Author Archives: Frostie

Multiseed Sourdough Recipe

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Makes 1 loaf

Equipment round proving basket

DF, V+

This is the most popular loaf at the bakery. It has a devoted following among regular customers – one family buys ten at a time for their freezer! – and the most frequent first loaf for new customers. It’s also popular with the restaurants we sell through. It is earthy and honest with primal qualities, no doubt the second leavened bread made by man. Under any analysis, made with well sourced ingredients this loaf is as healthy as it gets, with the seeds providing a protein

hit as well as extra fibre and layers of extra flavours. Yet despite all this goodness and history, it’s still an everyday loaf that every member of your family will enjoy. We make this in both a tin and a round shape. These instructions are for the round loaf, but you can use any of the alternative shaping instructions from other recipes.

Day 1

50g strong white flour

50g water, at hand warm temp (32–37°C)

Active wheat starter (see below)

Mix the flour and water with the whole

quantity of the starter and leave loosely

covered at room temperature overnight.

35g sunflower seeds

35g pumpkin seeds

35g golden flaxseeds

15g sesame seeds

335g water

Soak the seeds in the water and leave at room

temperature overnight.

Nutrition Note:

We soak the seeds for a couple of reasons. The first is to do with the bread-making process. If you don’t soak the seeds they will absorb water from the dough, resulting in a drier dough and a heavier texture in the bread. So soaking the seeds guarantees a much more consistent loaf. The other benefit is that you activate them, which makes them release additional nutrients so that they are easier for your body to absorb.

Day 2

100g recipe starter made on Day 1

Water and seed mix from Day 1 (above)

335g strong white flour

40g rye flour

8g salt

Extra seeds for topping

1 In a large bowl combine the recipe starter with

the water and seeds and mix gently.

2 In another bowl combine the two flours and

the salt.

3 Add the flour mix to the first bowl and mix

using one hand until a dough forms. This takes

only a couple of minutes. It’s a good idea to

use only one hand, leaving the other one clean

for using utensils, etc. Use a plastic dough

scraper around the bowl to make sure all the

flour is mixed in. Cover the bowl with a shower

cap or damp tea towel and leave it to rest

at room temperature.

4 After 5–10 minutes, give the dough a fold in

the bowl. Use slightly wet hands to prevent

the dough sticking to them. Pull a section

of the dough out to the side and fold it into

the middle of the ball. Repeat this going

around the ball of dough until you get back

to the beginning (four or five folds). Use the

scraper to turn the dough upside down, cover

the bowl and leave for another 5–10 minutes.

Repeat this three times. After the final fold,

cover the bowl again and leave to rest for

1 hour at room temperature.

5 Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly

floured surface. Stretch out one side of the

dough and fold it into the middle. Repeat

this with each of the four ‘sides’ of the dough.

Put the dough back in the bowl upside

down and leave to rest for another hour

at room temperature.

6 Shaping a round loaf: Once the dough

has rested, turn it out onto a lightly floured

surface. Stretch one side of the dough out

and fold it into the middle. Repeat this all

around the outside of the dough until you

get back to your starting point. Flip it so the

seam side is facing down. Use your left hand

to hold the dough in place and use your right

hand to rotate the dough, tucking it under

and tightening it as you go around (if you are

left-handed you might want to use your right

hand to stabilise and your left hand to rotate).

The idea here is to increase the strength of

the dough without tearing it. The final surface

of the dough should be taut to the touch.

7 Put the remaining seeds in a bowl. Brush the

top of the dough with water and dunk it in the

seeds so that they are evenly spread over the

top. Place the dough so that the seam is facing

up and the seeds face down in a round proving

basket. There is no need to flour the basket

as the layer of seeds will prevent the dough

from sticking.

8 In the bakery at this point we put the dough in

our cool retarder cabinet for it to prove slowly

overnight. This helps it to develop more flavour

and become even healthier as it ‘pre-digests’

more of the gluten and ferments even more

probiotic qualities. Your version of our retarder

is your fridge – and you can leave the proving

basket in it overnight, covered with the tea

towel or shower cap. Take it out as you are

heating the oven. It’s fine for it to go in cold.

