Well? What would you do if you won the lottery?
No doubt this is a conversation that many of us have had, or have heard others discussing. Maybe, the conversation had been along the lines of ‘if only I was a millionaire’…
Either way, there aren’t many of us who haven’t personally discussed having great monetary wealth or heard someone else doing so.
So, what does this have to do with business? Well quite a lot actually!
You see, the reason that many people have these discussions is because their focus is on the end result. Perfectly natural you might say. After all, who wouldn’t focus on the end result of winning the lottery or becoming a millionaire by some other means? It may seem logical, that if you want the lifestyle of a millionaire, that you also need the wealth that goes with it. How can you have that sort of lifestyle without the wealth?
Well, that assumption is at least correct; if you want to be able to live the lifestyle then you need the financial clout to pay for it. However, for many who become dissatisfied with their lot in life and decide to strive after the wealth of those millionaires, their focus remains on the money and this is often their first big mistake on their entrepreneurial quest for riches.
Let me explain: most people will reason along the same lines as the title of this article. It’s what I call, the ‘have, do, be’ mindset, where the reasoning will go along the lines of, “if only I could have the money, I would do all these things, and then I would be happy.” Seem logical?
Well, no. Not to my mind. If you have a goal of having great wealth then how can the goal be at the start of the journey? It’s like saying I want to travel to New York, so I’m going to start in New York. Doesn’t make any sense! Besides, having the money and being able to do the things that money might allow will not necessarily make you happy anyway.
This is where the enlightened thinkers, those who break free from the 97% majority, think differently.
Firstly, if great wealth is your goal, shouldn’t it be at the end of your journey? Personally, I have never found anyone that is actually striving after more money for money’s sake, but rather they are looking towards a goal that money will allow them to achieve. You may want to spend more time with your children, or do things that you otherwise couldn’t do without money. Either way, it’s not actually about the money. But, let’s keep things simple and assume that whatever your ultimate goal is, you need a certain amount of money to enable you to achieve it.
So, if wealth is at the end of your journey, then the logical steps would be to work your way backwards and understand what needs to be done to get there.
The first thing that you should notice is what wealthy people have in common. Setting aside a few exceptions of inheritance and otherwise acquired wealth, most wealthy people have acquired their wealth as a direct result of their perceived value to society. Whether it’s a rockstar creating music for their fans or a business entrepreneur building a successful business that provides value to its customers, they are doing things that provide value.
It therefore follows that in order to have the things that a successful business entrepreneur has, or anyone else who is successful, you need to be doing the things that would deliver that wealth (assuming we’re still only aiming for wealth here). In doing the things that a successful entrepreneur or business leader would do, you have to also be that person in the first place. Someone who doesn’t consider themselves as a successful business leader is unlikely to undertake the tasks and actions of a successful business leader.
What I have just described is an exact reversal of the ‘have, do, be’ mindset I mentioned earlier. Instead, you must be that successful business leader (or rockstar, if that’s what you want), take action and do what they would do, which will lead you to have the results that follow from the previous two steps. The ‘be’ part of the equation being the foundation, comes down to mindset, as where most people fall down; they do not have the mindset required for that good foundation for success.
So the next time you find yourself thinking, “if only I could win the lottery,” just try reversing your mindset from the failure of “have, do, be” to the success of “be, do have”…
To your success!
Simon Guilliard – Your Friend On The “Inside”…
