In a rich and varied career, Australian Mark Harradine has been a championship tennis pro, a spiritual advisor and a high-powered business consultant. He now runs Harradine Consulting where he works as a consultant and mentor to build strategies with leaders, entrepreneurs and elite athletes who desire to positively change the world. Mark takes his clients on a journey to new higher paths of thinking, to achieve strategic and personal transformations and thus reach their true potential. He says he helps his clients "navigate with purpose" to get clarity, improve their decision-making and obtain their personal and business goals.
O'Brien: "Navigate with purpose?" Mark, can you explain a bit just what this means..?
Mark: Of course. This means simply, how do you get where you want to go with the greatest of ease that fulfills your heart's desire?
O'Brien: You have a series of seminars entitled, Spirit in Business. Coming from California, I'd assume this is some kind of New Age crap...
Mark: I hear you, and let me clarify this for you. The concept behind Spirit in Business is how to navigate in today's world. If we look at Eastern philosophy, with its emphasis on our internal worlds, and the "West's" excellence in material creation, there has been no greater time than now for these two worlds to merge into one in a way that is mutually beneficial. The Spirit in Business community explores how we can fulfill the spiritual quest and provide "tangle value" --- by which I mean untangling and then weaving again the internal and material worlds into a golden cord-- for people in a commercial way. Another way to say this is, "to have your head in the stars, your feet on the ground and achieve even more financial success".
O'Brien: You also describe yourself as a "business strategist" and a "mentor" not really as a life coach. In your view, what's the difference?
Mark: As I see it, a life coach supports different areas of your life through ideas, tools and then tracking change in behavior and success. As a Business Strategist and mentor, I work with how to turn your natural born talents into commercial profit. This includes looking at your products or services to build strategies to support, optimize and implement your entire business model, encompassing staff, customers, vendors, structures, systems, accounting, investing, marketing, operations, and growth -- both personal and professional.
O'Brien: So the whole comes together as one...
Mark: Yes, but this process is not for the faint of heart. I work with some of the top athletes in the world helping them implement strategies, enhance their skills but also applying pressure on them so that they can attain the next level of performance. I do the very same in the business environment, which is crawling with coaches, mentors, consultants, etc. The difference with me is that I create with my clients breakthroughs to higher levels of thinking. Take the way a bodybuilder builds muscle, for example -- it is that last repetition when lifting a weight, having had the correct nutrients supporting growth. That's where I take leaders; I facilitate that essential nutrient.
O'Brien: In other words, it's damn hard to do this, to reach these higher levels of consciousness and performance without some type of a guide...
Mark: I like to say, "we cannot go up alone". My own journey has led me to work with people who desire to rise to the top of their expertise but up in those lofty heights, the air gets thin and it becomes tougher to navigate alone. Thus, we all need guides, way-showers, and door-openers. Together, I believe we can reach a higher altitude in thinking, and when this is reached it can produce millions of dollars difference in each small decision.
O'Brien: Very interesting indeed. Thanks so much for sharing your unique approach.
Mark: Thank you, and I'm glad you're interested and care to ask good questions. I would like to share a closing thought: "meet people where they are at, and give them so much more".