However, if you would prefer to speed things

up a little, at this stage you can simply leave

the dough in a warm place (ideally 24°C) until

it has more or less doubled in size. This should

take 2–4 hours. To test when the dough has

proved enough, press your finger about 2–3 cm

into it, then remove. If the dough pushes back

out slowly it is ready. If it springs back quickly

it is under proved; if it doesn’t spring back at

all, it is over proved. There isn’t much you can

do about that. The bread will be edible, but

more liable to collapse.

9 Preheat the oven to 250°C/fan 240°C/

Gas mark 10 or the highest temperature on

your oven. Place a roasting dish in the bottom

of the oven to heat up. Fill a cup with water

and place to one side ready to use. Also put

a flat baking tray in the oven to heat up.

10 When the oven is up to temperature, take the

hot baking tray out, lightly dust it with flour

and then turn the dough from the proving

basket out onto the tray. Slash the dough with

a sharp knife. Make sure that when you slash

you use one quick, smooth action, do not saw

at the dough. This will give you a much cleaner

line. In the bakery we use a single diagonal

slash down the loaf, but there are endless

variations you could use – be creative, define

your own distinctive pattern.

11 Place the baking tray in the oven and pour

the glass of water into the preheated roasting

dish at the bottom of the oven. The moisture

from this makes the dough lighter, helps

to set the crust and gives it a lovely sheen.

12 Turn the temperature down to 240°C/

fan 220°C/Gas mark 9 and bake for

approximately 30 minutes. To check if the

bread is baked through, tap the bottom –

it should sound hollow.

13 Leave the bread to cool for at least an hour

before eating. If you eat it when it’s still hot,

it will not have settled and so will be more

difficult to digest.

Making Your Sourdough Starter

A sourdough starter is how we cultivate wild yeast in a form that can be used for baking and has been done for thousands of years. The easiest way to make one is simply to combine flour and warm water and let the mixture sit for several days. In theory, you will only need to do this once in your life and it is unique to you.

The start is the magic, the genius, at the heart of everything we do and everything in this book. It’s an ancient technology, discovered by accident and passed from generation to generation. It forms the basis of transformation foods with unbelievable powers of preservations and flavour.

A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of making and keeping a starter, but it really doesn’t need to be daunting and is in fact something a child could do, getting a starter going takes 2 minutes a day, over 5 days. It’s really not that much effort at all. If you use it on a regular basis, maintaining it just becomes part of your bread and baking routine, and if you do not use it as regularly, or you’re going on holiday and are worried about leaving it for a while, don’t be. It can cope!

Keep your starter in the fridge unless you are using it every day. Bring it out to top it up, then return it when you have finished using it in your recipes. It will be fine there even for a few months without being used. It may separate in the meantime, but don’t panic, just mix it back together. To get it going again you want to really overwhelm it with food. So throw half of it away and add 100g flour and 100g warm water. Leave it overnight at room temperature and the next day it should be active again, i.e. bubbling away. It really is that straightforward.

At this stage you could use it, but we would actually recommend throwing half of it away again and topping it up with however much you need for your recipe. We find that by taking that one extra day with a rejuvenated starter you get a much more active starter, resulting in a better flavour and rise in your bread.

A sourdough start is also known as a ‘levain’, and sometimes a ‘mother’ (because it keeps producing babies).

In the bakery, we have three bread starters: wheat, rye and brown rice for gluten-free baking. For our basic sourdough, we use the wheat starter. This has an almost cheesy smell to it and a slightly more mellow flavour than the rye starter.

Wheat Starter

Equipment A container with a lid or a clean jam jar

Day 1

  • 1 tsp strong white flour
  • 1 tsp water, at hand warm temp (32-37oc)

Mix together the flour and the water in a container with a lid. We recommend mixing with your hands rather than a spoon. As disgusting as it might sound, we all have naturally occurring yeasts on our hands, so this can give your starter a real boost.

Leave the mixture overnight at room temperature. Cover it with the lid but do not make it airtight. A screw-top jar with the lid partly done up is perfect. You want the yeasts in the air to get in, but you also want to stop the mixture drying out.

