Start With the End in Mind: The 5 Secrets to Life & Business Success

By Jamal Sahib

Are you happy?
Are you fulfilled in your relationships?
Are you growing your business?
Are you inspired?
Are you passionate about your life?
Are you passionate about your business?
Are you radiating success?
Are you making a difference?
No? Then business coach, entrepreneur and motivator Jamal Sahib has the antidote.
In Start with the End in Mind, Jamal will lead you on a journey of self-discovery into you, the people around you, the mindset you bring to life and business, and how your preconceived ideas about leadership, fulfilment, expectation and responsibility can derail your dreams.
Using real-life coaching examples, coupled with the latest coaching techniques and insights, Start with the End in Mind will help you strip out imposed ways of thinking, enable you to crystallise your ambitions, deepen your understanding and appreciation of the people around you and guide you to a better, healthier, more fulfilling and impactful future.
Start with the End in Mind - The 5 Secrets to Life & Business Success will teach you to value your strengths, show you how to capitalise on your weaknesses, equip you with the tools to get the most out of those around you, give you permission to surround yourself with positivity, tear off the blinkers of self-deception so you can clearly see your path and will lead you from dreams and goals into action and success.
Jamal Sahib is a man with a vision, making a difference…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tracey McDonald Publishers
• Release date: Sep 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9780639992877

Book preview

DEDICATION

‘Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.’ – Rumi

While this book is dedicated with the deepest affection to my dad HM Sahib (known as Uncle Paata), I am keenly aware that, without the support of the rest of my family, business colleagues, friends and employees, this project may never have happened. My mother Zarina, my wonderfully supportive wife Saj, our amazing sons MH and Maanoo, and of course my mentor Yusuf Bux all deserve credit and my heartfelt thanks.

But it is my late father whose words have resonated with me throughout the writing process, and whose imprint on my life and approach to business has permeated this experience. I was just 20 years old when my father passed away, and yet he continues to have a profound effect on my life. Would my father have made an even greater impact on my life had he been with me for longer? I am inclined to think so when I observe my older brother, who enjoyed my dad’s presence for a decade longer than I did. To this day I know we both keenly feel his absence.

Just the other day my brother and I were shooting the breeze on WhatsApp about cars and how we would have loved to gift our dad with the new V6. For just a moment it felt as if he was still with us. It was a bittersweet moment even all these years later.

My dad grew up in a home where his mother was not very loving and affectionate, and he was sent off to boarding school at the age of five; but when he became a father, he showered us with love. I can’t recall a single exam when either me or my siblings didn’t get a good luck call and a word of encouragement beforehand – even when my brother was off at university. He backed us every step of the way. A pacifist of note, the only time I can recall my father getting into a fight was to defend me. I never doubted he had my back, and making him proud continues to drive me to this day.

As my boys grow up, I find myself applying the sort of open parenting style which my dad employed. I explain things to my sons; I don’t just demand their compliance. I talk through issues; I try to engage them and broaden their minds by highlighting different sides to any issue. That’s my father through and through, and I’m happy to continue that legacy.

My mother continues to make an indelible imprint on my life. She is a constant source of care and concern, a strong and forceful woman. She has, and continues to be, an amazing mum and I love her even though she can be incredibly sassy sometimes.

Saj is, well, Saj. She is gentle, supportive and loving. The best partner a man could hope for and a woman of a different kind of soft and nurturing courage. She had no hesitation in supporting me on this journey, without any concern for the challenges it might bring. ‘Do what you love to do,’ she told me when I left corporate life. ‘Together we will make it work.’ What a gift!

My mentor, Yusuf, is also a remarkable presence whose influence permeates all aspects of my life and my business endeavours. I have learned so much from him, his insights and his generosity of spirit and I thank him for backing me every step of the way over the past 12 years.

And, finally, my sons. I can’t wait for MH and Maanoo to grow and find their own passions in life. The road ahead is paved with opportunity. My boys, apply the lessons we’ve learned together, be true to yourselves and play fair, and the sky really is the limit!

To my readers, thank you for joining me on this journey. I have deliberately tried to share as much of myself in these pages as possible to open the door for our collaboration, to build the trust we need to work together and to highlight the evolution I’ve experienced by following this path. Together we will continue to grow businesses and turn houses into warm and loving homes in South Africa, in Africa and across the world. We will create jobs, we will create happy families and we will make a difference! In our highly connected world I am just a click of a button or an e-mail away, and I’d love to hear about your own journey and experiences as you apply the thinking behind START WITH THE END IN MIND – The 5 Secrets to Life & Business Success to your own reality.

