Taking the Plunge in Dubai

It feels a little surreal that only 3 days ago I was in Dubai and I’m now back in sunny England – it is actually sunny as I write this! Ironically it was quite cool and cloudy in Dubai and on our last day there they had thunder and lightning with heavy rain. So much so that our plane was delayed for 2.5 hours and 12 planes were cancelled!

The first two days of the trip were the equivalent to our weekend so we had time to tick a couple of things off my Dream Board. Over the following 3 days I attended 11 meetings with various contacts from my helpful friends in England. These meetings were in various places across Dubai which meant lots of taxi rides backwards and forwards.

Good organisation is key to success

I have to admit that the first business day was tough. It was stressful to establish where the venues that I had to get to were. It was also challenging to be on time for each one, and to remember all the things I needed for each meeting. I had enough of my Off the Wall books for each person, plus my basketball stress balls and my personalised book marks. I also took something which represented Nottingham, which was a nice Robin Hood pewter keyring.

Good planning is critical for this sort of schedule and I am pleased to report that I was early for every meeting and had everything I needed with me. Time management and organisational skills come into their own under these circumstances and I am so pleased that I have developed both of these to a good level.

Take action

Deep down I have felt for a while that it was critical to take the action step of actually going to Dubai without any concrete leads for business. By taking the risk and going out there, things would happen simply because I was out there. This is a step of faith and can be scary, but I guess that’s what I did when I first started JD Mindcoach 5 years ago.

There was no guarantee of anything in Dubai, but I had to simply go and see what happened. I am so glad that I did as it looks like I have 4 warm leads for potential business. Ironically two of these are for back in England where the head offices are based. The others are for Dubai and we will see what happens with these.

Tough first day

The first day was by far the toughest. I had 4 meetings to attend and I had to find the venues by taxi and simply get used to the traffic and culture. It was non-stop with just enough time to get to each meeting on time. I met a great guy called Kais who is working on a workshop and wants to integrate some of my Mental Resilience workshop into his. So there is potential there with him.

The next two days were easier as I was now used to the routine of catching taxis and meeting potential clients. I met the Middlesex University Dubai HR manager on Sunday to see if they would like me to speak to their staff. On Tuesday I presented a 30 minute talk on Mental Resilience. This went down well and was the first presentation in Dubai even though it wasn’t paid.

Live on Dubai Eye Radio

On Tuesday morning I was interviewed live on local radio station Dubai Eye1038. The interview was at 7.15am so it was a challenge to be coherent. This was great fun and I took my basketball into the studio with me and spun it for the hosts before we went live on air.

The interview is here if you are interested in listening to it. Just click on the link or copy and paste the link into your browser. You need to scroll down the podcasts to get to mine which is on 08.03.2106. http://dubaieye1038.com/business-breakfast-podcasts/

Unexpected call

When Julie and I got back to the hotel following the interview we had time for breakfast then I took off for my next meeting. When I got back to my hotel I was finishing off my presentation for the University talk when my phone rang. It was someone from a Dubai bank who had heard the radio interview and they wanted to meet me. So I agreed to go to their head office on the way to the airport the next day.

We packed the following morning and then headed to the bank for our meeting. The meeting went very well and they are considering my Mental Resilience for their staff development. Now I’m not daft and I know this is nothing more than an opportunity, but if I hadn’t travelled to Dubai then none of this would have happened. Sometimes you have to take massive action to achieve those dreams.

Coincidence or fate?

One thing this HR manager mentioned, on the way to their car they had organised for us to go to the airport, was that she never listens to Dubai Eye. But on this occasion she just decided to switch over from Virgin at the very moment I was on! Another colleague from the bank had also heard me and they discussed me in the lift which led to the meeting.

Travelling to Dubai all began as a dream 3 years ago and it was finally achieved this week. I don’t actually know where the dream to visit Dubai came from, but it appeared one day and I have been visualising myself and Julie there ever since. My dream is to get paid work in Dubai so the purpose of this visit is to establish some contacts and build on these.

One of the biggest reasons why I ended up in Dubai is because I have visualised it every morning for the past 3 years. Every morning I visualise my Dreams and imagine I have already achieved them. Several of these have come to fruition and I am continually changing my board adding new ones to achieve.

Thoughts for the week

1. All high achievers have a vision of what they want and they dwell on this continually either consciously or subconsciously.
2. Do you have a vision of what you want to achieve?
3. If not take the time this weekend to think about what you would love to achieve in the future, it could be small or big it doesn’t matter and make a list.
4. Spend time imagining what it would look and feel like to achieve these things.
5. By visualising what you want, you increase the chances of achieving them.
6. Sometimes you need to take action to achieve the next level.
7. Are you putting something off that you should really be doing?
8. Work on good time management skills during the week to achieve more in each day.
9. Think about the small details for meetings and make sure you are fully prepared.

Well that’s it for this week, have a great weekend and stay positive

Warm regards

John