New year, new you (or something like that)? We speak to executive coach and Good Life Projects (Passo, Foley’s, Rum Kitchen) co-founder Alex Potter about how he got to where he is now. Keep reading for some great advice.
I have a background in Art History, building businesses and making mistakes. I co-founded a hospitality and lifestyle group called GLP Hospitality. We built Rum Kitchen, Foley’s, Passo, Island Poke, and an events concept called Love Brunch. Last year, I stepped down from the day-to-day operations to focus full-time on building my coaching practice where I coach CEOs, founders and senior management in companies that are looking to scale.
In the States, working with a coach is as common as having a personal trainer. When asked what the best advice he ever got was, Eric Schmidt, the former Chairman and CEO of Google said “find a coach.” If you want to become the very best at what you want to achieve, work with someone who can hold you accountable to achieving your dreams. I started working with a coach, and fell in love with the process so much that I decided to study for my ACCP. I have always been fascinated with leadership, building culture in business and personal development.
I felt a natural calling, wanting to share my experience, learnings and insight to help others navigate their way through the everyday hurdles we encounter as entrepreneurs when growing our businesses.
Slow down. I think it’s incredibly important to recognise that we are only ever one decision, phone call, WhatAapp or email away from someone who can help us in any given situation – someone who has been through exactly what you have and worked out how to overcome it. If you have a problem, write it down, then write down as many ways you can solve it until you have built a strategy to overcome it. Don’t allow yourself to become a victim of your circumstance and don’t ignore the areas of your life or business that give you anxiety. Confront them and don’t be too proud to ask for help.
In the states check out Aubrey Marcus, who wrote a great book recently that’s worth a read called ‘Own Your Day, Own Your Life’. Over here, keep an eye out for my coach Alister Gray, my great friend and Breathpod founder Stuart Sandeman and Kaizn Partners founder Jono Remington-Hobbs.
Right now I’m happiest working with my clients and helping them smash their life goals – building businesses where people feel fulfilled in their life and work and have enough time to do the things they love. On a personal level, I love to travel, hang out with my friends, read and work out.
I’d give three pieces of advice to my younger self.
1. Make time to read a book a month, and journal what captivates you.
2. Build a network of mentors you would like to emulate, who you can meet regularly to ask them about every aspect of their life and their best advice.
3. Start the day with a cold shower and transformational breathwork. (See Breathpod.)
What’s next? I am in the process of building a curriculum to support a series of workshops and retreats I will be hosting later in the year here and abroad.
Get in touch with Alex at alex@alexanderpotter.co.
