, proven experience working with companies and individuals and who get results. Watch their videos and look for people you think can make a difference to your business. Find people that you have a connection with.

How do you link their story to your desired outcome? And ultimately there’s plenty of video out there so check it out, because if you don’t connect with them on video you’re unlikely to connect with them in person.”

And finally – what does success mean to you?

“To be a great father, great husband and to be there and connected with my family and to make a difference to as many people as I can by helping them achieve more in business and in life.”

Suffice to say, I leave the call with Gavin, feeling 6 inches taller and already equipped with some tools I didn’t have when I got out of bed this morning, funnily enough though, I think there’s an awful lot more to learn from Europe’s No1 motivational speaker on mental toughness.

If you’re looking to galvanise a team, you can find Gavin at https://www.gaviningham.com/about-gavin/

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