Scratching That Itch You Just Can’t Reach

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Recently I wrote a post about PEACE.

GREATNESS.

AND HOW TO DREAM BIG.

It was my attempt at scratching an itch. An itch I firmly believe we each share to a greater or lesser extent.

What I wrote was straight from the heart.

But I wasn’t satisfied.

Not because I desired a greater “number or views” or more “likes.”

No.

It came down to something very simple: I feel it didn’t reach and/or impact enough people’s lives.

So as we close this year, I put this message out there one more time, because of you.

Why You Matter So Much

Ever notice the really successful people of the world involve other people?

If you need proof, look at this: the loneliest people in the world are those surrounded by all the material things while sitting without a single friend with whom to share it or celebrate its achievement?

The loneliest achievements lack others (i.e., those we’ve collaborated with and those we’ve helped up in their goals).

THE INCREDIBLE ENTREPRENEURS AT THIS INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION:

Why is This So Important?

Because I know how I judge my success: How many lives did I improve? How many people did I help?

I looked it over: this year, I have had the honor of working with and/or branding:

• Grant Cardone, the #1 international sales expert and NY Times bestselling author
• Ted Rubin, the social marketing guru
• Two groups of entrepreneurs from around the world
• Daymond John whose new book, The Power of Broke, rose to become a NY Times bestseller within 2 weeks of being published
• A team of amazing Taiwanese business people delivering the keynote at their convention
• An incredible family-owned real estate company in Munich, Germany
• A manufacturer of delicious premium jerky in the Midwest
• A kosher food company and restaurant on the East Coast
• A market research company in Los Angeles
• A rapidly growing premier boutique mosaic tile company
• The #1 dental consultation company in the world
• A national non-profit that helps people of all ages (that’s all I can say for now)
• One of America’s premier manufacturers of handmade mosaic tiles
• A repair and remodeling company in Atlanta
• The world’s largest association serving technical professionals with over 400K members
• An exciting nutritional bar startup
• A new company serving the “wall barrier” and building industry
• A leading boutique PR firm based in Florida
• A debt consolidation company servicing college students in Virginia
• A California medical practice providing the entire panoply of services designed to get to the root cause of ailments—to restore and maintain the health of their clients from traditional medical expertise to physical therapy to chiropractic and nutritional planning
• An international business association

MEETING MY “VENEZUELAN BROTHERS” EARLY IN 2016:

What Traits Did We All Share?

What do all the people I work with have in common?

Did they all create “sexy” products or services?

Are they all retail? Or service businesses? Or food-related? No, no and no.

Are they all older, established companies or well-funded startups? No and no.

Instead, they each share something much less obvious to the casual glance:

They (the companies and their respective owners, founders and CEOs) were each unsatisfied with being good or merely very good.

That wasn’t good enough. They each wanted to be exceptional.

That’s what it came down to.

Being exceptional.

MY FIRST VISIT TO THE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE OF TAIWAN:

Trust me when I say, “anybody can deliver what’s expected.”

The great companies everyone envies share that singular quality of being obsessed with exceeding expectations.

And that passion—that burning fire of “I-will-not-settle”—is what my clients (and my colleagues) all share.

An. Itch. They. Simply. Must. Scratch.

In our ever-changing world, I deal with business owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs of all sorts. I find each of them is tempted to try the latest new business tool.

I’ve seen too many, with all of these distractions and messages, lose sight of some key fundamentals which I’ve noted below.

Where Greatness Starts

Here are some key viewpoints I use to help me stay focused on the stuff that works:

Anything that lessens your expansion and your desire for greatness is not your friend, no matter how “logical” it may seem. This applies as much to “helpful people” as it does to “logical ideas” that suck the life out of you.2

If it doesn’t empower your aspirations, then there’s something wrong with that idea (or person) and not something wrong with you.

Lesson: There’s never been anything wrong with reaching.

THE POWER OF A SINGLE WORD CAUGHT IN A SPONTANEOUS MOMENT:

Besides, mediocrity isn’t a goal. It’s a compromise. And mediocrity never inspired anybody.

The only one who comes out ahead in this scenario is whoever is promoting such ideas that results in any of us reaching for smaller dreams, striving for lesser goals and settling for something “more comfortable.”

I once wrote in my Fast Company column these additional points:

Peace is only a problem to those who want war. 

Your prosperity is only a conflict for those who profit from your failure. 

Love is only a problem to those who hate.

You and I “giving up” is an accomplishment only to those who gain from your demise.

MY 2017 VIDEO MESSAGE FOR YOU TO ENJOY AND SHARE

Remembering How to Dream Big

Look back at times when you’ve won. As an entrepreneur. In business. In art. In sports. In any part of life. You  felt big. Unstoppable. A force to be reckoned with.

I would venture a guess than any time you were outgoing and courageous like that, you felt bigger than the goal you were going after (or at least it didn’t seem so big, so you didn’t back down).

All of which brings me to this: You’re an important part of and the most vital factor in your success—not circumstances, not fate.

So, dream big. Execute bigger. And never lose sight of you.

When to Stop?

Never.

(Literally 10 minutes after this published, I learned we’d crossed the threshold of 50K followers on Twitter! How that for Instant Karma and the power of giving?)

BEING A GUEST ON GRANT CARDONE’S POWER PLAYERS SHOW, THE MAN WE ALL KNOW AS “THE 10X MAN” 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EPISODE THAT RANKED #1 ON iTUNES

Thank You to Each and Every One of You for Being Part of My Year (and Looking Forward to What We Do in the New Year)