It's Not About How You Do...It's Simply About What You DO...
#The Leap Of Faith
Life is full of so many unexpected moments that happen in the blink of an instance and we can never really seem to think back to the decisions we were faced with. We constantly have to ask what has inspired us to live out the days we have already experienced and prepare for those yet to come.
Child-like Dreams
Try this simple exercise for a moment. Right where you are. STOP. Close your eyes (and really close them, please). Think back to your childhood days when you ran that lemonade stand on those hot summer days in your hometown or when you sold your parents on a dream that “when I grow up….” – just listen to that inner child making decisions and leaping into puddles of imagination. Where is that voice today?
As I think back to when I was a child, I remember the boyish things I would get caught up in. I don’t recall a moment of hesitation or self- doubt – I just did it so I could know what it was like! Throughout life, we strive so much to “make it big” that we often lose focus of that core voice that got us to where we are today! It’s important that we continually connect with that core that inspires us to take leaps of gargantuan faith (and tremendous risk) to overcome the many obstacles that stand in the way of our vision.
Risking it All
Leaping in business is about risking it all. That common adrenaline rush of the unknown experience and the sheer optimism that maybe one day my commitment will have an incredible return. Some would call that profit (haha)! But what really makes the risk successful is execution. Proper execution that is! The leap comes with the insurmountable experience of failings like line sheet rejections, orders getting cancelled, beta tests backfiring, investors backing away and the increasing level of self-doubt. Entrepreneurial success is not solely dependent on the business’ survival, but on your personal decision to take that FIRST LEAP.
A Legacy of Leaping
Too many people get caught in the disease of procrastination or “talking” versus taking the time to invest in their dreams. Investing in dreams is about taking the steps towards manifesting a business plan or talking to that friend about an idea. Going to work from 9-5 and then coming home to grind out free time to sacrifice for what you really want to do with your life. Everyone has a talent to share with the world! The world (or you) will never know what that is until you LEAP. Leaping is defined by taking a jump or spring a long way, to a great height, or with great force. Repeat that definition to yourself and you may find inspiration in the subliminal message. Leaping will take you places you never knew were possible!
With my own experience in the LEAPING business, I have experienced both the impressive results of dedicated entrepreneurs like my great-grandfather who owned one of the first black-owned supper clubs in Minneapolis, Minnesota – The Cozy Bar & Lounge. This original leap of faith came with the resistance of the times, but was met with massive drive to establish a vision. My great-grandfather was a curator of entertainment and from his initial leap birthed the Riverview Supper Club on the banks of the Mississippi in Minneapolis. This later became the launching pad for some of the greatest musical talents (Prince & Flight Time, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Alexander O’Neal, etc.) as they torpedoed towards the entertainment mainstream.
This personal connection to LEAPING has helped cultivate my appreciation for the craft that is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a gift! A gift so beautiful and magnificent. It allows you to develop, nurture and influence others to believe in that dream. That’s an incredible feeling that nothing else can provide. The more I have experienced LEAPING, the more successful I have become in many ventures that I have pursued or work with.
Shift to Entrepreneur Mentality
The moment leaping became a tangible experience was when I totaled my car after a terrible drinking accident. Many people would read this and say “why does that bit of information matter?” By including it, I am leaping for myself and others too guarded to open up to express how they have become successful. That moment where I reflected on where I was and where I wanted to go was when leaping felt real.
After I experienced the accident, I felt a supreme shift in my mentality and approach to life as an entrepreneur. Things slowed down and I made decisions a great deal differently. I appreciated subtle things related to how I conducted business and managed relationships. For example, when we placed our first order for my Bow-Tie company, or when Ernie Johnson rocked a knot during NBA on TNT. Those are gratifying moments. Through these experiences – I am sure you can relate – life began to push and stretch my gifts to accommodate the present circumstances. This “sooo” uncomfortable feeling created an incredible opportunity for me to LEAP on my faith of my abilities to do more. So sharing this perspective is a great piece of that journey!
When I thought about the readership – the visionaries, entrepreneurs, dreamers, hustlers, grinders, 9-to-5ers and the generation of innovators yet to come – I wanted to add real-time, personal anecdotes to push you to your dreams. Nothing is possible until you LEAP. Do not wait for someone to approve your idea, sketch, technology, solution, cure or happiness – you can have and achieve whatever you want if you LEAP.
