Big Is The New Small

hus-tler : an enterprising person determined to succeed; go-getter.

The more I understand the difference between those who succeed and those who simply talk about those who succeed, the more I understand the importance of being a hustler.  Hustlers make it happen, because they are determined to succeed.

Do you want to succeed? Maybe it’s time that you become a hustler.

“Things may come to those who wait… but only the things left by those who hustle.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Are you a hustler?  Who are some successful hustlers that come to mind?

en-tre-pre-neur: a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business,
usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Many people have a desire to become a flourishing entrepreneur; however only a small percentage are successful. Successful entrepreneurs exhibit 2 key characteristics: a.) They are willing to put forth considerable initiative  b.) They understand they can’t be successful without a willingness to take considerable risk.

Do you want to be a successful entrepreneur?  Get up, Step up, Show some initiative and be ready to take some considerable risk.

Is it really that simple?  Share your thoughts!

There are lots of formulas, ideas, techniques and thoughts on how to get repeat customers.  I think the formula is actually quite simple:

Repeat Customer Formula: Quality Product + Great Customer Service + Integrity + Unique Attributes x Raving Fans – Status Quo = Repeat Customers

That’s the formula to repeat customers.

Do you think this is a formula for repeat customers?  Share your thoughts and share your formula for repeat customers.

Life is all about the decisions that we make, as well as the decisions that we don’t make.  Unfortunately many people sit on the sidelines holding onto dreams that they have never attempted or have never even tried to put into play.

The bottom line is this, you were made for more; however you’ll never realize the more you were made to be by sitting idle.  You will not reach your potential if you don’t dream big and you simply settle for mediocrity.

The older I get and the more older, wiser and experienced people I talk to, the more I realize this statement to be true, “You will regret the things that you fail to try, way more than the things that you try and fail.”

“If you got a dream, you gotta protect it…  If you want something, go get it. Period!” ~Will Smith – Chris Gardner (Movie Pursuit of Happyness)

 Have you regretted things that you’ve failed to try?  Share your thoughts.

I have lots of thoughts each and every day, as a matter of fact all of us do.  There is varying research that suggests how many thoughts a day the average human has.  Some research indicates that 100 years ago the average number of thoughts was 5,000 a day and today humans think around 55,000 thoughts per day.  I guess we have a lot more to think about in this overly stimulating age and time.

I’m not sure what the accurate number of thoughts per day is, however I’d be inclined to think that I’m more aligned with the 55,000 thoughts a day number.  I would also say that many of the thoughts that I have are ideas, dreams, visions and more ideas.

As a consultant the general deliverables for my clients primarily deal with ideas, connecting those ideas to strategy and moving that strategy into reality.  The “always on” thinking works perfect for the way that I’m wired, because I’m a thinker and thinking is how I orient my world.  I literally had 10 different business ideas, strategies, thoughts and aha’s on my drive home today.  I got home did some research and realized that a couple of them didn’t make sense and I will pursue the others further.

That’s the beauty of having many thoughts is the fact that you weed out the ones that need to be weeded out and you act on the others.  The more ideas you have the greater opportunity for some of those ideas to be great ones.

The beauty an idea is the fact that it forces you to wrestle the question of, “Is this idea good, bad or indifferent?”  Often times a bad idea has as much value and opportunities for learning as a good one.  Ideas all have potential, it’s what you do with those ideas that determines whether or not the potential of a particular idea is realized.  Potential unrealized is just potential.

What Is An Idea Worth?  The idea itself is not worth much.  The strategy, thoughts, wrestling and process of massaging that idea into something special is worth lots, maybe even million$ or gazillion$.

There are tons of success stories that simply began with an idea that was developed into something very special.   What Is An Idea Worth?  It depends on what the person that has the idea is willing to do with it?

Got Ideas?  Share your thoughts.

When it comes to opportunities, there are types of people – Waiters and Makers.  Not referring to waiter from the more traditional sense of waiting tables at a restaurant, but from the perspective of someone who sits around and waits.

Think about waiter from the early 14th century definition, where a waiter was a watchman or attendant and their primary duty was to sit around and watch.

Again, when it comes to understanding how people interact with the opportunities of life, there are two types of people - waiters and makers.

