One Hundred Billion Dollars just rolls off the tongue. With the pending IPO of Facebook, people throw out millions and billions like its no big deal. We read and hear about it in entrepreneurial magazines, in the elevator, in the movies and of course when we hear politicians refer to the public debt of our country. Millions and Billions of dollars have become a normal part of our everyday lexicon as much as OMG and LOL.
For some who have dreams of stellar entrepreneurial success, constantly hearing billions and millions can be as much inspirational as it is debilitating. As a budding entrepreneur or a rising sales person trying to “make it”, those terms can at times cause paralysis because sometimes you tend to measure what you are doing right now with that very specific goal post. You start to draw out the line from your current path and think, “how will this make me a billion dollars?”
You start thinking negative thoughts about all the challenges of life and you fall down this spiral of logic and numbers and find yourself trapped in its debilitating grasp.
And so you don’t even try. You stop. You freeze. You don’t bother starting a business. You don’t bother making the sales pitch. You stop pitching new ideas at work. You don’t bother putting your passion into something you dream about. And you lose hope….all because a billion seems way out of reach.
Here’s my take. Forget the billion. Focus on the five.
I recently discovered something that gave me perspective on this whole thing. It’s a website called Fiverr.com. It’s simple – people sign up to sell you their product/service for 5 bucks. That’s it. $5 dollars! As a buyer, I’ve bought a number of gigs from sellers on the site. Mostly videos such as these.
So, how does a seller make any real money? They do it by selling “extra” services and by promoting themselves as they try a new service they’ve created or simply to get the word out about their services.
No, it isn’t a billion. Not even close. But it’s a start. Because we all have to begin somewhere.
As I look around in this uncertain world full of chaos, where there is so much complexity in business, uncertainty in the economy and overall fear and anxiety of starting a new business that it causes a rational person to feel stuck because its hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s hard to envision that level of success when you’re just starting out. And this reason slowly becomes an excuse for INACTION. Because the logical mind thinks – I can’t make millions – so why bother doing anything at all?
But what I’ve realized is that EVERYONE STARTS SOMEWHERE. I’ve actually met two billionaires recently. And they both started with nothing but an idea. And they didn’t set out to become billionaires. They set out to do something they thought was a good idea. That’s all. They didn’t let the billion get in the way of earning their first $5 or the millions thereafter.
Those out there on Fiverr.com are doing the same thing. They aren’t worried about making millions or billions. They’re simply trying to make 5 bucks. They’re not frozen by the thinking of an overly analytical mind. They don’t care about the million right now. They’re purposeful at making whatever they can at whatever it is they can create, develop and sell. To them, $5 is a good start.
I believe that in order to be successful in business – whether you’re in sales, working in corporate America or a budding entrepreneur – you’ve got to start somewhere. By focusing your energies on the day to day revenue generating tasks, you can overcome the intimidation born out of the expectation of making billions.
I know it’s tough dealing with uncertainty and the stress and anxiety of trying to make it with a new business. But thinking that you can’t make the $5 billion will never move you to make the first $5.
Just start. Move forward. Focus on the here and now. Try to make $5 bucks. Then $50. Then $500. Then $5000. Then $50,000. And soon enough, you’ll get to where you deserve to be. It might not be 5 billion but at least you’ll be moving in the right direction. Forward.
Right now, some kid is out there with a computer and internet access who WILL start the next Facebook and might just become a billionaire. She’s not whining about the chaos – she’s embracing it…and just maybe you’ll find her on Fiverr.com…or reading this blog:)
Go ahead…move forward and try something | Embrace the Chaos! | Bob Miglani