Day 2

  • Wheat starter made on Day 1
  • 1 tsp strong white flour
  • 1 tsp water, at hand warm temp (32-37oc)

Throw away half of the mixture from Day 1. This is because you want to almost overwhelm the bacteria/yeast in the starter with food, by adding more flour than the weight of the original mixture. You could do this by adding more flour and warm water and not throwing any away, but you would very quickly end up with an excessively large amount of starter.

Stir the flour and water into the remaining mix and leave again at room temperature overnight.

Days 3 and 4

Repeat Day 2

Day 5

By now you should notice your starter has bubbles in it. This means it is ready! Don’t worry if it smells acidic or cheesy, this is completely normal and each starter will create its ow unique fragrance. Now you have your own living, bubbling jar of healthy microbes that you’ll be using for years to come.

How to use your starter in baking

Now you have your active starter you’re ready to start sourdough baking. The first thing to remember is that to make sourdough recipes you will need to build up your active starter (using all of it) the day before your bake. How to do this is detailed in each recipe under the heading on Day 1.

Having built your starter up, you will need to use most of it for the recipe (in the recipe we refer to it as the Recipe starter). What you don’t use, you retain as your ongoing active starter for your next recipe – you don’t want to have start from scratch each time! This all sounds more confusing that it really is.

Trouble-shooting

If the starter isn’t obviously bubbling, keep repeating Day 2 until it starts to. Quite a few factors can affect how long it takes a starter to activate, temperature being one of the main ones. If you begin your starter in cold conditions it may take longer to get going. Also, the general environment can have an impact. In the bakery, as we are making bread every day, there is so much yeast in the atmosphere that we find starters can take just a few days to get going, whereas if a kitchen is more sterile, it’s likely to take much longer.

 

Modern Baker: A New Way To Bake by Melissa Sharp with Lindsay Stark (Ebury Press, RRP £26). Photography by Laura Edwards. Available from amazon.co.uk

 

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD TO SPARK POSITIVE LIFELONG CHANGE

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By James Carré-Rice

For better or worse our potential is shaped, and indeed kept in check, by the things we believe about ourselves. Let me give you an example of how this is plays out.

Many years ago, while serving time in Borstal, an officer took us outside to play football on the yard. Then, while standing alongside me before kick-off, he casually spoke about having watched ‘Last Night at the Proms’ on TV the night before. “Wonderful those young people,” he muttered, “educated, dignified, the future of our great land.” Then, giving me a sidelong glance, added, “unlike scum like you,” and wandered away. His words stung, but sadly, I figured that on the balance of it, he was probably right.

The damage caused by such condemnation comes partly in the saying, but primarily in the believing. Years later, after transforming my life through meaningful therapy, those past self-beliefs tried to hold me back at key moments of opportunity. For instance, on the eve of my driving test, which secured me a great job and helped provide my first mortgage, I came under a vicious emotional attack. Sickening waves of negativism arose, as if from nowhere, trying to stifle my progress. ‘Who on earth do you think you are?’ they demanded, trying to belittle me. ‘You’re not like decent people, now get back where you belong.’ Emotionally, it made me feel uncomfortably out-of-place and unworthy. However, having previously engaged in meaningful therapy and gained a firm understanding about my true worth, I was able to overcome that spiteful attack and prosper.

From an early age our personalities are affected by the things others say but primarily by the conclusions we reach about ourselves. No sooner do we bloom into the fullness of childhood than the process of maturity arises to cover most of it up. At that time, a powerful element known as the ego sets to work, shaping its opinion about who it thinks we are. The ego accepts that which we believe about ourselves and forms it into an internal model.

For instance, in the case of a little girl being utterly neglected by her father (a common story), her inner ego is likely to be self-critical about why that has happened. The usual conclusion reached by a young mind is, ‘I’m not good enough.’ Such an emotional belief, no matter how inaccurate, will damage her prospects in many areas of life; not least when dealing with men. Nobody, not even she, will understand why she went on to accept second-rate options and lived way below potential.

