Building an Unstoppable Entrepreneur Mindset | ft. Dhiren Harchandani

What does it take to win the inner game of entrepreneurship?

In this episode, 𝗥𝗮𝘆𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗺 sits down with 𝗗𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗶—founder of Inner Game Consulting, Certified growth coach, TEDx speaker, and author of Bring It On.

Dhiren shares his journey from growing up around family entrepreneurship in the Philippines, to starting his career during the dot-com bubble in the U.S., to building businesses in Dubai, New York, and San Francisco. He reveals why mastering your mindset, energy, and clarity is the real edge for entrepreneurs.

We talk about the link between endurance sports and entrepreneurship, spotting burnout before it hits, and why your inner game is the ultimate competitive advantage.

👉 Follow 𝗗𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗶 on LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/CDd02

👉 Website: https://www.dhirenharchandani.com/

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𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗔𝗺 𝗜?

My name is  Rayhan Aleem, Founder and CEO of 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 and 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀. At  𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 podcast I sit with top industry leaders for in-depth conversations that dive deep into their success stories, market dynamics, and firsthand tips on entrepreneurship and profitability. Whether you're just starting out or already running your own business, 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 offers something valuable for everyone.

👉 Follow 𝗥𝗮𝘆𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗺 on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3U2niHn
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𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀:

𝟭-𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀:
  -𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲:  https://www.alphapartners.co
  -𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻: https://bit.ly/3Yf4VRZ

𝟮-𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿:
  -𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲:  https://www.taxstar.app
  -𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻: https://bit.ly/3ZVjzPD

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𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻:

🔗 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗯𝗲: https://bit.ly/47gaW3F
🔗 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆: https://bit.ly/3ZbtGiR
🔗 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁: https://bit.ly/4dOfS2f
🔗 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗶: https://bit.ly/3Mutunk
🔗 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲!: https://bit.ly/3XfGYbD

𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲? 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Intro
• 1:16 Dhiren’s early roots in entrepreneurship
• 4:36 Lessons from consulting during the dot-com bubble
• 6:44 Why Dubai pushed him into entrepreneurship
• 9:52 Doing business in Dubai vs the US
• 12:03 Endurance sports and building resilience as a founder
• 22:15 Energy & mindset as your biggest competitive edge
• 26:21 Writing Bring It On and the message behind it
• 31:02 The “inner game” every entrepreneur must master
• 51:00 Bloom Growth coaching and scaling businesses with clarity
• 1:05:48 Final tips & closing remark

