Ivan has a fascinating life story, including immigrating to the United States from Bulgaria (where his father was a communist leader). Here in America he found freedom and committed himself to helping others achieve personal freedom through their own life mastery.

Ivan is a retired bodybuilder, coach, entrepreneur, and the purveyor of the individual empowerment community—Life Mastery.

Ivan is wildly passionate about helping people move away from fear and confusion and into a place of power and purpose in their lives.

In our talk together, I love how Ivan redefines two things for my listeners and the Garage to Goliath community:

1. Empowering Leadership

Ivan reiterates that as leaders, our aim should always be empowerment—empowerment of self and empowerment of others.

As leaders, we want to be hyper-aware, and constantly looking at ourselves in the mirror, to ensure we lead in a way that empowers others, not in a way that breeds conformity.

Leaders should not want a gaggle of yes-men. Enlightened leaders do not behave or react in a way that creates yes-men around them. Enlightened leaders know yes-men are crippling to them as leaders and crippling to the success and vision of their teams.

Rather, enlightened leaders respond to their teams in a way that empowers people to bring new ideas, be innovative, and use their unique talents, perspectives, skill sets, and passions, to make you and the rest of the team better.

As a leader, you want the people you lead to be excited about the unique perspective they bring to the table. As you listen to those you lead, you find tremendous value in what they have to offer because they bring unique perspectives, passions, and talents that complement yours. When people feel valued, listened to, and empowered, they want to give you their best and they want to be around you more.

Ivan sums it up when he says, “Leadership is empowerment. Leadership is not a position or a title; it is a behavior and a state of being.”

2. Wealth as a Leader

Ivan shares his thoughts on a holistic way to approach wealth in this life. He shares that wealth for him is three-fold: wealth of relationships, wealth of knowledge, and wealth of spirituality.

Ivan unpacks wealth as a leader at [18:34] in today’s show. Go check it out!

I appreciate the power of Ivan’s closing thoughts on leadership. He says true leadership is first realizing you are a leader in your own life and you lead your own path. Second, that leadership and the next best version of you is indeed available to you, if you choose to pursue it. No one is keeping it from you but yourself and your own limiting fears.

Lead well,

p.s. – Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe to my leadership podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and/or SoundCloud.

Show Related Links:
Ivan Nikolov Website | Facebook