However "big" you're
thinking right now, it's probably too small.
It's important to have big dreams
for your future. After all, failing to plan is planning to fail. So if you
can't think big about your future, you're not going to have a very big future.
Big, of course, means a dream that takes you farther than where you are today.
Success can be defined in many ways,
and I'm not telling you how to define it. I'm simply saying to take your
definition of success and raise the bar on it.
One thing I've learned over the
years is that when you are thinking big, in reality you're thinking small.
There's always a bigger big.
When I was in my mid-20s, I thought
I was thinking big. But when I look back now, I realize, "Wow, was I
thinking small! Too bad I wasn't thinking bigger. I would have accomplished
more, faster." (more after the cut)
What does that really mean in the
present? It means that my big thoughts for my future today are probably small.
Therefore, I need to think bigger about whatever I'm trying to do before I
begin to do it.
So don't do what your latest big
thought was. Instead, think bigger. Ask yourself, "What is even bigger
than what I'm thinking, because that's what I really want to do?" That's
how you raise the bar far higher on yourself.
Right now, think about taking a
vacation, and think big about it. Reflect on that vacation for a moment. How
would your big vacation compare to a big vacation planned by Sir Richard
Branson or Bill Gates? Yes, they likely make more money than you do, but might
that fact be because they can think bigger about making money? My point is,
there is always a bigger big. If you can't imagine it, you will never achieve
it.
When I was writing my latest book Flash
Foresight, I was like every other author on the planet. I wanted my book to
be a New York Times best-seller. But then I thought bigger: I wanted it
to be a Wall Street Journal best seller, number one on Amazon,
and at the top of every known list. At this point, something happens to most of
us, in that we get realistic. In this case most authors will think big and then
think smaller by saying to themselves, "You know, realistically, I can't
do that. Let's face it...only one person can be number one on Amazon, as
well as a New York Times and a Wall Street Journal best-seller."
So they think small, lower their expectations, and achieve less.
Over the decades, I have learned
that making the goal or the dream bigger pays off! You can't do it if you can't
see it in your minds eye. In the book writing example, I said, "Not only
am I going to make Flash Foresight a New York Times and Wall
Street Journal best-seller, but I'm also going to make it number one on
Amazon in every category. And I don't want to be number one just on
Amazon in the U.S.; I want it to be number one on Amazon in Europe. Not only
that, I want it to be a best-seller in Asia. In fact, I want it to be required
reading all over the world."
Once you start to see the bigger
big, then you have to ask yourself, "What are the strategies to accomplish
the bigger big? What would it take to accomplish my bigger big goal?" Once
you have the vision and ask the "What Would It Take" question, the
path to get there becomes clear.
In my case, not only did my book
make those best-seller lists and become number one on Amazon for quite a
long time in every category, but it also was number one on Amazon in
other countries, and the largest newspaper in China devoted an entire page to
my book. Today, I'm happy to report that the book is required reading for
executives from many Fortune 500 companies. Why? Because I had vision that was
bigger than big. It was global big.
Over the years, I have applied this
principle to much more than books. For example, I've started six innovative
companies, from experimental aircraft to smart phone and tablet apps, all
without investors. Three were leaders in the U.S. in the first year.
My guess is that you have your own
examples of times when you thought big and then bigger, with the result taking
you to a new level.
What's your bigger big today? You
can apply this to anything from vacations to starting a business. If you're
looking for a job right now, maybe you should be thinking about a career
instead of a job. And if you have a career, maybe you should think bigger. And
that is, "What's my real calling? What was I put on this planet to do?
What is the one thing that would make me not care whether it's Monday or
Friday, because I enjoy what I'm doing every day?"
So think big, and then realize you
just thought small. Before doing your big thing, look at what is the bigger
thing, and do that instead. When you do, you'll find that your future will be
far more amazing than your past, and even more amazing than you thought it
would be.
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