Transcript

0:00

So this book helps readers answer those two questions What do you want and what's getting in the way? Because when you're able to answer those two questions with absolute clarity, you become unstoppable Welcome to the AlphaPreneurs podcast I'm your host, Rayhan Aleem I'm also the founder of Alpha Pro Partners, a bookkeeping business based in Dubai and Tax Star, a tax technology startup, automating corporation tax returns Join me on each episode as we talk to inspiring Dubai based entrepreneurs who share their stories, challenges, and secrets on building world-class businesses I'm excited to have Dhiren on our show today Dhiren is an entrepreneur, a transformation coach, and an endurance athlete who believes that mastering your mindset is key to success He's a TEDx speaker, the author of Bring It On And a certified Bloom growth coach He's worked with entrepreneurs managing over $25 billion in revenue, helping them scale their businesses without sacrificing their wellbeing Darren, welcome to the show Thanks for having me It's been a pleasure for me to get to know you all these years, ever since the days that I've met you from my EO accelerator journey Um, and I've been really excited to bring you on the show 'cause there's so much we can unpack, uh, in this, in this episode So, but before we talk about some of the things that you've done recently, I, I wanna talk about, you know, about you, about what you've done, your background So you've obviously been in entrepreneurship for a long time, been very successful Um, you've worked in tech, blockchain You've worked in Dubai, New York, San Francisco, just to name a few, uh, a few cities Born and raised in Philippines That's right Um, actually born in Mumbai Okay But raised in the Philippines Nice So I moved when I was, I flew before I could walk, so you could say I was practically born in Manila Tell us about how you got into entrepreneurship Um, what were highlights, low lights, uh, what can you encourage other entrepreneurs who've who, who are in your footsteps currently? Okay Um, so a lot to unpack there I mean, how did I get into entrepreneurship? So there's, I mean, I think that the story really starts when I was probably, I would say Six or seven As I started getting more aware of my environment, I noticed that my parents were entrepreneurs So my dad was the proverbial $100, you know, $100 in his back pocket, landed in the Philippines and started from zero And so I, I started really noticing that, you know, they weren't really around as much and there was this business and, um, and they were both running this business and they were both very involved in the business And I noticed that the hours were all over the place And then as I started getting older, it started getting really clear to me that my father was an entrepreneur And the conversation on the dinner table as far back I, as I remember, was flow And, you know Going into a new market, um, traveling to Hong Kong, uh, to, you know, go on, um, on, um, a buying trip And, and, and I remember when I was 12, I was put on an assembly line Uh, my father was in, um, was in Piece, you know, in, in personal computers Yep And so he would put together computers and, um, supply them to local government schools, um, end users And, uh, and so I would be in the assembly line, literally putting, you know, the, you remember putting the RAM on the motherboard? Mm-hmm Have you ever done that? I haven't done that, but I know that in gaming, gaming pieces, you do that You go, yeah So I used to put the ram on the motherboard and then hand it over to the next person on the, uh, assembly line, who would basically then put the CPU And so I, I think that's where it really all started But then fast forward to, you know I moved to the States for college and um, after I graduated, I worked in consulting and it was a phenomenal experience because I was, it was, I timed it perfectly I graduated from college around 99 and what was going on in 99? thecom bubble Yeah, right The infamouscom bubble was really taking shape and I had front row seats because as a consultant, I would be moved from one, um, engagement one project to the next, within six months And so I worked at Fortune 500 companies And conversely, on the other end of the spectrum, I would be at a table where I had projects, where I was in a table with a couple of founders and I would be the consultant that would come in, uh, to basically take their vision and make it a reality Mm-hmm And so I saw that that spectrum of entrepreneurship from, you know, really established legacy businesses that had bureaucracy and middle management And then on the other end of the spectrum, you know, I saw firsthand how startup companies can be so nimble and innovative and, and move really quickly And, you know, five years of, of consulting, I started feeling the itch I think those conversations, I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur Yep Always But I didn't have the idea I didn't have that push And, you know, had I stayed in consulting a little longer Because I was moving up the ranks very quickly, uh, it would've been really hard to give up that paycheck Mm-hmm So glad I did when I did, uh, because a lot of people now who want to be entrepreneurs had just gotten used to that, that paycheck that's constantly coming in the comfort Right And so five years was just enough time for me to, to not get too comfortable Um, and still, you know, scratch that itch You didn't work in your family business at the time You just said something completely on your, on your own Yeah Yeah And I think, um, one of the things that a lot of our guests who come on the show, they've come from a Employment and then jumped into entrepreneurship Um, I mean, my journey, I should have done it a lot sooner, but I delayed it Delayed it, delayed it Which part? The transition The transition, yeah Yeah So, but you did, I did in the end So was there any like specific trigger that really pushed you to do that, or was it something you had a calling and it something that you was always going to do? Honestly, it was Dubai I mean, if I had to be really honest Um, so my wife, uh, grew up in Dubai Mm And after we got married, apparently we struck a deal Um, and the deal was, you know, she would move to the states Live with me in, in the US in San Francisco, um, for a few years, and then eventually we would move back to Dubai Yeah Um, and you know, I don't drink, so I was not intoxicated when that deal was, you know, was forged Must have been asleep I wasn't So women do that all the time Don't worry So, so after two years she exercised the option But you know, I say that, um, in jest, uh, the truth is, in those two years, whenever we would travel to Asia or to visit my in-laws, yeah I just saw how things were moving so quickly Like every time I came to Dubai, there was something new The di uh, you know, the Dubai Internet City? Mm-hmm DIFC This tower, that tower, this zone It was happening right in front of my eyes and I thought, you know what? Like this is, this is the future And this was around 2000 4, 5, 6 Yeah And so Dubai definitely the city had a lot to do with that nudge, you know, that push Um, but was there an itch? I mean, I had a partner who, um, in my first business, and we would brainstorm quite a bit He was also from Dubai And so I think my, my wife and, and him, um, kind of joined, you know, hands and, and, and, and started really watering the seeds that they had planted a few years earlier Um, but, um, was there a trigger? No I mean, I think I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur Mm-hmm I, I think being in the Valley during thecom bubble Yeah Was definitely a catalyst, right? Because