Last night, I was standing behind the restaurant talking with one of my coworkers. He had to leave the restaurant sick a few days before. I wanted to know how he was doing. At some point, the conversation turned to making money. That’s a typical spin for my conversations. My go-to topics are personal growth, spirituality, kids, and making money. I don’t veer too far from those topics. If I do, somehow I find my way back to them or I just listen without giving much input.
I’ve learned to not give input in things that I don’t know about. It makes you sound silly. That aha moment was a difficult one to swallow. I wanted to be able to talk about anything. And, I can for the most part because of all of the reading I do on random subjects. However, when I have listened to other people speak about things that they don’t know much about yet they speak with so much passion as if they have spent their entire lives studying the subject, I recognized how silly they sound.
Sometimes I’m quiet…
I also recognized that I sounded just as silly. But, that was my twenties, right?
Anyhoo, I brought up a blog post I’d written several years ago on a product that a mother created for her children. She was looking for a way to ease her children’s discomfort at doctor’s visits. Ya know… the visits where they receive immunization shots. Well, this mother decided to create a product to help children when they got their shots. Her breakthrough came while driving home.
Her car’s alignment was off. So, when she drove the steering wheel shook and vibrated in her hands. One day, she noticed that her hands were numb. That was the missing piece to her product. She has gone on to build a business around her product and even pitched in on Shark Tank.
After telling my coworker this story, he told me about a million dollar idea that he had. Then, he told me about how he found a patent for the smiley face. The smiley face! People are getting paid for a smiley face!!
Here’s the thing…
My coworker is a painter also.
He has been selling some paintings online for a little while. I think that’s a good thing to do, don’t you? He’s been gifted with the ability to paint. Shouldn’t he also be paid for his talents?
I think that he should. But, here’s where I want you to focus in on…
I asked him about shooting videos of him during the creative process. I figured that it might generate a little buzz and maybe develop a buyer in the process BEFORE the painting is finished. He told me that he’d tried it before but the problem, as he saw it, was that the process can be ugly.
The beginning doesn’t really look like anything and the refining process may take a while. He mentioned that making the final adjustments to one of the paintings that I really liked took days before was satisfied.
Treat your business more like an artist…
The problem with some of you is that you don’t treat your business more like an artist. Michaelangelo created 200 masterpieces in his lifetime. However, he actually produced over 50,000 works of art to create those 200! To be truly great, you must produce.
How do you plan on creating your 200 or at least one masterpiece (your kids excluded)?
Here’s where I have seen problems come up with entrepreneurs who are starting over. You don’t practice, perform, and try to be one of the best…
- You don’t practice your craft. Just because you’re talented doesn’t mean that you don’t need practice. And, if you are not that talented, you may need even more practice. I’ve already told you about how my old teammates made it to the major leagues although I had more talent than them when we played together. That didn’t matter to them. They practiced their craft and it paid off. Practice is what separates the good from the great. Michaelangelo averaged about 2 pieces of art a day (sculpting, painting, writing, and others).
- You don’t perform often enough. You have to make your product and services available. Yes, you must practice but you also must perform. You cannot sit on your laurels and wait til you have everything mastered before you unleash your product to the world. Think more like a software company. You release something that your market needs (a beta version). Then, you tweak it until you have a finished product (version 1.0). You keep making updates until it is as good as it can get (version 2.0 and beyond). Your first performance won’t be your last… if you’re serious. Go mess up a bit and get better in the process. Fail early and often.
- You don’t try to be one of the best at what you do. No excuse for this. The only reason why you wouldn’t want to be one the best at what you do is that you’re doing something that doesn’t feed your fire. You may never make it to the top 10 in your field. So, what? You better shoot for top 10! That’s going to drive you to overcome.That’s going to fuel your marketing. That’s going to energize your work.
It’s in your hands, though.
No one can practice for you. No one can perform for you. No can make you one of the best. You can get help. But, you must have the desire, the mission, and the commitment. You must have an attitude that says, “I will not quit. I will learn. I will succeed. I will be on of the greatest.” If you don’t say something like that to yourself at least once a day, you’re fooling yourself. Negativity will only get you so far in life.
Some may triumph but they are not happy. And, that’s not what I talk to you about. We’re about rebooting and rebuilding your life! Not just one area. The whole darned thang!
That’s what a good coach will do for you and that’s one reason why I wrote my first book. Because you have unlimited potential in you. You just forgot how to tap into it. So, here’s your path back to your greatness…
Go to www.NoDoubtLiving.com/potential and jump on the special bonuses I have on that page. There’s only one thing you have to do to qualify for the bonuses… buy the book! After you’ve purchased your book, pay particular attention to Section 3: Commitment. You’ll thank yourself for doing it.
