It’s never too early to start. That’s what I learned from Bilaal Rajan a 17-year-old who has helped raised money for many different causes. At the age of 4 Bilaal started out selling fruit door-to-door in his neighborhood to raise funds for the victims of the earthquakes in a province of India. He is a globally recognized motivational speaker, published author, tireless fundraiser, and UNICEF Canada Ambassador. Last October, he spoke during the Fifth Global Summit of Values.

Here are 6 important lessons Bilaal Rajan shared and how we can apply them to our lives today.

Bilaal Rajan’s Life Lessons

1. Have goals

If you know where you want to go, you can get there. A very important thing in your personal and professional life is to set goals. Take time aside from your busy schedule to establish your goals. Once you have an idea of what they look like you can start finding ways to get there, and of course if you have a destination, it’s easier to get going.

Plus: If you write them down and place them somewhere you can see them every day, when you get up and go to sleep, you’ll keep them in mind and this will help you stay focused and motivated.

2. Think before you act

Very often we may do or say things and then regret doing so. Instead, think twice before you say or do something. To double-check use the THINK acronym. Ask yourself, is what I am about to say, True, Helpful, Important, Necessary, Kind? If you answered yes, to each and every one then proceed. If your answer is no, you might want to stop before your actions turn into regrets.

3. Listen hard, don’t hardly listen

It’s so easy to get distracted nowadays, but listening to someone is the real way to connect. People can tell if you are really paying attention. Your ability to listen is something you can work on and it is a great way to show someone how much you care about them.

Next time you are speaking to a person really focus on the conversation and set aside your distractions. Begin by putting your phone away and resist the temptation on reading every notification you get, it can always wait until later.

4. The importance of urgency

Leaving everything for tomorrow is not a good habit. It’s very common to start a project 1 hour before the deadline, the downside is that you get so stressed and hurried to finish when you could have spared the anxiety by completing it weeks ago.

If you want to be less stressed and more relaxed, you can schedule things in order to finish them on time without the pressure.

A very helpful tool is to write down all your “to do’s”, and then categorize them in A, B and C, according to their deadline and their importance to you. Recognising that A is extremely important, B is important and C is somewhat important, you can then plan accordingly.

5. Strength in numbers

A group of people can make a difference, but the strength of the numbers is not only in the actual number of individuals but in the organization and direction that drives them. If everybody is pulling to a different side then there will be hardly any movement, but if they share the same direction they can conquer any mountain together.

So don’t be afraid to have a vision and share it with your group, this is the key to building strength in any community or organization.

6. Visualize

The power of the mind is incredible, so a good tactic is to visualize what you want to achieve. For just a few minutes close your eyes, then picture yourself where you want to be and feel like you are already there. Repeat this action each and every morning.

It’s never too early to start, so why not start today.

Bilaal Rajan When He Was Younger