you're, you're looking around and you're seeing people, you know Starting businesses and, and venture capital started really taking shape And, and so he thought, you know what? Why not me? You know, if, if these guys can do it And, and instead of doing it there, when things had imploded, I looked at Dubai and I thought, okay, you know what, this is exactly what the valley was like many years ago Yeah And you've worked three, no, two major cities Well, three major cities Dubai, New York, San Francisco How do you see now, now you have a lot of tech companies being set up in, in, in the, in the UAE you have a lot of funds out here as well How'd you compare your knowledge, experience of doing business in Dubai compared to say New York and San Francisco? I was with a firm who had offices all over the United States Yeah, they had an office in Chicago They had an office in New York, uh, Philadelphia San Francisco, and that was the last, um, consulting project I worked on So I was with them for a couple of years and, uh, traveling all over the United States definitely exposed me to, you know, different cultures within the us Hmm How has the states different from Dubai? Um, I would say in, in, in, at least when I first got here, it wasn't as much what, you know, it was really all about who you knew Yeah Um, while in the West, I mean, it's all about levels, right? So I feel in the, in the West, it was really all about what you knew Mm-hmm It was your credentials Right It was, okay, which school are you graduating from? What did you major in? And, and that, that got your foot in the door Yeah Well, here was a really driven by relationships Yeah No, that's, that's, that's a great, um, great analogy because, um, one of the things entrepreneurs do need to do is get out there, communicate, network, meet people Yeah Um, to help grow their businesses They are the face of their business as well, and it's not impossible to build that network Um, but yeah, I can relate to that, you know, being born and raised in, in the UK and, and in London Um, sometimes it's more about, like I said, what you know, rather than who you know Yeah So, Darren, I've known you for quite some time and I've been very impressed with your Endurance, um, activities, your ability to go to Mount Kilimanjaro, to Mount Everest, uh, to do a tri triathlete, uh, triathlon Um, and how, I remember you mentioning in some of your stories that this is not something that you were doing from a very young age No You just literally started it quite, you know, quite recent, quite recently Um, you know, I've always done some sport, but not at your level So, um, you know, I have a lot of respect for you from that point of view, but as an entrepreneur, it is when an entrepreneur starts their business, they just focus on their baby and that's their business Everything is put to one side, whether, whether it's family, whether it's mental health, whether it's physical health, whether it's spiritual health But one of the things that you are a strong advocate in is, you know, the, the likes of fitness, the likes of Being healthy, um, you know, you are a vegan, um, so you have certain things that you do that help you from a nutrition point of view We'll, we'll talk about the inner game and all of that later on, but I really wanna understand your journey to getting to this stage You know, recently It's not something that, it's not like you've been doing it your whole life You've done it recently Um, and that's a real encouragement for other entrepreneurs So can you give us some, um Can you tell us more about your, your, your, your journey, how you got there? Um, what keeps you doing those eight kilomet, uh, 10 kilometer runs and swims and, and and cycling? Yeah There are a couple of questions there What got me into it and what keeps me going, uh, what got me into it was, you know, there's this quote, I forget who said it, but he said, you can change in times of joy or you can change in times of suffering Mm-hmm I suffered, I went through this really dark phase It's in the book, we'll talk about the book Uh, but I went through this really dark phase that I call the dark night of the soul Now, before the dark phase, I was not fit As a matter of fact, growing up I used to carry, remember those asthma pumps? Yeah I used to carry an asthma pump Oh, wow Uh, I, um, I had severe asthma and uh, uh, I could never imagine, like, I could not forget Five kilometers, I couldn't run one K Mm-hmm Right So I was, I was, my, the extent of my fitness was going to the gym and lifting weights That was it It was all about optics And so I went through this really dark phase and my back was completely against the wall I did not have a choice Um, I had to transform and start looking after my health Um, so during that dark phase, I was having these serious heart palpitations I remember once I was in the shower, I was, I was shampooing my hair and clumps of hair were falling So it was an extreme phase Mm And, and I was young I mean, I'm still young, but I was younger Yeah And I, I, I just felt that, you know what? It, it, there's gotta be another way And along the journey, you know, I met a couple of people who really inspired me I mean, when I say really inspired me, I mean they lit the fire and I'm so grateful to those people And, um, and, and that's really where the, the journey began It was out of need, not, uh, it wasn't a choice I had no choice I had to transition or I would spiral deeper down that hole Well, I think that's admirable I'll tell you why Because in life we've, I've met, and I'm sure you've met a lot of, not necessarily entrepreneurs, but someone who's got a certain condition, let's say a heart condition or someone's got cancer or someone's got certain health diseases and They already, they've already given up Mm Like you, you have some, I I have friends who have, you know, had stents, um, and they continue to eat badly Mm Right And for them, the mindset is, I'm gonna go anyway Right But I don't think that's how you, you should beat that I don't think that's the correct attitude to have because you can live a quality life if you make these changes And I think what you've done is quite admirable from, you know, understanding that there is, you went through a dark point and you want, you wanted to change and you've continued that change Yeah Um, and so going onto the, the second part of the question, which is how do you maintain that, you know, anyone can go to gym New Year's Day You know, they, they've, they've done their New Year's resolution I'm gonna start going to gym, you know, second of Jan, and then they quit Midway through January Yeah But you've consistently kept this, not just going to the gym, but this high performance, uh, activity Yeah Consistently How have you kind of done that? It's been, it's been a filter It's been a, a forcing mechanism for me to be able to simplify my life Right So when, when, when you do endurance sports or any sport to, when you get to a level wherein you're, you're locked in on your commitment to get better and to continue building and unlocking your potential, a lot of things start dropping from your life Mm-hmm So it forces you to really do an audit of things that you are committing to How you spend your time, what time you go to bed, what time you wake up Like, everything is now under a magnifying glass And what keeps me going is the fact that it allows me to really just stay focused and to have really good people around me I mean, I have incredible people around me who are pushing me to my next level, and I'm pushing them to theirs And collectively we're, we're unlocking what we never thought possible So, so that's what keeps me going is the fact that it