Keep working!
Peace.
Peace.
Take the Leap Today!
Quotes For U : THE DAILY INGREDIENT
“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” –Nolan Bushnell, entrepreneur.
"Do. Or do not. There is no try." - Yoda, Jedi Master.
“To any entrepreneur: if you want to do it, do it now. If you don’t, you’re going to regret it.” - Catherine Cook, co-founder of MyYearbook.
“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” - Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game's winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that's why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer.
“There’s nothing wrong with staying small. You can do big things with a small team.” - Jason Fried, founder of 37signal.
“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” - Guy Kawasaki, founder of AllTop.
“If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” - Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook.
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." - Chinese proverb.
“Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” - Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister.
Related: Steve Jobs' 13 Most Inspiring Quotes
“There’s lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.” - Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote.
“The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world.” - Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.
“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” - Vince Lombardi, head coach of the Green Bay Packers (1959-1967).
"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company.
“If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.” - Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s.
“Watch, listen, and learn. You can’t know it all yourself. Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.” - Donald Trump, chairman of The Trump Organization, the Trump Plaza Associates, LLC.
“Always deliver more than expected.” —Larry Page, co-founder of Google.
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover." Mark Twain, author.
“You shouldn’t focus on why you can’t do something, which is what most people do. You should focus on why perhaps you can, and be one of the exceptions.” - Steve Case, co-founder of AOL.
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein, physicist.
“Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” - Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks.
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” - Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple.
“Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be a substitute for that.” - Anthony Volodkin, founder of HypeMachine..
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” - Walt Disney, co-founder of the Walt Disney Company.
"You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." Wayne Gretzky, NHL Hall of Famer.
“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” - Richard
Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.
Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.
“It’s almost always harder to raise capital than you thought it would be, and it always takes longer. So plan for that.” - Richard Harroch, Venture Capitalist.
“If you don't know what to do with your life, do something that saves lives. The world is full of of people in need, be the part of their life that fills that need.” - Sanjeev Saxena.
"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." - Confucius.
“I hate how many people think, “glass half-empty” when their glass is really four-fifths full. I’m grateful when I have one drop in the glass because I know exactly what to do with it.” - Gary Vaynerchuk, co-founder and CEO of VaynerMedia.
“It's hard to beat a person who never gives up.” - Babe Ruth, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer.
“For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn't conspire against you, but it doesn't go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. "Someday" is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it's important to you and you want to do it "eventually," just do it and correct course along the way.”- Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week.
“Fail often so you can succeed sooner.” - Tom Kelley, Ideo partner.
“We are currently not planning on conquering the world.” - Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google.
“Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.” - Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter.
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." Beverly Sills, opera singer.
“The media wants overnight successes (so they have someone to tear down). Ignore them. Ignore the early adopter critics that never have enough to play with. Ignore your investors that want proven tactics and predictable instant results. Listen instead to your real customers, to your vision and make something for the long haul. Because that's how long it's going to take, guys. - Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur, marketer, and public speaker.
“When you cease to dream you cease to live” - Malcolm Forbes, chairman and editor in chief of Forbes Magazine.
“Don’t worry about funding if you don’t need it. Today it’s cheaper to start a business than ever.”- Noah Everett, founder Twitpic.
“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” - Martin Luther King, Jr., pastor, activist, humanitarian and Civil Rights leader.
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." – Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft.
"I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work." – Thomas Edison, inventor.
"Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice." – Peter Drucker, management consultant, educator, and author.
"In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create." – David Ogilvy, co-founder of Ogilvy & Mather.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because all that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.” - Mark Cuban, Chairman of AXS TV, Owner of Landmark Theaters.
"Success is how high you bounce after you hit bottom." – General George Patton.
“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” – Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.
"Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will." – Zig Ziglar, author, salesman, and motivational speaker.
“Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” —Paul Rand, graphic designer.
“I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of not trying.” – Jay Z, musician.
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. – Dr. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich.
Strategies To Be Followed :
- Innovation
- Continuous Process Improvement (CPI)
- Use of Technology
- Future Products & Services
- Optimized Talent Management
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