We’ve all met them. That person who seems to seamlessly glide through life, from one lucrative opportunity to the next. The ten-year ‘overnight success’.

When you’re starting out, becoming the best in your industry can feel totally out of reach, especially if you don’t have ready-made connections or a rich dad. But that’s where we come in. As the business school for the self-made, we’re in the business of breaking boundaries and carving our own paths. Today, we’re sharing the formula that can help you 10x your career. Thank us later.

Get familiar with nsg

No, not the UK rap group (although they’re pretty good too). NSG is our tried-and-tested formula for rising to the top of your game:

Networking

Skills

Growth Mindset

Aka the three essential things you need to do to earn more, learn more and design a career you can be proud of. Let’s get started:

1. How to 10x your network even if you don’t have ironman-level-charisma

1. How to 10x your network even if you don’t have ironman-level-charisma.Networking can feel awkward, right? Cheap wine, business cards, forced conversation… ugh. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be that painful. In fact, it can be fun. The key is to to start reaching out to people, be it via an Instagram DM or a friendly LinkedIn message, introducing yourself and inviting them for a coffee. Your message can be as simple as: “Hi <Name>, really loved your latest blog post, particularly the part about Hubspot hacks. Thanks for sharing all that you do. Would love to swap business tips -- I’m always keen to meet talented people in my industry. Coffee on me next Wednesday?”
   Once you’ve connected, be sure to participate in future content of theirs you see, take the time to leave a comment here and there, and keep supporting them online. You’ll be amazed at how far a little online interaction can go. It also pays to add value of your own, through sharing your own posts, opinions and articles to show that you’re active within your industry.
   Pro tip: when writing and sharing posts of your own, be sure to tag and include the work of people you’d like to know better. They’ll be flattered and it’s a brilliant introduction to you and what you do.
   Oh, and don’t overthink it. Even the most successful people are, well, people. The difference is that they took the time to network as a priority. You can’t afford not to.
2. How to acquire new skills that will make you irreplaceable
   In today’s business world, it’s not enough to be good at one thing. You need to know enough to be dangerous. A master of upskilling. A multi-hyphenate. The key? Make gaining new skills a part of your everyday life.
   The best way to build new skills is to make a habit of building something. Fact. Take design expertise, for example. If you work for a tech startup and feel you’d save time and energy if you could know your way around Adobe better, there’s no smarter way than to design something as a side hustle of your own. Or, if you want to know more about entrepreneurship, spend the summer launching a new product in your spare time with less focus on the end goal, and more attention on the process itself. Take on extra work with the pure intention of learning more. It’s always worth it.
   Sidenote: if you feel like you need other people’s involvement to get you motivated, you can also volunteer. Nonprofits and charities are always looking for people to help them with their digital strategies. Upskilling and supporting a worthwhile cause? Jackpot.
3. How to practice a Growth Mindset with very little budget or time
   Good news. By reading this blog post, you’re already practicing a growth mindset. But to take it to the next level, you need to make your personal growth as habitual as eating or taking a shower.
   How? Through transforming typically mundane periods of time into micro upskilling sessions.
   Your daily commute? Listen to a podcast. (How I Built This or Ctrl Alt Delete are great places to start.)
   Your quiet Wednesday evening? Ditch Netflix and go to a meetup. (Eventbrite or Meetup.com are great for finding like-minded people.)That session at the gym? Swap Spotify for an Audible business book.
   
   

‍

Above all, remember that the people who rise to the top of their industries all have one thing in common: the bravery to do so. Believe in yourself, build your network and skillset, and keep a growth mindset and watch what happens.

Spoiler alert: this is where things get interesting.

This isn’t just a handy tip we think you might like. It’s the premise behind Jolt, and we truly believe it’s the formula for success. So much so that we got together with great minds who’ve completed MBA’s at Harvard, Stanford and Insead and created our Not an MBA® programme.

This is a programme specifically designed to connect you to a thriving community of like-minded self-makers so you can tick the networking box in style.

Our team of MBA grads from the top business schools in the world clued us in on what was missing from their MBA’s. And we’ve included every single nugget of info they gave us. Not an MBA® teaches you battle-tested skills you can put into action straight away. Our teachers are world-class experts who are still working at impressive names across the globe.

Unfortunately we can’t give you the growth mindset, but you’ll bring that just by showing up.

‍