just helps me keep my life simple It allows me to stay focused on what I truly want and not to get distracted Because look everything right now, everything in life Is designed to hijack your attention Literally everything, right? And so when you have something in your life that's an anchor mm, that allows you to stay focused and not get distracted by the big shiny objects that's just popping up from anywhere, it's a gift And then when you start seeing results, you know those people that you talk about who quit by Jan 14th, they just did hang up, hang around long enough to start seeing results Yeah But when they do start seeing results, it, um, it becomes addictive So, you know, uh, there's, there's an intersection between entrepreneurship and as a matter of fact, entrepreneurship is endurance sports, or I, I should say endurance sports is entrepreneurship in spandex or in cra Um, that's all it is because when you're on the bike or you're on a Right No one's saving you from your thoughts Mm-hmm When you're in the office and you're strategizing and self-doubt starts coming in, no one's saving you Right That's why they say entrepreneurship is a lonely journey Triathlon Endurance sport is a lonely journey No one's saving you from your thoughts, from your self-doubt It's, you're not competing against the person next to you, you're competing against It's you versus you Mm-hmm Right? So the level of self-awareness that you get, that you develop from endurance sports is second to none It's been such a gift It's, it's been a mentor for me And, um, you know, you, I remember my first Iron Man, it wasn't really about the fitness My first Iron Man was all about developing a relationship with discomfort It's really uncomfortable, but so is entrepreneurship Yeah, I was gonna say that, right? So is entrepreneurship Yeah So as a matter of fact, it's um, it's almost like, um, it's a platform to enable me to be an even better entrepreneur because when you get punched in the face as an endurance athlete, either through the pain or you don't hit your goal, whatever the situation may be, you're getting punched in the face all the time You're developing this resilience, which carries over to every aspect of your life Yeah Especially entrepreneurship Yeah Yeah No, I think, um, great parallels between endurance, um, athlete If you are an entrepreneur, there's no excuse basically for you to kind of become more fit and for you to, you have to, you don't have, yeah Like, so entrepreneurship I used to look at it as When, you know, I never really thought about it this way, but you know, they say, uh, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon Right Entrepreneurship's not a sprint, it's a marathon It's actually not even a marathon It's like an ultra, ultra marathon It's the infinite game Yeah And the difference that makes all the difference is the level of energy that you bring to your business, to your product, to your service, to your clients, to your people, to every aspect of your business Energy is such a important, it's, it's, it's your x factor it And when, when you have that level of energy, it's a competitive advantage It's, it's your only sustainable competitive advantage is your mindset and your energy A hundred percent agree A hundred percent agree Um, I wanna just quickly talk about nutrition Yes Um, so we spoke about endurance, um, sports, but Nutrition is very important as well in terms of looking after yourself as an entrepreneur Um, keeping those levels of energy up You know, everyone turns to you as their leader You are the face of your business You need to have those energies, uh, energy levels up as well Tell us how it plays a part for you, uh, in terms of what you do And we don't need to go to specifics, but how do you help you yourself to become the better version of yourself Through, through nutrition? Yeah Yeah So, I mean, nutrition is a whole, like, world altogether, right? So I I'm going to, I'm gonna answer your question in a different way I think the one thing, if there's one thing that I can share with your listeners, the one thing, the difference that makes all the difference Is sleep Yeah It's really that simple Let's not complicate it, right? We can get into the nutrition, but let's first talk about sleep How many hours are you getting? Mm-hmm Like that was the question I used to ask myself I used to tell myself, okay, I'm looking at creatine and amino acids and, and you know, vitamin B and D and multivitamins and, and all this stuff, right? But I'm not getting, I'm getting five hours of sleep So what's the point of all of that? If the one thing that I have full control over, I'm not even managing Mm-hmm I'm mismanaging So I think the most important thing before nutrition is sleep And then, you know, things like just making sure you eat four hours before you go to bed, right? So that it helps your sleep Um, and then things like just breathing, like walking out of, you're waking up, stepping out of, you know, stepping out into the open and just soaking in the rays Hmm Right Just absorbing the sun You get, you know, the purest form of vitamin D uh, and then doing some breath work, just simple, you know, box breathing, three in hold for three, three out, and just doing that for a few minutes It just, it just completely changes your mindset, the energy levels for that day Yeah So I think very simple things that entrepreneurs, simple things, yeah Entrepreneurs can do to help them become a better version of them, of themselves Does that mean that anyone can have like fast food and I mean, you know, good food, clean food We, we know, I mean, that's well documented, right? And so is everything else that I mentioned, but I think we forget the basics Yeah We start going into the next level, level two, level three perhaps But yeah, of course, eating, eating right, right? Mm-hmm Just getting enough protein, not overindulging in carbs Uh, carbs are good, but within, within reason, within measure Mm-hmm Um, just making sure that you, um, are hydrating enough Right Just drinking enough water in the day Yeah A lot of people don't drink enough water Um, so to me it's all about the basics But yeah, eating healthy is, is definitely something that's, that's paramount So today we have a, a lovely guest, which is the book, bring It On Obviously, one of the things that I wanted to talk about is not just about the book, but the process behind it as well Um, you know, many entrepreneurs, what they are looking to do is build their personal branding One of the things that they could do is obviously do a podcast, write a book, but you've written a book, and it's not just any book It's, it's, it's a genuinely good book And as you mentioned, you can go in and out whenever you want, right Because it's got nuggets of great information that you can use day to day So one of the things I just wanted to kind of dig into is what was your process, thought, process in writing the book? Um, and what kind of things would you say elic one of our listeners can, can get out of, you know, reading, reading the book? Hmm Uh, so the process was, you know, I, I was at a point where in I was coaching leaders and entrepreneurs, and I noticed that, you know, I, I was getting to the point wherein I couldn't work with certain people that I wanted to work with I just did not have, you know, I had not figured out how to get more than 24 hours in a day Mm And so I thought, okay, you know what, um, maybe, um, I started speaking to my mentor, my coach, and, you know, the idea basically started taking shape in my, in my mind, of writing a book Then I thought, okay, if I write a book, then I can actually take this book and I can give it to someone Hmm And I