The one trick to breaking into a million dollar business
People say your best ideas come when you least expect it. When you don’t squeeze your brain to think.
And they’re right. It does.
Nick Woodman invented GoPro after he went surfing and realized he couldn’t take pictures of himself.
J.K. Rowling got the idea of Harry Potter as she sat on a 4-hour delayed train from Manchester to London.
Ingvar Kampard launched Ikea after becoming frustrated at a table he bought and couldn’t fit into his car.
I’m not suggesting you should drop everything you’re doing to do whatever the heck you like (e.g. skip work to hang out with friends or watch TV vs polishing up your resume), to be like these successful entrepreneurs and hope that you’ll come up with a million dollar business.
Overnight success doesn’t quite work like that. And it might be awhile until you do come up with a brilliant idea.
So in the meantime:
Focus on work and build a safety cushion against what-might-be-a-crummy life. BUT whenever your mind is not “at work”, think about your current situation and how you can improve it. Or how you can make an impact in this world.
Because when you do, you bump up your chances of creating something that could be the next revolution. Something people might absolutely love that nobody has thought of, or managed to push out in public. Something that could make you insanely famous.
You could be the first.
Now you might not feel motivated to do some extra thinking, especially when the bigger things in life demand more of your attention like your job, your customers, your body, your partner, your kids. But let me ask you, is this how you want to live the rest of your life, day after day after day? Abiding by society’s rules on what it takes to be successful?
Probably not.
The truth is, most of us get too caught up, working at companies that only want us to perfect 1 or 2 skills. Possibly 3 (if your boss believes in you). And the longer we push ourselves towards this path, the less we care about uncovering our own hidden talents.
Don’t let yourself sink into this pitfall. Learn how to get out of it.
If you’re told to keep a record of the people you meet for business, don’t just ask for a phone number. Take a picture of their business card and write down a few notes about them.
If you’re told to create Facebook ads (even though there’s no increase in profits for the past few months), learn to market on Instagram or Medium.
If you’re told to answer customer support calls, create a FAQ page on your company’s site that tackles the most common questions.
There’s always a better way of doing something. And sometimes thinking outside the box could lead to your newfound strength and help you build a full-fledged business.
“You can’t have a million dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic.”
~Stephen C. Hogan
Remember, our brains weren’t designed to master a few things. They were designed to expand, to become sharper and give us the edge to outdo everyone else.
Because of that, you can still discover your hidden talents. Just keep thinking about how to improve your current situation and the world — it’s the first step great creators do to build their empire.
So if you want to make an impact like these successful entrepreneurs, don’t just blindly work for a salary. Realize what you could do better at. And make it happen.
Because one day, it could change your entire life.