So, what can be done? In the case of self-limiting beliefs, it’s hard to avoid the prospect of therapy, in which the root of the storyline can be re-visited in safety. Egoic beliefs are like hardy bushes that survive trimming, being ignored and severe pruning. Therefore, in order to be rid of them, we have to get down to the roots.

Those with the wherewithal to confront deep-seated trauma discover something remarkable at the point of contact. Far from the trauma overwhelming us, our conscious observation neutralises it. Yes, there will be a fearful moment of intensity, and perhaps a few tears, but our very open-eyed awareness will diminish its power.

The reward for taking such a brave course of action is to break the chains that bind and go forth to leave our mark upon this life. As described in my own story, rooting out damaging internal narratives, unleashes our true potential.

James Carré-Rice is a bestselling author, a renowned life coach, and a sought-after public speaker. But his life was not always so successful. As a young man, he was sentenced to a total of more than seven years at Her Majesty’s Pleasure for a string of violent offences. James, now 57, turned his life around and used his negative experiences of the penal system to develop a pioneering rehabilitative system for the New York State Criminal Justice Department that helped US gang members re-join society. Over 200,000 copies of his first book, Within These Streets, are in prisons here and abroad.

His new book, Another Kind of Knowing, is out now priced £7.99 from Amazon UK. For more information about James’ work, go to www.jamescarrerice.com

Melissa’s Life-Changing Carrot and Olive Oil Cake

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Makes 1 x 23cm round cake

Equipment 23cm round, deep, loose-bottom cake tin

Sorry for the melodramatic title of this cake but to be honest it was life-changing for me, so please just go with it. It’s the complex play of the spices that really brings this cake to life. Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon combine to heighten the flavours and aromas to an almost intoxicating level. With 500g of grated carrot in this cake there’s no getting away from its presence, though it’s surprising how the cake doesn’t really taste of it. Its purpose is to bind in the flour – in this case spelt, that is higher in protein and fibre than wheat. The fruity olive oil unifies all the other flavours. This recipe is so forgiving. Even overcooked, it’s still moist and delicious!

215 ml extra virgin olive oil

250g coconut sugar

4 eggs, beaten

250g spelt flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp salt

125g pecans, coarsely chopped

500g carrots, grated

Vanilla cashew nut icing or Maple cream

cheese icing (see below)

Roughly chopped walnuts, for topping

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/

Gas mark 5 and line a 23cm round, deep loose bottom

cake tin with baking parchment.

2 In a bowl mix together the olive oil, sugar and

eggs until well combined.

3 In a second bowl combine the flour and the

other dry ingredients and make a well in

the centre. Add the egg and oil mixture and

stir thoroughly until it is all blended. Finally,

add the pecans and carrots and mix again.

4 Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake

for about 1 hour 20 minutes, until a skewer

inserted into the middle comes out clean.

5 Allow the cake to cool in the tin for

10–15 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling

rack. Once it’s completely cool, top it with

either Vanilla cashew nut icing or Maple

cream cheese icing.

Nutrition Note:

The olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats that are better for your heart than the saturated fats in butter.

Vanilla Cashew Nut Icing

Equipment High speed blender

GF, DF, V+

We have to get really creative when it comes to ‘icing’ our cakes as we don’t use icing sugar. This recipe is one of our go-to icing recipes, it’s really easy to make and absolutely delicious. The basic recipe is for a vanilla icing, but it can easily be adapted to different flavours – we particularly like to add matcha for a vibrant green colour!

150g unsalted cashew nuts, soaked for

At least 4 hours but preferably overnight

300g full-fat coconut milk

2 tbsp lemon juice

75g maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g coconut oil, melted

Drain and rinse the soaked cashew nuts.

Put them in a blender with all the other

ingredients and blend until completely smooth

and creamy. Pour into a container and chill in

the fridge until firm. We usually leave the icing

in the fridge overnight, but around 4 hours

should do the trick.

Maple Cream Cheese Icing

GF

This is our take on classic cream cheese icing. It’s a lot less sweet and totally delicious.

2 tbsp maple syrup

225g organic full-fat cream cheese,

straight from the fridge

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 Stir the maple syrup into the chilled cream

cheese until completely combined.