thought, okay, but I need to write a book that's going to not just be A level one book and a level one book are books that motivate you Yep Right That inspire you I thought, okay, you know what? There's enough of those books out in the world So if you think about change, it happens at three levels It happened You go from thinking about change Mm-hmm To doing it To becoming it So a lot of books out there are in the thinking level, right, are for people who are thinking about change So they need motivation, inspiration Now I thought, you know what, someone needs motivation and inspiration There's a website called youtubecom that provides infinite amount of YouTube shorts as well, and YouTube shorts as well Infinite amount of, of inspiration and motivation Um, I need to write a book at the level two So it's for people who are now done thinking about it, they have the motivation, they're inspired to change, and now they need to start doing it So the book is, um, it's, it's, it's an intervention Uh, the end of every chapter are questions, an exercise, an intervention, a quiz that basically creates this journey of working with a coach So imagine it's, you know, it's a relationship with a coach who has gone through this journey, has identified tools that have worked not just for himself, but for entrepreneurs and leaders that, uh, that I've worked with And now it's all packed in this book So that was the process, the thought process around, um, around writing this book I like what you've mentioned about the level two, uh, guidance of what the book is trying to achieve And one of the things that I wanted to dive deeper into is the first thing is common theme that happens with a lot of our guests is they either have a coach or mentor So as an entrepreneur, you need coaches and mentors to help you in that journey Um, I don't think even the top entrepreneurs don't have one Um, so just wanted to highlight that and, um, thank you for That's a great point Thank you for sharing that Such a good point The other thing I wanted to talk about is the inner game transformation So, so your, your transformation coach and you talk a lot about the, in a game, what does that mean? What is the in a game and what can you do to kind of go in and Take it out and cause it to transform yourself into the better version of yourself Whenever I'm in a room of either 50 or 500, I ask a question, and the question is, how many in this room want to change? And inevitably, everyone's hands go up And so we are in a constant quiet negotiation and conversation with change But the reality is this, 95% of those people are going to fail, not because they don't have the desire or the willpower to they do, but because they haven't figured out How to change from the inside out Mm They are looking for something out there that if this happens, I'm going to change If I hit that revenue, I'm going to change If this market opens up for me, I'm going to change if this person does that So it's, it's the, it's the old model of if this, then that, which doesn't work when it comes to change And then we stop asking ourselves two fundamental questions The first question is, what do I want? What do I really want? And the second question is, what's getting in the way? So this book helps readers answer those two questions What do you want? And what's getting in the way? Because when you're able to answer those two questions with absolute clarity You become unstoppable You understand how the, the, the process of change starts happening Mm-hmm So, to your question, it's, it's really all about, we all want to change Everything that we're doing is in pursuit of changing something in our life Right We become entrepreneurs because we want a better lifestyle Or, or the people who think that that entrepreneurship provides you with freedom Hmm Um, it does not in the beginning Right Maybe, maybe once you've earned it, but, you know, we're all looking for something We all want to change some aspect of our life Yeah Yeah So about a year ago, um, you've walked on the stage and you've TEDx, which is probably a very nerve wracking, um, activity to do Um, hats off to you Obviously, it's not something that from, from what people have told me, it takes time to prepare to get your content right, to rehearse Um, your, your TEDx obviously is available on YouTube, so if anyone wants to, um, you know, we'll put it in the show notes, but if wants to see it, they can see it on YouTube and put, put your name in You touched upon some really, um, touching stories in that TEDx Um, and you know, one of the things you spoke about is that infamous deal when your wife was about to give labor Um, crossroads The Crossroads Um, and you know, I've heard that story live as well and you know, it It's touching And my father with three children and the first, my first son, I was halfway there, not halfway there in terms of being present Um, and so I relate to that story a lot Um, because at that, at that time, straight after my son was delivered, I had to go to work Right Because I had to, I was working on an, an important project Can we give the listeners a quick reminder of that story and why it was so significant for you and also for them? Yeah Uh, that story So, so it was a, you know, I, I spoke about that dark night, that phase During that phase, you wouldn't really know that I was going through that phase because anyone from the outside looking in would say successful I checked all the boxes of, you know, that narrow way, that narrow way in which we define success But to win the outer game, I was creating a lot of chaos in, in my inner game, and uh uh, I found myself at a crossroads wherein I had to make a decision between being with my wife, who was nine months pregnant or jumping on a plane to chase a business deal, so I wouldn't be here talking about this story had I stayed back, right? Mm-hmm That would've been a happy ending, but I, uh, because things were so distorted and I wasn't, I didn't know what I wanted, right? Talking about those two things, I stopped asking myself, what do I really want? And what's getting in the way? And so, because I wasn't clear, I jumped on that plane, I chased the business deal, and as a result, I didn't make it back to the birth of my first child And that was a really, I mean, I think about it today and I still get really emotional about it now for, for a different reason now because I, I look at that As a gift Mm-hmm It truly was a gift It wasn't in that moment, but as I look back, it was really one of those seminal moments It was that catalyst You know, you talk about what was the trigger, what was the nudge? Like, this was one of the triggers that really pushed me out of, you know, that, that comfort zone and, and really question, you know, why, why am I doing what I'm doing? Mm-hmm Why am I chasing this when the right thing to do would to be with my family, to be with my wife? And so that was the story And, and, uh, it was a story that I shared in, in my, in my TED Talk And the reason I shared that in my TED talk is, so the, the title of the TED Talk is Unlearning Your Personality Yeah Oftentimes when we are, so for entrepreneurs that want to go into a new market or they want to scale the business, whatever the situation may be, we think that there's something that we need to add, like we need to learn something or we need to add something to the current equation in order for us to get that thing But the reality is that a lot of times it's not about learning something new It's about unlearning habits, beliefs, memories, behaviors that are no longer serving us Mm-hmm As a matter of fact, it's those things that we need to unlearn that's keeping us stuck So the title was unlearning, or