We're eleven days into 2011.
So how is this year shaping up for you?
Answering: "The year is still young, I don't know yet." ...is unacceptable. You know darn well if this year is going to start off with a bang {or not}.
What kind of momentum have you created the past few weeks?
Have you been extending your network? i.e. Meeting new people online and offline who you can serve? {notice I didn't say people who can help you make money}
I learned a long time ago that when you expand the amount of people you serve, you become more fulfilled. The money always follows as a result.
Expanding your sphere of influence doesn't have to be solely for entrepreneurs, it's just a little easier because you don't have politics, bosses, org charts or anything else standing in your way. You don't need approval to jump into the mix and make things happen.
We had a ton of comments on the last blog post titled Adversity Is A Blessing. I shared a ten minute video on how you never know the greatness that lies inside of you if you don't go through adversity.
Sometimes prosperity can hide amazing talents that would otherwise lie dormant if you didn't go through tough times.
Don't let the difficult climate prevent you from serving. As I mentioned on my last post, I launched Every Day Is Saturday a few months after filing chapter 13 bankruptcy.
I was faced with no:
Money
Network
Marketing Knowledge
Sales Funnel
Free time {until I learned how to steal time}
I asked one question: How can I serve more people?
Strange isn't it?
I was forced to go back into the workforce on a much lower pay scale and lost the corner office. Everyone thought I was on a crash course for a mid life breakdown and resigning myself to the next 20 yrs of my life as an employee.
What nobody realized was that my mind was working in the complete opposite manner. I felt relieved that I was no longer buying things I couldn't afford, with money I didn't have, to impress people I didn't even like. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and now I could just be me.
Did others make fun of me and my dream?
Of course!
Do you honestly think that you're going to stretch yourself and go after a huge dream while average people applaud your efforts? Average people are average for a reason. They never have, nor never will stretch in order to leave a small life behind. They're content with flying below the radar and that's great news for you.
As I say over and over again There is no competition at the top.
You cannot fit a big dream into a small life.
If you're going to be unstoppable, you need to create massive momentum around one idea.
Not 100 ideas.
You don't become great by doing 100 things right. You become great by doing one thing 100 times - or more like 1,000 times until your idea fits nicely inside the huge life you've created for it.
When I left my job in May 2005 I had a 750 credit score, a ton of confidence and cash in the bank. By the end of 2005 I had a credit score of 520 and no money. But I had hope.
You can lose all the material possessions in your life but if you still have hope you're in the game. Being in the game means your vision is clear on where the next step will be. When I say 'vision' I'm talking about seeing the unseen - stepping out in faith.
You don't need a big house, nice car and fancy job title to launch something huge. None of those things matter when you make the decision to serve. As a matter of fact, they'll get in your way if your mind is not clear on who you are and where you're going. Look around at any Starbucks and you'll see men and women sipping $6 lattes, working on $3,000 computers, dressed in $1,000 suits and all of them have $10 dreams.
Their main objective is to look important while doing unimportant tasks, with the goal of serving themselves first; if there's any leftovers, they'll give the crumbs away.
When I had the least, I had the most. When I had no money I had the best friends. When I lost the title, I gained a movement called Every Day Is Saturday. I left all the plaques, ribbons & awards behind because they were an albatross around my dream. I couldn't move forward with a huge dream when I still had a small vision and in turn a small life.
If you're going through a painful season right now I want to encourage you to find one thing - just one - and shine a magnifying glass over it until it gets hot. Tune out the "Who do you think you are" voice that will undoubtedly enter your mind. You also need to rid yourself of people who unknowingly will tell you to take it slow because they "Don't want you to get your hopes up." Pure craziness. Why wouldn't you get your hopes up? Mind you, these are the same people who never could squeeze a big dream into their small life. They may have taken a shot once before and got taken out - then gave up.
Remember, when you succeed, they {the small dreamers} look bad.
You don't need money to begin your journey to freedom. Money is so easy to acquire it's not even worth talking about. When people fail it's because they haven't given themselves permission to dream big.
Focusing on past failures is a waste of time and a sure fire way to guarantee another failure. When you play the game of life tentatively, you get hurt. No different than playing a sport worrying about injury.
