The meaning of CEO and the abbreviation may seem frightening to many of us in the context of business building. 

To give you only one part of a  definition for CEO, Chief Executive Officer, is the highest-ranking executive in a company or organization. The CEO is responsible for the overall strategy, direction, and success of the organization. They make key decisions, allocate resources, and provide leadership and guidance to the employees. The CEO is the public face of the company and is responsible for representing the company to stakeholders, including investors, customers, and the media.

This sounds scary, indeed. However, have you ever crossed your mind to take on a slightly different approach to encourage us to become the CEO of our own life?

Here I would like to refer to a book “The Great CEO Within” by from which one can get a great deal of information on  topics such as goal-setting, time management, leadership, and financial management, among others, which can be extrapolated into our own life.

I can resonate with the idea of being a CEO and a leader of my own life. Leaving my university job for doing what I am doing right now required of me a lot of courage. A lot of fear with many uncertainties ahead. At times, I feel alone and demotivated in many tasks I have to complete on regular basis to keep the company going (necessary tasks but not as enjoyable), especially when you know that there are still many things to achieve ahead, but thankfually there is also  a part of my work that I enjoy doing a lot (necessary tasks and enjoyable , without the two I think no project can survive. 

Here are some practical tips from the book:

1. Develop self-awareness: To become an effective leader, you need to understand your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The authors recommend taking time to reflect on your experiences and understand your own strengths and weaknesses.

2. Set clear goals: Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals to help you stay focused and motivated.

3. Practice mindfulness: The authors recommend incorporating mindfulness practices into your daily routine to help you stay centered and focused, and to improve your emotional intelligence.

4. Embrace feedback: Seek out feedback from others and be open to constructive criticism. This will help you to understand your strengths and weaknesses and improve your leadership skills.

5. Learn from failure: Don’t be afraid to fail and learn from your mistakes. Failure is a valuable opportunity to learn and grow as a leader.

6. Surround yourself with positive people: Surround yourself with people who support and encourage you. This will help you stay motivated and focused on your goals.

7. Prioritize self-care: Take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. A healthy and balanced lifestyle is essential for effective leadership.

These practical tips are not always easy to achieve and take time, but starting with any of the above may feed into the remaining ones. I encourage you, like I encouraged myself long time ago and still do, to start with just one and see where it takes you.

In our Shinrin Yoku Guide Training we encourage and empower guides in-training to be CEOs of their own lives.