is unlearning your personality because personality is not permanent Yep Like we're told that, you know, or how often do you hear people say, well this is how I am I used to say that I hate that I used to say that, that I was that guy This is how I am There's nothing I can do about this But the reality is that everything is, like, we know now that your brain is, there's this thing called neuroplasticity Mm-hmm Your brain is malleable It's plastic, which means you can change anything As long as you know what you want, you can change it Yeah What keeps us stuck is the not knowing, you know, when I was growing up specifically, um, and I was talking to People who are older than me, um, you'd always hear this thing that they would say, where I'm too old to do this, or I'm too old to learn that, or I can't do this anymore And I think, or it's, it's not me, it's them Yeah So I used to, I, when I was growing up, I used to think, oh my God, I need to make sure I learn as much things as I can now'cause when I get to that age, my ability to learn is not gonna be, um, as strong But, you know, I'm in my forties now and I'm always learning even now And I think as you said, it's, it's how you perceive yourself You know, if you believe you can learn something, you can learn something Doesn't matter how old or you know, how, how young you are as well And even, even sometimes you come up, you, you meet younger entrepreneurs and they have that limiting belief where, oh, I can only do X amount of revenue I can't do y am out in revenue'cause I've gotta fix all of this, which is a, a good, a reasonable explanation, but you're not thinking outside the box a lot of the times And I think as entrepreneurs, you know, the good ones are the ones who are constantly thinking outside the box, constantly challenging themselves as we've, you know, dissected in, in this, in this episode The other thing obviously I wanna touch upon just before we wrap up this section anyway, is I think a lot of entrepreneurs do have these conflicting problems where they have family, they have life, they have business all in a mess Um, and I think one of the reasons why I asked you this question is because I work with lots of entrepreneurs running an accounting firm and, you know, I I, I like meeting them all the time and every so often you'd hear stories saying, oh, I miss this Birthday or I missed this, you know, performance in a school Um, and it's very easy to get sucked into entrepreneurship Mm Um, and it's very easy to chase a deal or attend this meeting when you, you should have some time for, you know, family as well Um, and I think, yes, we are, we are kind of work doing lots of different things You know, we are running not a marathon, but a ultra marathon, but we do need to have that ability to stop and be able to make time and be able to give attention to certain things that's important to you as well I know that, obviously, I know that you are very much involved in, you know, your family You know, you've, you've got two boys and you know, you're really present for them as well What kind of things can you From a family point of view to help them be more present from, from that point of view? Yeah I mean, look, I'm gonna say something controversial I, I, I think birthdays will be missed and, and, you know, parent teacher meetings are gonna, are gonna be missed These things, you know, you're not always gonna be there Yep There's always gonna be, you know, or you're gonna find yourself in situations wherein you have to, you have to pick And there are times when you're going to pick entrepreneurship, where you're gonna pick the business, you're gonna pick the deal as long as you're consciously doing it I think it's part of the journey And the flip side, or not the flip side, but in addition to that is when you are with the family, when you're You know, with your kids or your spouse, how can you be really present? Mm Because it's not really about the quantity And, you know, entrepreneurship has seasons Yeah Right In the spring you want to be out there Um, you know, building in the summer it's gonna get a little tougher, but you continue to be out there, you're continuing to build, meet people Then you go into the fall and the fall, the season's very different You know, it's not as vibrant as it is in the spring, but in the winter is when you lock in Mm-hmm Right? Meaning when you, when you hunker down, because not much is going on in the business or in the environment or in the market And so just knowing that there are seasons to entrepreneurship and, and, and, and matching Your time with family, hobbies to, you know, those seasons and, and not really focusing on quantity, but really be focused on quantity Like when you're there being truly, like, truly present with the phone away, um, you know, no distractions and just completely in the moment I, I, I think that that's what, in the past I used to think that, you know, it's all about quantity Like, I need to be there as much as I can Well, as an entrepreneur, you can't always be there and s you get to a point where your kids are busy, right? So, so really just being clever about, okay, when do they not need me and when can I really focus on the, so just being conscious about things Yeah, just being really aware You've gone into some of the Intricacies of the inner game Um, and you've touched upon it, but can you give us more insights into how that, how that works for, for many entrepreneurs, you know, their interpretation of what that means may not be what the right thinking is Yeah And how would you unpack that? How can you explain my inner game? Your in a game? They in a game and how they can, you know, take it to the next level Yeah So let me answer that by, by first getting clear on what the outer game is, right? So as entrepreneurs, uh, we are thinking about, in our business, we're looking at KPIs, right? KPIs There are all these different metrics that we track in our business Uh, all of that's outer game Um, at the personal level, you know, habits, morning routines, uh, nutrition, right? We spoke about nutrition earlier Those are all out outer game Uh, or the outer, the games that we play out there Mm-hmm Um, think of it as as an app, right? So those are the apps The inner game is the operating system The inner game is what those apps sit on So your inner game is your code It's how you think about yourself It's the beliefs you have, it's your values, your memories Um, these are things that, um, are with you It's part of your identity, right? So We oftentimes think about leveling up by, you know, introducing these different hacks, which is great, but you can't build, you can't load apps on an operating system that's out of date Mm That needs an upgrade It's like, why do we update our phone? Right? Like these new apps come out We need to update the software in order for the base operating system, the inner game, to be able to handle and manage and efficiently support all these different habits and routines that we, or these metrics that we're chasing So that's, that's how I think about the inner game It's What's driving the outer game But in order for us to play a really big outer game, we first need to understand, okay, what do I actually truly believe? Like, why am I stuck? Why am I not able to break through no matter how many habits we, we adapt? And, um, and no matter how many hacks and morning routines and, and you know, these new trending, um, books that talk about how to level one, level one, right? Again, all of that is great, but ultimately it's all of that is costume, right? It's costume Your identity is really what, um, what drives all of that I love that example Of being able to upgrade your operating