When you go on the attack, you raise the odds in your favor.
Believe me, success will happen for you. It's not a matter if but a matter of when. Move away from people with small dreams, they're of little help. They can commiserate with you till the cows come home but will never be the fuel you need to ignite the dream.
it's up to you to find the right network to fuel the fire.
Start serving more people NOW.
Not tomorrow or next week or next year - NOW!
So how's your year going....?
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21 Responses to “You Cannot Fit A Big Dream Into A Small Life”
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This whole thing rocks Sam. I know what it's like to build a business on stolen time. I used to write web code as a security guard on the midnight shift. I would do my rounds in 7 minutes and have 53 to monitor the cameras and crank out web sites.
Thanks for your inspiration.
I like how you think and I appreciate your encouragement very much. I need it at this time. Thanks for including me in your mailing list.
Garland Hughes
garlandhughes91@gmail.com
Thank you very much for your inspiring article. I completely agree with you on the idea of serving people. Wish you success in all your endeavor.
Hi Sam:
This is one of best messages this year.
Last year I was on the path of the more things I dabble in
The better chance of success, that is until the end of 2010 when I got a reality check by a colleague of mine.
Your message comes at a time when I am thinking about what others think - well now I say who cares what anyone thinks
- I will succeed and I am quitting to worry about what others think in 2011. Thanks for sharing
your message Sam.
Sam,
You're one of the people who really inspires me to follow my heart and passion. I have been inspired to write my first ebook which has just been published on Clickbank
Well said Sam.Couldnt agree with you more that service preceeds greatness.
This whole concept is what my book "Footprints of Giants" centres on.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Footprints-Giants-Dr-Ayodele-Ajayi/dp/1907402039/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294767527&sr=8-1
Well Done
True & true. Stay away from nay Sayers. Which is the hardest and they would try to drag you down with words and making you look like you are nothing. Don't give in. And thanks Sam. Needed to hear this.
This blog was just what I needed to read. Thank you!!! I let my momentum crash because of having to take care of everything for my mom (83 yrs. old) who is in need of surgery. The type of surgery needed is requiring MANY other Pre op exams to clear her first, including being seen by a dentist. (Required by Surgeon to rule out possibility of any oral infection even though she has dentures.)
All of these phone calls, appointment setting, time at the many various types of Dr.'s, labs, etc. taking care of legal papers and running her around even for shopping, as you can imagine, is taking a lot of my time. And, I have NO help or assistance from my brother who's constant excuse for not coming to help is that he has no money and his tires are bald (!), yet he asks me if I can find some 50 lb. plates for him to exercise with.
And, for those who are starting a business/self-employed, you know how much time is needed and when you don't have client's, you don't have money coming in!!!
Anyway......it's all how I choose to see opportunities, besides being thankful I am here to be able to care for my mom, I look at all these appointments as meeting new people. New people who may also be helpful contacts in my new career, or they may be the investor to help me start.
Plus, all my experiences are going in my autobiography, including what I am experiencing now. So, in addition to seeing opportunities with these many appointments.......I'm gaining more things to put in my book
Thanks, Sam!!!!!
Hi Sam,
Thanks for your words of encouragement. I've got big plans for this year , I'm intending to get my at home Journey Practice up and running. My husband works long hours, so I'm the housekeeper,washeruper,and kid social coordinator. My challenge is to make more time for my business so that I can gain some momentum , whilst also maintaining harmony on the family front.I love being a mum and wife , but I feel there is so much more of Steph here to be expressed.
Thanks for the opportunity to write these words. It feels good to share.
Thanks Stephanie
Sam,
I'm here, and I'm reading every word, taking each inside to make them apart of me. I relate to all that you say. I didn't file bankruptcy. But I lost an estate, cars, jewelry, furniture - things, which my past fake prosperity spun its web around me, and tried to choke me. You are absolutely correct - from experience I can say this, because I breath. I still have my family and we breath. In other words, we have everything we need to progress ourselves - all the important stuff in life we kept. We are all closer than ever before. Your emphasis on service is right on the money.
