How Dubai Will Disrupt You
Self-Development Lessons From The Fastest Growing City In The World
Over the past few decades, Dubai has grown from literally a desert to a world transformational leader in almost everything; economy, energy, government, business, innovation, you name it. In this article, you will learn how you can do that on a personal level (Summary available at the end).
Set A Concrete Vision For Yourself
Simple! Dubai’s vision is to be the best in the world when it comes to.. everything! It communicated this vision very clearly in Vision 2020, Vision 2050, Vision 2071, etc.
Set long term VISIONS and short term GOALS — Your vision of yourself should not be actionable; if you make a long term vision actionable then you will only feel rewarded when you achieve it, and that might prompt you to give up on your vision halfway through. Set yourself a long term vision and break it down into short term actionable goals (as in daily goals!). This way you will constantly feel rewarded and motivated to stick to your vision.
Place your vision somewhere obvious — Dubai’s visions are written everywhere you walk, on buildings, in books, in museums, as soon as you step in the airport, social media, etc.
Dubai Youth Hub’s vision is to be “the best youth hub in the world.” Notice below how clear and non-actionable it is and how it is placed somewhere very obvious for everyone to see (it makes people working in it feel accountable).
Try things
Vision board: Print images, quotes, phrases and text that speak to your vision. Remember nothing actionable. Cut them and stick them on a poster board. Place the poster somewhere easy for your eyes to see. You can also design your vision board for free using Canva and print it yourself or pay for them to print and deliver it to you.
Believe In The Impossible Not The Possible
Remember Dubai’s long term visions in the previous lesson? Well, the city has more! Vision 2117 is a plan for the country to establish the first inhabitable human settlement in Mars by 2117. Talk about mission possible!
The city believes in the impossible. Had it believed that building a ski resort in the middle of the literal hot desert was impossible it wouldn’t have done it! Or building the tallest tower in the world when no machinery could have built that high. So don’t be realistic when setting your vision, go crazy with your ideas.
Try things
Think about the craziest thing you want to do but don’t take it seriously enough to work for it. Put it in your vision board (got nothing to lose!). Then write down one small actionable goal that relates to it. Just one simple doable goal. That is enough to build your confidence. Do this every once in a while.
Build Your Personal Brand
When you hear the word “Dubai” you can’t help but have images and perceptions of it in your head “a place of opportunity where dreams come true/ a futuristic city in the middle of the desert/ etc.” Dubai strategically controlled how the rest of the world perceives it, which is why it became a magnet for opportunities.
Try things
Check this link to build your own personal brand: http://fabrikbrands.com/what-is-personal-branding/
Use Your Resources Wisely
Dubai discovered a little bit of oil in the late 1960s, but it wasn’t sufficient enough to get it to where it is now if they just shipped it. The city exported the little oil they had and used this resource to build other investments like tourism, business, real estate and … networks! Today, oil accounts for less than 5% of Dubai’s GDP! The city’s economy is expected to be dependant on technology in the near future. How? Well, some of the current resources (e.g. money and networks) are currently being invested in technology.
Oil was an opportunity at the time and it was used to create other opportunities. That is what you should do too. Turn on what I call the “investment eye” to see beyond the obvious. Be curious. What are your personal resources? And how can you turn them into investments?
Turn on your “investment eye” to see beyond the obvious. Find an opportunity in everything you have and leverage it, don’t exhaust it.
Try things
Write down a list of your resources on a piece of paper (anything from your mindset to your skills, money, time, networks, etc). Then for each resource write (or draw) a strategy on how you leverage it to be aligned with your vision of yourself.
Summary of Lessons
- Set a concrete vision for yourself — A vision should be clear but not actionable. A goal should be actionable. A vision should be long term, and a goal should be short term. Make vision boards and place them somewhere very obvious for you to see.
- Believe in the impossible before the possible — Whenever you catch yourself being too realistic, make a mindset switch.
- Build your personal brand — Your personal brand is the character attached to the content you put out in the world. Make sure to optimize it.
- Use your resources wisely — You are your most valuable resource. Find what your strengths are and view them as investments. Don’t just use them, but make sure to leverage them.