system to be able to then take on these apps Can you give us one example of that, like a practical example for an entrepreneur where they would upgrade their operating system to then be able to take on something that is on the outer game? Yeah, absolutely So I'll give you an example that I went through Uh, I had a lot of, um, I had a lot of self-doubt Um, I had this belief that I wasn't good enough and it's a common belief that, that a lot of people have, but I wasn't even aware that I had this belief And so because I had this belief, it was driving me to take up all these different things Like I, you know, every opportunity I I took on, I, I didn't say no to any opportunity during that, that dark night of the soul phase And I realized that, you know, I, I thought it was serial entrepreneur, like I'm a serial entrepreneur That's what serial entrepreneurs do But the reality is it was a coping mechanism because I had this belief that I wasn't good enough I was hedging every opportunity with the, the next opportunity Like, I had this belief that it wasn't gonna work out, so let me start building the next thing And, and so all these different businesses were, these apps was the outer game that I was playing, but I was building it on Shaky ground Hmm The operating system wasn't robust That's why in my book, um, there's a quote at the back of the book, it says, self-belief is not negotiable You can't expect other people to believe in you unless you believe in yourself first Great quote Yeah So, Dhiren, you are a Certified Bloom growth coach Um, I've always known you as a great coach regardless of this certification, but I remember we had the conversation a, uh, a while ago and you went to this retreat and it's where you kind of learn this method For those who are not aware of, um, what the Bloom Growth Coach is, can you just tell us About what it is and how are you able to apply it when you are working with entrepreneurs? Yeah I'll make it, I'll make it simple I'll, before getting into the actual methodology, uh, let me, let me give you an analogy So think of Bloom Growth, uh, or Bloom It's an operating system It's a growth, it's a, it's an operating system for businesses that want to grow Now, think of it this way So when you wanna go somewhere, right? What do we do these days? We pull out our phone What do, which app do we pull up? Google Google Maps Google Maps or Google Maps, right? And we plug in the destination The destination is what we want That's the goal, right? And then What the app does is it says, okay, if that's where you want to go, let's now figure out where you are Okay This is where you are now based on where you want to go and where you are, here's the route you need to take Right And it starts building out that route And, and then it tells you, okay, you know what, when you get to this point, you're gonna have to take a left And, and then you're gonna go over, you know, a bridge and, and then you're gonna have to take a Right And, and by the way, um, there may be some cops here Right And then you're gonna hit some traffic there Right So it gives you the landscape of what you're gonna go through So Bloom is very similar to that Mm-hmm It's, it's for the business to define what is it that they want, what's the, what's the, BHAG, we start with A B, A G The big hairy audacious goal Goal Yeah So think of the BHAG as the five year goal, and then we work on, okay, well if that's what we wanna achieve in five years, what do we need to do in three in order to ensure that we're on track for the five? Okay, so these are the three year goals This, these are the, the goals, these are the KPIs This is What it's gonna look like This is what it's gonna feel like So all of this goes into a one page plan Mm-hmm Now, in order for us to achieve the three year, what do we need to achieve in one year to ensure that we're tracking? So these are the milestones, right? These are the the turns that Google Maps have you take, right? So once you have the one year, then we talk about, okay, well if that's the one year, what do we need to do this quarter to ensure we're on track to achieve our one year goals? Hmm So Bloom is basically built on seven core pillars that drive the business, that get alignment That way you're not wondering who's doing what The whole team knows exactly what each person is doing and what the deliverables are So you have ownership, you know, across every level and every team with every individual Yeah No, that's, that's, that's a great, great framework And, um, when you are working with entrepreneurs using this, this framework, um, what kind of challenges, what kind of, um, success have you have you come across? The big challenge that businesses is have before a growth system or before implementing a growth system is that they're growing, but they're not clear as to why they're growing Mm-hmm Or if they're not growing, they're not clear as to why, what's keeping them stuck So what Bloom does, is it, because it's a methodology, it's a process It reveals what's working And if that's working, like let's say that process is working well, let's double down on that Right Um, so Bloom is, is really focused on, going back to the analogy, uh, the Google Map analogy, right? You are seeing exactly where you need to go So what Bloom does is it helps you define key performance indicators, KPIs that are leading indicators What do I need to do? What are the activities in order for me to ensure that the outcome is certain? Yep We're taking the guesswork out of the business by defining what it is that we want What's the goal? What's the objective? What's the outcome? And usually it's a, it's a revenue number or, uh There's some businesses that say, okay, you know what, it's, you know, X number of locations, X number of clients, right? So every business is different, but it's a quantifiable number Okay Well now that we're clear on what it is that we're aiming for, what are the activities that will guarantee that we get there? Mm-hmm Yeah Uh, some of the successes, um, I'm working with a business, um, right now for the last four months, they've been the, it's a business that's been around for 10 years and we've been working together for the last 90 days and the last month, so may they closed their highest R revenue month in the history of the business Wow The results happen very quickly Yep Um, because it's a methodology, it's a tried and tested system that when you, you know, you, you follow the steps and everyone in the leadership team does what they've committed Now you're making a sacred commitment to each other You're going through The beauty about blue growth is that, you know, a lot of growth systems is very left brain Mm-hmm It's all about the logic It's all about the how Yeah Um, that's important, but equally important is the why Right? It's how can, how can we work together wherein I have this implicit and explicit trust in your feedback to me Because if I have blinders on or if I'm not seeing something accurately, how can we create a safe space that, you know, that enables you to give me that kind of feedback Would you say that Bloom, the bloom methodology also, um, incorporates culture? Absolutely That's exactly it It inco it, it elevates, it scales the culture Mm So not only is it scaling the business, it's scaling people Yep Because if you want to scale the business, you have to grow people Yep So, I, I, I say it's uh, it's an emotionally intelligent growth system that's built on technology Yeah No, great, great, great example So, shameless plug, not only do you help entrepreneurs, but you can also help businesses as well Absolutely Absolutely And make sure you buy the book as well Bye Thank you Um, just one more