Dominic Nowell-Barnes

FOUNDER & CEO, THE GIVING MOVEMENT

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is, “If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do you no harm”. This was a real eye-opener for me in my earlier years, as it made me understand that if you have a strong mindset, you are accountable to your own standards. No external challenge or opinion you face in life has the power to impact you, only if you let it.

One thing I do every day is a mindset routine. For the last seven years, I have become an avid personal developer, and in the process I read a lot about what is considered the best morning routine to set you up for any challenge you may face for the day. The ones that work for me, and form part of my routine, are focused around a gratitude journal, a daily review of my vision board, and written goals over 1-5 and 10-20 years. I also like to reflect on the traits and values I want to uphold, and how I am currently tracking against them daily.

A lesson I learned the hard way was trying to become an expert in every area of the work that I do, so that I can coach and guide my team at all levels. In my previous company, when the team was smaller, this was easy to do. However, today The Giving Movement’s headcount stands at 150+ team members, and is expected to grow to over 250 by the end of the year. Over the last 12 months, I learnt a lot from Nick Fisher, my COO and mentor, who has taught me, through his experience of managing teams into the thousands, that such a strategy won’t work as you scale. We now hire experts that have far more knowledge and experience than I do in their field.

My definition of personal success is to be able to look back and see how many lives I have been able to positively impact.

My parents inspire me. They had me at the age I am today, in my thirties, and I can only imagine the extra pressure, personally and financially, they felt to raise a child with love and care while still in the prime years of their lives and careers.

If I could advise my younger self I would say to stay balanced and learn to split your time between your different goals. In my earlier years, I put 100% focus into my first business in the UK, working 15-hour days, 7 days a week, but after a number of years, it failed. The months after that were incredibly challenging for me, as it felt like I had lost my identity, and my only goal. I have since found that work should be balanced with mindset, health, relationships, and giving back — and that even when one of these pillars falls down, the rest will keep you up.

Since moving to Dubai, I get a deep level of self-fulfillment and happiness out of being able to help other people. I want to spend the rest of my life doing this.