THINK BIG , CRUSH MEDIOCRITY AND CHASE YOUR DREAMS
“ Dream big .” “ Shoot for the stars .”
When I was a kid , I was told these things . I ’ m sure you were too . I went back and forth between wanting to play professional football and wanting to become an astronaut — goals that were totally unrealistic . But no one told me my dreams were unrealistic .
There weren ’ t people out there saying I couldn ’ t do these things . My parents would even smile and encourage me . And I didn ’ t think about the scale of these ambitions because I was a kid . Thinking big was part of my persona , as it is with most kids .
But as you grow up , you lose touch with your childhood dreams . I ’ m not specifically talking about your ambitions to pursue a unique profession such as a professional athlete or astronaut . I ’ m talking about your knack for thinking big . Some go after their dreams but many more will go through school , enter the workforce , get married , and during that time , their dreams gradually fade away .
But for those of you reading , you still have that dream in your head . You might have forgotten about it or gotten busy doing other things , but it ’ s still there . You still have thoughts of what could have been .
I ’ m here to tell you that it ’ s not too late to dream big .
Look at Richard Branson . He doesn ’ t think small . He doesn ’ t think 1x or 2x . He thinks big — 10x , 20x , 100x . He asks how he can take his idea , product , business , etc . and make it spread like a wildfire . He asks how he can leave an impact on the world .
Richard Branson is an excellent example because he is always thinking big . Even though he never received a formal education and suffered from dyslexia as a child , he didn ’ t let that interfere with his dreams . One of his headmasters even said that he would end up in prison , but that didn ’ t stop him . After a few failed ventures , he started a magazine in 1966 and Virgin Records in 1973 and never looked back . His estimated net worth as of June 2015 was $ 5 billion .
Again , all without a formal education .
He doesn ’ t have “ credentials .” He doesn ’ t have an MBA . But he is a hustler and his approach has always been simple : think big and have fun .
I once worked at a company whose CEO ’ s mission was to turn the business into a $ 100 million company . I would sit at my desk and think , “ That number seems too small . Why not $ 1 billion ?” Don ’ t get me wrong , $ 100 million is a lot of money , but it seems as if these days $ 100 million companies are common . Who wants to be common ? Do you want to leave your mark on the world or what ?
So why didn ’ t this CEO think bigger ? Why don ’ t most of us think bigger ? There are a few reasons why — thinking big isn ’ t a skill anyone teaches nor bothers to learn . If you reflect on this for a moment , why would someone teach this ? It ’ s not a tangible skill . You can ’ t use this skill to build a house , create software or repair a jet engine . And secondly , how do you teach someone to think big ?