question before we wrap up So, um, this is just going back to the entrepreneur by the way, speaking of the book Is there, is there a way I can make the book available for your listeners? Of course We'll, we'll, we'll put it in the show notes Can we gamify this wherein, you know, the first, let's say five listeners who share a reel, for example, get a free book Yeah, we can do that Yeah, we can do that All right So we're gonna gamify the, the book Yeah So first five listeners who reshare the, the, the podcast We'll get a free copy of the book Perfect Done Signed as well Signed Okay Absolutely They share their name and we'll sign it and send it to them Great Just a final question before we wrap up Um, just going back to the entrepreneur and their journey, one of the most common Um, complaints, not complaints, but concerns that I get from, I'm an accountant, so not only do I talk about numbers, but I talk about other things as well with my clients, right Um, other things Other things Sometimes I'm a therapist as well Um, so one of the things that you're a good listener, you'd be a good therapist One of the common themes that come up is burnout You know, um, as we mentioned, you are, you're doing so many different things as an entrepreneur, you're saying yes to everything Um, many entrepreneurs cannot say no So how, how, how can you help an entrepreneur identify burnout and how would you help them deal with it and kind of be in a position where they can continuously, you know, up their in a game? So they, they Overcome burnout? Yeah Uh, great question I, I think there's a misconception around burnout Uh, we, we think of burnout as, as taking on too much, right? Like not saying no And we take on so much in terms of commitment and, and, um, you know, businesses and, and, and tasks and projects and priorities But the reality is that we don't burn out because we've taken on too much We burn out because we've taken on too little And I know you're wondering like, what does that, how can you burn out when you take on too little? Hold off What I mean is we, we're taking on too little meaning, so we're doing things that don't Create energy because you don't burn out when, when you're, when you're really passionate about something, you know, you've been there where you're really passionate about what you're working on, and you just generate energy constantly It's when we say yes and we take on things that we haven't, that hasn't gone through the filter of, you know, is this what I really want and what's getting in the way? Like, you know, jumping on that plane, that's not what I wanted Right And that led to burnout I took that on Right But had I taken that on and let's say there was a deeper meaning to it, I would've been fine So it's, it's not that we take on too much, it's that we're taking on too little that's giving us meaning, that's giving us purpose or that, you know, it's things that we haven't really thought about Well, why am I doing this? For what purpose? Right? Um, because if we go through that filter, the probability of us burning out, doing something we're really passionate about I've never come across anyone who's really passionate about what they're doing and they're burning out Yeah, I think that's, um, I never saw it from that point of view, and I think that's a great, um, analogy Um, and it goes back to you're in a game Your purpose, um, while you're doing What you do as an entrepreneur Um, I was just gonna say now there, there are entrepreneurs that are probably listening to this thinking, no, you know what? I'm really passionate about what I'm doing, and I, I feel like I'm burnt out So, okay, well have you scheduled rest and recovery And that's another great lesson from endurance sports is that rest is work Recovery is work Mm-hmm When you're resting, you're actually working But we, because of the hustle culture, we attribute rest to either slacking off or unproductive time or downtime But we've gotta reframe again You know, entrepreneurship is the infinite game of infinite games Right And if you're really passionate about your, what you're doing, you wanna continue doing it 10, 15, 20, well into the future And so rest and recovery is, is a big part of that Yeah I mean, as a, I'm not at your level in terms of endurance as an endurance athlete, but, um, recovery is very important when it comes to sport Yeah Um, you know, your body needs to recover for you to be able to keep your fitness levels up or, you know Take on that extra weight, uh, in the gym Um, before we started recording, you shared something that I thought was gold I asked you how is your, how's your eat break? And you said, you know, I recharged the batteries because I know what's coming up So great awareness, you know, what's ahead of you? You knew that you had to recharge, right? So just being aware of when is it time to recover? And just really leaning into that because knowing, knowing that you know what, you're not gonna be resting forever, right? You, you have these, you know, in, in training we have this heart rate variability To get really fit, you have to drive the heart rate up Yeah And then you have to bring it down And then you drive it up again, and you bring it down And in the process, your baseline is getting elevated Mm You're getting more fit, right? So it's the same thing with the corporate athlete The entrepreneur is the corporate athlete Yeah, yeah, yeah No, no Um, like I said, great analogy Um, and thank you for sharing that Before we wrap up, um, just wanna say you've been an amazing guest, um, really enjoyed every session I have with you I, I enjoy, and this has been a session for me as well, mutual So, uh, really appreciate that We still gonna have the offer We're the first five listeners who share the podcast will get a free book signed Uh, we'll make sure we get it delivered Uh, personally, we we're gonna share your information on the, on the, on the show notes in terms of where to contact you and how to get in touch But is there any final, any final thoughts or any final closing remarks that you would like to share with the listeners? Final thoughts, final remarks? I would say, um People really, you know, often ask me like, what's the one tip? Like, what, what can I change? Like what, what would you advise me? Um, I would say for entrepreneurs, it's look at your calendar Okay And every meeting that you have, right? Let's say it's a one hour meeting, cut it to 30 minutes All your 30 minute meetings cut to 15 minutes Mm-hmm All your fif I, I don't know if people have 15 minute meetings I do, but I don't think that's, that, that's a common thing But the idea is cut your meetings by half and watch nothing break Like just getting, because we in, in that allotted time, we get more precise with our communication and getting to the outcome You know, in, in bloom we have, um, we have a three minute timer Usually entrepreneurs are like, how can I discuss this problem in three minutes? And you know, first time they do it, it's 10 minutes, then it's seven, then it's five, then it's three Now there are two, there are like three minutes There's just too much time I don't need three minutes So that, that's what I would say is, is look at your calendar, cut meetings by half, uh, because you don't need that much time, um, in meetings Yeah Great tip Thank you very much Darren My pleasure Thanks for having me Thank you Thank you for joining us on The Alphapreneurs Podcast I hope you enjoyed the show Please subscribe and give us a five star rating and a review Your feedback is appreciated For show notes and more, check out the link in the description and connect to me directly on LinkedIn and search for Rayhan Aleem See you in the next episode