2 Add the melted coconut oil and mix very

quickly to prevent lumps from forming.

Modern Baker: A New Way To Bake by Melissa Sharp with Lindsay Stark (Ebury Press, RRP £26). Photography by Laura Edwards.

 

Why do women love thrillers?

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From the international bestseller The Girl on the Train to last year’s The Breakdown, the psychological thriller has become society’s favourite means of escape – and women have long made up the majority of readers. But their appetite for crime and suspense is no mystery, writes Rex Richards.

When it comes to literary thrill-seekers, women are at the front of the rollercoaster queue. But why the hunger for suspense when female characters are routinely killed off (or otherwise abused) at the hands of a male villain? To understand the attraction, let’s take a look at what makes a good thriller.

Lots of thrillers have the same basic plot: A beautiful young woman with the best years of her life ahead of her is brutally killed. Things go downhill from there until, finally, everything gets resolved at the end. Quite often, scary and perverted things happen in the interim, and in the most successful thrillers, there are insights into the killer’s mind that are just as chilling as the acts themselves.

I have to confess, in the new thriller I’ve written, The New Prophet, that’s exactly how it starts but not exactly how it ends. I see writing thrillers like baking a cake. There’s a basic recipe that it makes sense to follow, but why not sling in some chocolate too and maybe some chilli for a real surprise? Normally a thriller sets itself apart by the dreadful details of the killer’s acts. My book, The New Prophet is different to other thrillers because it’s also very funny in places, and full of social comment, taking serious digs at TV news and celeb culture. Of course, it’s got loads of suspense, amazing female characters and a seriously chilling bad guy who thinks he’s possessed by a living fire that tells him who to kill.

So, given the formula and the likelihood of a female victim, why are women so hungry for goosebumps? I think the obvious answer is because women are more creative thinkers than men. Men prefer to have things laid out for them, and see order restored. Women are more imaginative and artistic, and like to piece it all together themselves. In my book, The New Prophet, there are clues as to why the killer does what he does. I’ve written it in just such a way that your ingenious mind will start whirring early and wondering what the real truth about his childhood and background is.

Another reason is all the emotions. Women are generally more in touch with their emotions than men. The older men get, quite often the more rigid and closed-up they become, whereas women understand their emotions more as they travel through life. In my book, women can read the quiet despair behind my main character Jack’s life. Yes, he’s funny, but some men might just miss why he is that way; women will know. When there are moments of utterly concentrated experience, such as when The New Prophet kills his first victim, there’s an emotional intensity to it that some men might miss. Women won’t.

The final reason women love thrillers is because these twisted tales are so different to their own lives. Seeing the bad guy get away with something really naughty appeals to a side of all of us that wants to break the rules too. Who doesn’t want to escape from the monotonous routine of their day-to-day lives?

But it’s not just a spirit of rebellion that makes these stories so compelling. Reading about another woman coming to an unfortunate end plays on our own insecurities. We can lose ourselves in the intensity of it, imagine ourselves in that position, even wonder if the character deserved it, then we can come out the other side in one piece and back to our normal lives. Phew!

The New Prophet by Rex Richards is out now, priced £9.99 in paperback and £2.39 as a Kindle eBook. It is available for sale on Amazon UK

We have 3 copies of The New Prophet by Rex Richards to win. Just send you details to frostmagazine@gmail.com to enter.

 

WHY I TRADED IN A HIGH-FLYING CAREER IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY TO PURSUE MY ACTING DREAMS, AND HOW I DID IT

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By Peter Meyer, author of The Boy from the Wild

Most of us dream about quitting the 9-5 (or is that the 8-7) rat race, but few ever do.  The author Peter Meyer is proof that following a dream can be more than just a daydream. He hung up his suit and left a highly-paid job in the hospitality industry to embark on a career as an actor – and was soon rubbing shoulders with Brad Pitt.

