East-West Connect's Dmitry Leus on the Power of Sporting Commitment in Business Success
LONDON, February 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Dmitry Leus of East-West Connect, speaking today in London, was asked about the relationship between a regular commitment to sport and a person's chances of business success. He responded: "To be deeply committed to a sport builds the skills that are crucial for entrepreneurial success. In both the sporting and business worlds, one must be goal-orientated. Both realms require you to be dedicated to your training and self-improvement. Both will require a strong self-belief. Both will require you to make mistakes and learn from them. Both worlds require that you trust your own intuition. And both disciplines require you to be open to new challenges and experiences."
He went on to explain his own sporting journey which began during his childhood in Turkmenistan. "My father was a well-known fencing coach and international fencing judge. But like many kids in the Soviet Union at that time, I first experimented with swimming, judo, martial arts, and courtyard football. I enjoyed them enough but none of these sports lit a flame for me until I tried fencing. A lifetime of training began. Weeks spent in special pre-tournament training camps, where hours were spent in relentless practice. I felt the frisson of truly competing, the moment where all attention is focused on you. That moment when the coach, the judges, the other participants and the audience are all watching to see what you are capable of. And then the thrill of lifting a trophy. First the second place trophy and then eventually the first place. With the exhilaration of lifting it comes the satisfaction of knowing you earned it, that the hours and hours in the gym paid off, that you really did it."
Mr Leus went on to explain that he believes fencing has given him seven gifts in his business life: "The first is to just keep moving forwards towards your goal. To do that, you have to know your goal clearly, in this very moment, time and place. You need to be very aware of this goal. Moving forward just for the sake of it is a waste of time and energy. The second skill is persistence: never give up. You have to gather all your strength and fight. The third is to train and keep training. Champions train twice as hard as runners up. To maintain a leadership position is even more difficult than achieving it in the first place. The fourth transferable skill is self-belief. Just remember the rule: Nothing is impossible. The fifth transferable skill is to simply make mistakes. If Michael Jordan can talk about the shots he missed and the games he lost, then so can we all. As he said, he succeeded because he failed, over and over. The sixth golden rule is to listen to yourself. Trust your intuition. Hear the vice inside you that will give you that small advantage that helps you win. And last of all, be open to something new. Try something different, take a different approach and don't be afraid to experiment."
Mr Leus concluded: "It is clear to me that my business mindset was formed long before I actually grew up and entered the business world. It was created in the gymnasiums and competition halls of my teenage years and the spirit that it forged is what helps me throughout all other aspects of my life."
About East-West Connect
East-West Connect is a London-based forum focused on investment risk and opportunity in Central and Eastern Europe. We provide news and analysis about the investment and economic climate of the region.
East-West Connect was founded by Dmitry Leus, an entrepreneur and banking and financial services professional.
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