Successful Startup 101: September 2014 Successful Startup 101: September 2014 | Page 35

Lesson 6: It’s Not About
You
Grasp the meaning behind the deeper why? If yes —
then you’ll automatically recognize entrepreneurship
is not about you.
Theobald explains it this way: “When you chase
opportunities, it’s all about you trying to get
something for yourself. I started experiencing success
when I made a significant shift in my thinking. My
role changed from looking out for myself to focusing
on making other people successful. This mindset
generated significantly different results.”
Lesson? Jump 180 degrees to the other side. Stand in
the shoes of your _______ . (Yes — fill it in. Customer.
Team member. Supplier. Partner. Whoever.) Let
your focus be on making them successful. Internet
entrepreneur Jeff Walker calls it spreading the
‘abundance juice’. Do it and you’ll never once have to
worry about your own well-being.

Lesson 7: To Really
Crush It; You Must Cede
Control
Want the real secret to success? Empower others,
support their success while giving up control. ‘What?
Give up control? No way. This is my baby and I own
it. I control it. Besides, I fled my job because I was
sick of not having control.’
Theobald counters with this; “Control is a dangerous
thing. You actually gain more control by giving up
control. You want to share it with others and allow
them part of that stake in making decisions and
moving forward. You are simply not smart enough to
be successful on your own.”
Lesson? Empower others by givi ng up some control.
The only real element you should control in your
business is the vision, purpose (deeper why) and
core values.

Lesson 8: Focus On
Effectiveness Instead Of
Your ‘Rake’
Yes — you need to be profitable. Yes — you need to
generate coin. But by solely focusing on your rake
(read: moolah); you miss the bigger opportunity.

Theobald put it like this; “When you become more
effective, it’s characterized as increasing the size of
the whole pie so your slice is bigger. Leveraging the
goods you been given and submitting yourself to
others and team, your rake will actually be better
in the end. So focus on being effective, and not so
much on what your ultimate rake is because you’ll be
much further down the road.”
Lesson? Stop thinking of your own wallet. Again, it’s
not about you. Focus on how to empower others,
cede control and in the process, focus your time and
energy on being effective in those areas. The result?
You eat a much bigger piece of pie.

Lesson 9: You’re Doing It
Wrong…
Theobald also wrote a book named ‘Finding Truth
At The Bottom’. He shot me a copy and I’ll wrap this
thing up with my favorite quote from the book. The
context is a guy who struggles mightily, but keeps
doing things the same way. His wise mentor pretty
much socks it to him straight in this quote:
“Nothing’s going to give if you keep doing the
same thing you’ve been doing. If you keep
banging your head against the concrete wall,
the wall doesn’t suddenly give way. Instead,
you end up knocking yourself out. You need to
pick a different approach.”

I’ve just extracted and delivered 9 things from
Theobald you can look to change in your own
business. Don’t just read it. Take action and fix
what’s broken. Otherwise, you’re unconscious and
slumped at the bottom of the concrete wall with
no one to blame but yourself.
Don’t let this be you.

About the Author
I am a life-long entrepreneur
and startup expert living in
Sisters, Oregon and I am the
Founder and CEO of Mighty Wise
Academy: A Virtual Academy
For Entrepreneurship. I am also a mentor
and advisor for multiple startup companies.
If you’d like to learn what it really takes to
become a successful entrepreneur, you can
connect with me here >>.