I grew up in the hospitality industry, quite literally. I was born and raised on a game reserve in South Africa that my father created. It had a safari park, a five-star hotel and a conference centre. It was once known as Safari World and its pioneering fusion of Disney-style theme park and nature reserve  made it akin to a real-world Jurassic Park

When I was older, I graduated from Les Roches Hospitality University in Switzerland and went on to work all around the world in places including the UK, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.  I worked in different director roles in sales, marketing and business development for groups like Hilton, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, JA Resorts & Hotels and then YTL Hotels.  At one point I was even one of Hilton’s youngest directors at 26 years old.  I had it all going for me – the experience, the qualifications, the connections, the lifestyle and so much more…. but then it all changed.

In 2014, I dropped everything to spend time with my father after hearing he had a very rare form of terminal cancer.  My father was my life and an incredibly special person, so I was going to be by his side.  After I lost him I lost a part of myself and realised that you are vulnerable – and that life is governed by time that we take for granted.  I tried to get back into hotels and got a huge position in Kuala Lumpur but was ultimately in a very bad mental state and lost my zest and desire for the industry.  I was missing my dad plain and simple.

By chance a short while later a family friend suggested that I try acting and modelling for fun, and at least until I’d planned my next move.  So, a short while later, I signed onto a website that was a portal for jobs in that industry.  Within the space of a few days I was contacted by a production company, which asked me to do a TV commercial for Ford.

I did the shoot and was told I was a “natural” and was advised to do more! Two weeks later I got a call from a director making an independent British film and I got a tiny part as a news anchor with some lines.  It was then that I realised how much I loved acting and it woke me up out of semi-depressed state for my father.  I decided to see where it went.

Suddenly I was getting acting and modelling roles and even got my first lead in a short film within three months of starting.  My biggest came when I got a call to audition for Allied with Brad Pitt and got the smallest part to sing.  Sadly, the role was cut but I was still an extra and got picked to be near Brad Pitt and enjoyed getting to know him. I then got chosen to work as an extra next to Liam Neeson this time on The Commuter.  He partly inspired my book “The Boy from the Wild”.  In less than 18 months all this had happened.  I was also doing a lot of plus size modelling and was Tesco’s first plus size male model wearing Jacamo.  But I have also modelled internationally with groups such as El Corte Ingles wearing Hugo Boss, GANT, Ralph Lauren and more.  Who knows what’s next?

I’ve gone from surviving animal attacks and snake bites on a safari park to surviving the concrete jungles of Hollywood.  How, people ask?  Well, get headshots, get a showreel, get an agent, brand yourself to get your followers and have passion.  If you are determined and do what you love then you will achieve.  Sometimes you have to risk it to get the biscuit. A dream is yours and yours to fail, so don’t let it.

The Boy from the Wild by Peter Meyer is out now, priced £9.99 in paperback and £3.99 as an eBook. It is available for sale on Amazon UK. Visit  www.petermeyer.com

Ergobaby Aura Baby Wrap Review

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Ergo baby have launched new Aura Baby Wrap, an ergonomically designed lightweight wrap which gives parents the freedom to enjoy their baby, hands free and Frost has reviewed it. 
I am a huge fan of baby slings. They tend to soothe a crying baby and you can breastfeed with them on the go. The Aura baby wrap has the advantage of being able to breastfeed without using a breastfeeding scarf. Perfect for when you forget your scarf, which I have done many times and then had a panic. Some baby wraps and slings really hurt your back but this one sits well and is comfortable. Putting it on is daunting at first. You spread it out and it looks impossible but it is easy when you get the hang of it. Even for me. It also has an integrated pocket for storage.
 
I cannot say how much I love this wrap. It is light and breathable for baby. It is also soft against the skin. It looks good and baby loves it. I cannot recommend it enough. Baby is happy, safe and secure up to 13.6kg or 30lbs. A parenting essential.

The Aura Baby Wrap comes in three stylish colourways; Grey Stripes, Indigo and Sage and comes in a light and durable fabric which keeps babies cool when snuggled up close to the parent’s body.

 

http://www.ergobaby.co.uk

 

 

Mokee’s Upcycled Wool Bag | Frost Loves

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Mokee’s Upcycled Wool Bag

We love stylish things at Frost and this gorgeous upcycled bag from Mokee, the design-led baby furniture company, is more gorgeous than most. it is their first ever bag – the upcycled WoolBag.

mokee wool bag

Made from off-cuts of their woolnest, the felt material is matched with the colourful straps and is big enough to throw all your baby products in there.  Or, keep it for yourself- this stylish bag shouldn’t just be used for nappies.