• Waiters – those who sit around and wait on the opportunities to come to them.
• Makers – those who create opportunities and make opportunities happen.

When opportunity knocks the waiter sits around waiting for someone else to open the door and that someone else is the maker whose ready to make things happen.  When opportunity knocks, answer the door.  If opportunity doesn’t knock, kick the door down.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” ~Seneca

Seize the opportunity!

Are you a Waiter or a Maker?

The announcement of Kodak going bankrupt was a shocker.  Not a shocker because you couldn’t see it coming, but a shocker because yet another once iconic, innovative brand is on life support.  This has been a work in progress for quite some time, as there were front-page newspaper articles in the late 1990′s showing that Kodak had to lay off 10,000 employees. (Writing on the wall)

There are definite reasons why these companies are dying and those same reasons contributed to the failure of other predeceased brands.  American Airlines – Bankrupt, Yahoo – Up for Sale, RIM Blackberry - Stick A Fork In Em’ and Sears is closing stores around the country.  The list of these major brands that will soon be a part of the history books continues to increase.

How can these brands find themselves in the grips of extinction?  The same way that you, your organization, church, non-profit or name your favorite brand can end up in the same place.  You should see a developing theme as most are in the same vein.

10 Reasons Why Kodak, Blackberry, Yahoo & Other Major Brands Fail

• 1. Inability to Innovate - Unable to produce new, noteworthy and fruit producing ideas.
• 2. Inability to Stay Ahead of The Times - Only look at the here and now, no forward thinking.
• 3. No Adjustments - Not adjusting to the market place or technology of competitors.
• 4. Uncle Rico Syndrome - Just like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite was living off of his 1983 successes, many brands are living off of yesterday’s wins.
• 5. The Top Stays The Same - Unwillingness to change the key leadership players (especially in upper management).
• 7. Inbred Syndrome - Only hire from within and unwilling to bring outside folks with fresh eyes and fresh perspectives into the fold.
• 8. Reluctance to Take Risks - Playing it safe for a prolonged a period of time can be detrimental.  Most brand success stories have many instances of taking risks.
• 9. Refuse to Surround Themselves With and Retain The Best - Letting key players leave without creating opportunities for them to stay.  Some of the best innovations from high profile brands come from key players that were acquired from another brand.
• 10. Unwillingness To Change - They simply want things to be the way that they used to be.

I was on my way to a meeting last month and I drove by this bench billboard advertisement.  I thought it was clever, edgy, effective and it caught my attention.  I decided to take a pic and now I’m sharing it with you.

Share your thoughts on this advertisements or other clever advertisements that have caught your attention.

I read a profound African Proverb last week that challenged my thinking and it should challenge yours as well.  It should challenge you to not get distracted by people, events and thoughts that in the grand scheme of things really don’t matter.

Don’t get distracted by the critics, successes, bumps in the road, temporary setbacks or things that you don’t understand or don’t have any control over.

The result of those distractions will be a premature exit from the road to success.

The primary reason people fail is not because they don’t have the skills or abilities, they fail because they get distracted.  There will always be plenty of opportunities for success and there will be even more opportunities to get distracted.  Stay focused and Don’t Get Distracted.

“The lion does not turn around when a small dog barks.”

~African Proverb

Are you getting distracted?

Individuals and businesses are always trying to find ways to increase their level of success.  This drive and will to succeed leaves folks scouring around trying to find advanced methods to foster success. This search for success leads to trying many of the latest greatest ideas from their industry.

Some will try a new idea a month, others will come back from a conference and implement ten new ideas and some may make drastic changes as a result of an article or book they’ve read.

Some of the greatest success stories and brands that other’s are trying to mimic are built on a couple of good ideas.  Not 5, 10 or 20, but rather a couple of good ideas. As a consultant I’ve had the opportunity to work with organizations ranging from Fortune 100 Corporations to Personal Brands.  No matter who I’m working with, my goal is to help organizations and individuals come up with and implement couple of good ideas.

If you want to succeed and you want your brand to be successful, stop trying to come up with a million ideas and simply devise and implement a couple good ideas.

You Only Need A Couple Good Ideas.