The Power of Broke #ReadIn10

You don’t need a pile of cash to succeed. In fact, having too much to spend could cause you to lose sight on what’s important and cost you the drive to innovate and hustle hard.

Many entrepreneurs these days especially, aim to raise as much cash as possible. As a result, they follow where the money goes instead of what’s actually best for their company. It could can set them on artificial high where they won’t able to see their bottomline. When we’re starting up, we are bound to make a lot of mistakes. With bigger money, we are prone to create bigger mistakes.

When you’re broke on the other hand, you tend to be extremely aware of what you spend on, always keep a close watch and make every dime matter. So, instead of condemning your situation, celebrate and capitalize on the power of broke. It’s the fire and hunger that come from the bottom; the feeling that you’re truly desperate for success and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve success. It is that hunger that get most people far in their career, not money.

In order to unleash the power of broke, we need to constantly put ourselves on a SHARK (of-course, knowing which TV show the author is from) mindset: Set a realistic but ambitious goal. Homework, do it well, know who are your competitors, is there a market and need. Adore what you do, only then you will build that passion to work day in and out, to have that energy to fuel the arduous journey and make it no matter what. Remember you are the brand, what you wear, personality and lifestyle will be what reflects your future success; the way you carry yourself and how you treat your customers are the reflection of your brand. Keep swimming, never settle, be aware of the smell of a new blood and keep hunting for new innovation.

We need to wire our mindset to think that we have nothing to lose so we have everything to gain. Put ourselves in the situation where we are exhausted of options and the only way to go forward is up. And the way to go forward is not always to spend. Think within reach — what are the next affordable next steps that you can take. Actions that won’t come back to bite you in the end.

Steve Aoki used to struggle to get his name out. He came from a rich family, but just like any other Asians, his parents did not approve of his music career. So he went out and set out his own path. He started by throwing street parties. He wasn’t making money but he had a momentum; All backed on his sweat and hustle. Steve said it himself that he would not have had that kinds of energy had his father gave him hundreds of thousand of dollars to start with. He would see himself squandering it away and no way he could build the same energy and movement. Steve barely made enough to run his next gig but he keeps going. He keeps thinking of ways he can make enough to fund his next project. The next things we know, he becomes one of the most groundbreaking Electro DJ out there.

Steve showed us that our goals don’t have to be grandiose. Just enough to keep you going, to keep your lights on. Keep the momentum up and good things will happen.

Another “broke trait” that we need to posses is to be relentless. Never take no as an answer. Always know that there are workarounds for everything in this world. If you are hungry enough, persistent enough, you will always find ways to get what you want.

Rob Dyrdek is a famous skater and TV producer. He found his passion when he was young and he knew that he needed to compete at this local skateboarding contest to give his career head start. The entrance fee however, was out of his reach. Instead of giving up right away, he worked the angles. He proposed to the event organizer to let him in for free if he could get ten people to sign up. Sure enough, he got his ten people, free ticket and paved his way to success since then. He has set twenty one world records for skateboarding.

On his own words, when he puts his mind to something, he knows and thinks that he is going to be the best. The best and nothing less. Rob reaped success out of nothing but pure determination, passion and talent.

You don’t have to be even be good at something to start anything great. The founder of Under Armour, Kevin, never even sewn clothes when he started his company. But he has the fire, passion and belief in what he does. He started picking up his skill from a copy of Women’s Wear daily — bible of the fashion industry and even drove to another city to negotiate his own manufacturing deal. He got 7 prototypes to test out with his school mates, washed them and did the same thing to 7 different people. He collected feedback, learned and grew his business from there.

Believe in what you do and do whatever it takes to make it happen. Kevin didn’t have a clue about sewing but he figured it out because he had to. Sure, your journey is not one static, smooth journey. There will be bumps and failures. So we’ve got to evolve. If one thing is not working, figure out what make it works. If something is not ready, figure out a way to make it ready. Just keep swimming, no matter what.

It’s never easy to find success or all of us will be moguls. There will always be something standing in our ways, be it money, people or sometimes just luck. Successful people, however, do not ignore those obstacles, they face and power past them. That kind of determination comes from a place of having nothing to lose. It comes from the power of broke.

Even if you’re not broke, even if your back isn’t against the wall, act like it. Root for success as much as you breathe. Build on what you adore and keep going at it until you get it. Embrace the power of broke and let it be the driver for your astounding business, financial and personal achievements.