Great things come from small groups of dedicated people as demonstrated by leading water filtration solutions from Israel, oil and gas technologies from Norway and life-changing innovations from Silicon Valley.

During the past week, Next Step has sponsored and CEO Jennifer Vessels has led many discussions, roundtables and speeches during Internationalization Program in TelAviv Israel and Oslo Innovation Week 2015. While very different environments, in both Israel, the “StartUp Nation” and the ‘post-oil Norway 6.0’, brilliant entrepreneurs are dedicated to having a lasting impact on society.

Ultimately to Achieve the Dream, one needs to focus on the Three C’s of Success:

Commitment – know yourself and put a stake in the ground that you WILL dedicate the time, focus and personal resources (often requiring sacrifice in other areas) to achieving your dream.

Make a plan as hope is not a strategy… note the steps needed to succeed in your commitment.

Creativity – Building a new solution, path, service and way forward can be challenging. Use your creative problem-solving skills and adaptability to overcome obstacles and move forward.

Take action – if you start moving forward and creatively adapt to what comes in front of you, success will follow.

Collaboration – We all bring different skills and perspectives into the world – leverage others with complementary competencies and works styles.

Grow through sharing your passion and dream with others and allowing them to join in the commitment to jointly Achieve the Dream.

Silicon Valley, where Next Step is based is a Pay it Forwards culture – we each give back to one another to bring new ideas into the world. By supporting many great Oslo Innovation Week initiatives and international collaboration across Europe, Israel and America, we are committed to achieving our dream of helping great business leaders and entrepreneurs reach their potential through business growth.