Think Big

Over time I’ve come across so many people who had more talent than I can imagine having.

People who picked up things easily, were great communicators and just seemed to be good at everything they tried.

But so many of them settle for average results…average businesses…even average lives because they never get clear about what they want.

With a vision for what success looks like to you…what I call your Ideal Business…that success comes much more easily.

Focus on your Ideal Business…that vision that excites you. Focus on it exclusively. Hang onto it regardless of the people who try to tear it down.

Please know this:

If you don’t have a dream of your own, you’ll work all your life to fulfill someone else’s dream.

Also know that thinking big about what your Ideal Business is costs you nothing, while not doing it will cost you virtually everything professionally.

Without this vision you cannot have a meaningful goal.

Without a goal you’ll never take any positive action.

Without any positive action, nothing will happen to bring you any closer to your Ideal Business.

And if you’re going to aim, you may as well aim high.

The bigger your vision for your Ideal Business is, the more excited and motivated you will be to actually begin on the road to reaching it.

A clear vision for what we want motivates us and keeps us going when things get difficult.

If you always have that vision of your Ideal Business in mind, you’ll make the right decisions that will take you closer to your goal.

James Collins and Jerry Pores, in their book Built To Last, describe corporate success as stemming from “Big Hairy Audacious Goals.”

It’s the same for us small business owners – if you think big, you win big.

Beware of the Dream Killers

As kids we naturally have wild and wonderful imaginations and can easily picture how our lives could be.

We all have the capacity to “make believe” and build a dream world for ourselves.

But as we grow older, we unfortunately and inevitably run into some very dangerous people.

The Dream Killers.

Dream Killers are everywhere.

They are the people who constantly tell us we cannot do things, that we should be careful “not to fail.”

These people may be our friends, relatives, parents, or coaches.

They may be total strangers.

We have to be vigilant and ensure they don’t influence our thinking in any way.

Instead – try to find dream builders – positive, successful people – to be with.

And where you can’t avoid Dream Killers, build barriers to keep your vision safe.

So Decide Where You Want To Go…

Direction is central to creating your Ideal Business.

When you have your vision, you can then decide in what direction you’re headed.

Translate your Ideal Business into some easily definable short-term goal in a series of easy-to-accomplish steps that you can grasp and complete.

Refer to your vision and the steps you need to accomplish every day.

Do not be afraid to share these with people you trust to be supportive, to help guide you.

Start talking to people about how to ready your goals.

All these things make your goals more real.

They make your commitment real, rather than just being something buried in your head that you can easily forget.

This is where more people we know go wrong.

They don’t get clear about what they want.

Without making that choice, people end up with whatever life gives them.

And that is rarely if ever what anyone would consider Ideal.

Set clear, realistic goals.

Goals provide focus and directions, and with them many things that seem difficult become simple.

With clear goals, the steps to your success often seem to just fall into place.

Without your target…that Ideal Business, it can be impossible to decide what you need to do.

Are You Willing To Pay The Price?

When you have your vision for what your Ideal Business looks like, figure out what price you’ll have to pay to achieve it.

Everything worthwhile has some sort of price you must invest.

Time, effort, commitment.

Decide now what you are willing to give up to achieve your goal, then pay that price and pay it without hesitation or regret.

Because if you think big enough and decide what your Ideal Business really looks like – the investment you make will give you a better return than you ever could have imagined.