I'm an artist. In 1997 I painted a portrait of Christ, after having experienced visions in my sleep. I woke up with about 18 pages of instructions on what, when and how, but not who, about painting this work of art. To make a long story short, that painting was appraised at $1.8M in Nov of 2009, all while I was living in my car. Life is wonderfully crazy like that. I love it. No single 'living artist' in the entire world has ever had his work appraised at that level. That planted our sense of hope. Now a series of small investments - hope inspired - have grown into larger investments,and are soon to mature. (I enjoyed eating my mac and cheese to make those investments possible.) What's great is that serice is the driving force. Money naturally follows.
Before I finish here, I want to share with you and 'our' fellow Lovers of Saturday' an extra part of what was shared with me in my vision: "You shall paint great love, and thus be great love in the doing."
Thanks Sam!!!
Warm Regards, John
Great motivation Sam, thank you. And its so true about not aiming to be great at 100 things but focusing on just one thing and becoming glorious at it. I was guilty in the past of this but of late I am much more focused. Thank you my friend, Nick, Tahiti.
You 'knocked it out of the park' with this message.
Well done, my friend!
Dana
Sam,
I agree with everything that you wrote except the "you don't need money". I purchased the EDIS Podcast download, I don't have the funds to pay for the royalty free music, nor do I have the funds to pay someone to help me get it up and running. I am a senior on a fixted income. I am where I am because of instant gratification, trying to impress people I didn't like, but basically because of low self esteem. You always need some money to facilitate your dream. Lawyers don't work for free (Copywrites and trademarks)
accountants don't work for free (setting up corporations).
I know that I am where I am because of my past thoughts and negative words. I am have just done my business plan of how I am going to work my way out of this mess! Thank you Sam for your encouragement.
@ Rose,
You don't need royalty free music to get going with a successful podcast. It's a nice feature but not a necessity. I went 12 months with no music to my podcast when I first began.
Focus on the content and your target audience.
Promote your show to news outlets and bloggers, you'll begin monetizing your show if you focus on one thing - creating great content.
If you went through the Podcast To The Top Training, you have everything you need to get up and running.
Watch the replay videos over and over again.
Google information on podcasting in your spare time and be sure to plug into the EDIS forum. There are dozens of podcast graduates who would love to not only help you, but encourage you to keep going!
Rock On!
Wow, this is like a smack to the head! Sometimes, we do give too much credit to our failures, rather than aspiring and hoping for success. Unless we learn to let go of our doubts and insecurities, we cannot move forward.
Thanks Sam for this inspiring blog.
Dear Sam,
I do really appreciate your enthusiastic for the long run and forthgoing ,but at least you bestow me the path of will to go through ,you are really wonderfull and successor in life,I bear your advice and keep it .Thank you
Hey Sam,
As usual, right message at the right time. I have spent years chasing between " great ideas ". This year I am focusing on just one and right now it feels a bit scary. This has given a boost just when I need it. Thanks Sam
Hi Sam, Thanks so much for your inspirational blog. Sometimes when we are stuck we ask God (the big guy!) for help and he sends blogs like yours to allow us (me!) to see things with clarity. You are of service. But your service is really special to lots of us! Happy New Year 2011. God bless you!
Hi Sam
Thanks for your blog and encouragement. I now realise how important it is for to encourage others to do well in their lives. Last year I finished my Legal Secretarial Diploma and this year I am going to put my talent to good use!
Thank you thank you! I quit my toxic husband and his toxic treatment of our marriage, I will make a bigger and better future for myself and my amazing 2 little children. I will accept that I had 8 great years with him but that it is now in the past and I must move on to bigger and better things, a move back to the UK to be closer to family and friends and restarting my career .. aswell as making sure I am the best Mum I can possibly be and help my little ones to know they are loved and appreciated everyday so that they are encouraged to be the best they can possibly be... at who they are in this crazy, amazing fantastic world. It is good to read your inspirational blogs and encouragements when I get down about things.... send me your positive vibes and do not feel sorry for a solo Mum whose Husband is a liar and a neer do well ... feel sorry for him and for all that he has thrown away and wish me luck on my journey!
I am just loving you blog. This is just one another awesome post ever i seen. Keep sharing. Your articles are so inspiring.