The bag is roomy and long. It will easily fit onto a pram handle. It is also a great bag for shopping. it is great quality and well made. We love.

Coming soon at https://en.mokee.eu/

 

 

Five Essential Goal-Setting Habits for the Entrepreneur By Emine Suleyman, author of Aliya

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Ever wondered why some people get ahead and others tread water? It’s not luck, says life coach, mindfulness expert and career mentor Emine Suleyman – it’s about how well they spend their time. Here, Emine offers her own top 5 habits that every budding entrepreneur should practice to realise their ambitions in 2018. Her new book Aliya, a practical day-to- day productivity diary for 2018, is available now priced £25.

Habit #1: Clarify & Regularly Reaffirm Your Life Mission  

We spend the majority of our adult lives working, so we owe it ourselves to spend that time doing something we love and that we feel is a reflection of who we are and what we want to say to the world.

Finding our element – living a life of purpose – is crucial to our wellbeing and to our success. This has been well documented. The sooner we can clarify our life mission statement the sooner we can begin a fuller more satisfying life.

So how do you start? Kick back with a pen and a diary and write down what it means to be successful in your life and on your own terms. Make lists of all that you love doing, what all your skills are, what problems you feel connected to in your community or in the world.

Upon regular reflection of your purpose and these three lists, your day-to-day life will reveal a common thread where you can creatively tie aspects from each list into new ideas and projects. The side projects you pursue could well evolve into a great income and lifestyle over time.

Habit #2: Self -Reflection

Self-reflection is the school of wisdom. It is no secret that a regular practice of self-reflection is necessary for mental and physical health. Allow this to be a humbling process and use it to look back over your last year. Life must be understood backwards before it is effectively lived forward. At the end of each year, ask yourself: what were all my highlights? What challenges did I face and how did I grow through them?  Writing your answers down is a great way of extracting them into physical form and owning them.

In addition to annual self-reflection, regular monthly reflection throughout your year is a habit worth cultivating. We can do this is our diaries each month. Self-reflection helps to build two components to emotional intelligence: self-awareness and self-regulation. This gives us the ability to understand our emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and goals, and to recognise their impact.

Habit #3: Set & Monitor Goals

You have more efficacy to create your life than you may realise. What matters most is right now. You cannot change the past and the future hasn’t yet happened, so the only thing we can change is the moment. How you feel right now and the story you’re telling yourself will transcend as your future. Put aside all limiting beliefs and ask yourself, what would I do if I knew couldn’t fail? Literally make an inventory of all your dreams in your diary. Remember that we go only as far as our imagination takes us. Include a range of short, mid and long-term goals over the next three months, one year, three years, five years, 10 years and 20 years.

After listing all that you would love to have a go at in life, review your list and pick your top 3- 5 priority goals to get started on. Break each chosen top goal down into 5 actionable steps. Then simply give each step a deadline in your diary. You can include a reward for each goal if you wish. At the end of each month make it a habit to reflect on the previous four weeks and review your progress.

Habit #4: Identify Two Priority Tasks Daily

Before you go about your day or perhaps from the night before, take a moment to pause and decide what two things you can do today that will have the biggest impact on getting you to your goals. This habit is so simple yet so powerful and has the ability to focus your mind each day. Forget checking emails and running small errands until your two priority tasks for the day are done.

Habit #5: Keep a Gratitude List

The benefits linked to gratitude are one of the most beautiful things about life itself. Whilst a whole book can be written on all the endless benefits, I would just outline a few. It opens the door for better relationships, improves physical health, psychological health, enhances empathy and reduces aggression, helps you sleep better, increases mental strength and boosts self-esteem. It just simply makes us happy; if there were a key to happiness, this would be it.

Saying ‘thank you’ for all that we have and experience, doing it often and actually writing it down is the most important habit of all.

Aliya by Emine Suleyman is out now, priced £25 in hardback. Visit www.planmyvision.co.uk