The Mindset of Success with James Fleming

Leadership & Motivational Intelligence (MQ) expert James Fleming—author of You Can Have Success Or Excuses; You Cannot Have Both—on the mindsets and habits that turn setbacks (including redundancy) into a million-pound success.

In this episode, Paul Corke is joined by James Fleming, a leadership and Motivational Intelligence (MQ) expert and author of You Can Have Success Or Excuses; You Cannot Have Both. James shares how he reframed redundancy into a seven-figure business, and the practical MQ tools leaders and professionals can use to remove blockers, raise standards and execute.

We unpack a mindset of success—clear goals, ruthless ownership, and everyday behaviours that compound—plus the questions James uses to replace excuses with momentum.

You’ll hear:

• What Motivational Intelligence (MQ) is—and how it drives choices under pressure

• From excuse to ownership: the E→O shift (explanation → outcome) in daily language

• Building a success operating system: clarity, standards, scorecards, cadence

• Decision speed: frame → options → first step → review (tight feedback loops)

• Turning setbacks into assets: meaning, metrics and micro-wins

Try this (No-Excuses 7-day sprint):

1. Outcome line (1 min): “By [date], success = ___ because ___.”

2. One standard (1 min): choose a non-negotiable behaviour (e.g., 90-min daily focus block).

3. Because-plan (1 min): “If it’s [trigger], I’ll [action], because [reason].”

4. E→O swap (daily): replace “why I can’t” with “Given the constraint, my next best step is ___.”

5. Scorecard (evening, 2 min): did I meet the standard? Yes/No + note.

6. Micro-win (30 sec): log one win to stack Belief for tomorrow.

7. Friday review (5 min): keep/kill/start for next week.

A direct, practical conversation about choosing results over reasons—and building the mindset and mechanisms that make success repeatable.