Thanks, Dad, for showing me the way.

INTRODUCTION

Join me on a journey of discovery.

Whether you’re an avid reader of the Sunday newspapers or online material, novels or biographies, self-help books or business insights, you learn through the power of storytelling. The worlds of marketing and branding have hijacked the term ‘storytelling’ as a way of describing content that seeks to engage, rather than merely direct a consumer’s thinking. It has become one of their buzzwords. But irrespective of how we use the term, the notion of sharing our stories with others refers to human need and our desire to connect with and understand those around us.

As a student of human behaviour, and also as a father, husband, business coach, entrepreneur, businessman, engineer and employer, my life revolves around and is enriched by the stories of those people I come into contact with daily.

For many years I’ve conducted talks and seminars, workshops and informal discussions with clients. Afterwards, I have been bombarded with questions about when I’ll put my personal philosophy of success in life and business on paper. By way of reply I’ve always quoted the late well-known British journalist and intellectual Christopher Hitchens: ‘Everyone has a book in them and that, in most cases, is where it should stay.’¹

A few years ago, I began to deviate from this response. I began to realise that through avenues like print, radio and online media I could reach more people, speak to more leaders and help to transform more businesses.

However, there was more urgency associated with this ambition. South Africa is a country riddled with inequality and ranked by the World Bank as one of the world’s most unequal countries. The country’s Gini coefficient, which the World Bank uses to measure inequality, sits at 0.63 – making it a highly unequal place (0 represents a perfectly equal society and 1 a completely unequal society on the scale)². Clearly something has to give. Inequality has spiralled downwards even further since the advent of democracy in 1994 (it was 0.59 in 1993)³.

It is evident that our current focus on simply redressing the imbalances and inequities of the past is not enough. It’s time to change the way we think, how we operate and how we position ourselves in the world. This requires some serious work, from the very wealthy to the poorest of the poor. And yes, it is a tall order.

Armed with the ambition to contribute to this work, I set out to tell a story and to educate others. In essence, I wanted to make a difference, and to help to add value to our communities, country, continent and world.

The best and most impactful way I could think of to achieve this was by creating employment. It was this desire to make a difference that saw me walk away from a comfortable (and profitable) corporate job and enter the world of entrepreneurship. I was at the top of my game, earning great money and my career trajectory was neatly laid out for me. But I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t making a difference.

My real ‘aha!’ moment came while I was doing my MBA at the Gordon Institute of Business Science⁴ (GIBS) in Johannesburg. It came to me courtesy of one of the most inspirational and astute professors of business in South Africa, and indeed the world – Nick Binedell. During a strategy session, Professor Binedell stung the class with this comment: ‘Why are there so many of you sitting in this lecture room, all with cushy corporate jobs and excellent business skills, but you are not utilising these skills for the greater good and job creation?’

That hurt. With our combined skillsets and business acumen, the GIBS MBA class of 2016 certainly had the know-how to start and successfully sustain businesses. But many of us were simply riding the corporate gravy train.

At this time, I was working at a multi-national mining company, with all the perks of a high-paying job. Ironically, although my career was coasting along very comfortably, I was being tasked with restructuring work. So, rather than helping to boost employment, I was focusing on paring down our workforce. I sat there thinking: ‘There must be a different way to do this.’

Ultimately, I took Professor Binedell’s words as a personal challenge to help others with fewer skills and opportunities than mine to succeed in business and in life.

I packed away my suit and corporate job and embarked on opening a series of new business ventures: from a chain of hardware and DIY stores to a retail courier outlet, a construction business, a guest house, a décor and picture business and a coaching and consulting practice. This was a disparate group of businesses for sure, but each one fulfilled my goal of creating jobs. I was 32 years old, with a wife and two kids and many responsibilities. With each month I was adding more and more people to my payroll: more lives for whom I felt accountable. It was the most alive I’d felt in years. It was also the beginning of a new journey that ultimately led to this book.

Of course, I’m no saint. I’m a businessman. I come to this book wearing my salesman’s hat. I will share my story and many of the insights I’ve learned along the way – but I will also highlight the value of the coaching and business consultancy service I offer.

I have to stress that the one does not automatically cancel out the other. Practical experience and learning are closely related. One-on-one coaching is at its most powerful and influential when combined with self-actualisation. Reading, similarly, is reinforced by skilled guidance.

My approach to business, to learning and to personal development has been hugely beneficial in my own journey and also