I want to share a few quotes I’m pondering:

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”—Mark Twain

“People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”—Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

“There’s always a good reason and there’s always a real reason.”—James Altucher

“Control the controllables”—Anonymous

“Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products.”—Al Ries, 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

“The only reality you can be sure about is in your own perceptions. If the universe exists, it exists inside your own mind and the minds of others.”—Al Ries, 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

Good luck and good selling!

Finding passion and purpose in work is difficult.

It isn’t something that is taught in school, and since it is difficult, not many people have sufficiently good advice.

This is why I am constantly looking for people who might have an answer. I don’t have the answer.

I do like what others have to say though, and I have three mentors which have provided what I think is a great perspective on passion. By the way, they don’t actually know they are my mentors.

Recently, I spent some time watching the Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement speech, and I enjoy the James Altucher Podcast. Both provided what I think are three great perspectives on finding passion. Passion, purpose, and how it relates to work.

Steve Jobs, Kevin O’Leary, and James Altucher are far more qualified to discuss passion than I am.

Here are 3 things they have taught me about passion:

Steve Jobs on Finding Your Passion

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

The world doesn’t hand people great work. Great work is created. Two ways to be apart of great work is to either be the creator, or to become part of the team. Which path is correct depends on the person. Neither path is found by settling.

Kevin O’Leary on Finding Your Passion

Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank has good advice when it comes to finding your passion. He believes “You have to try a lot of different things,” before you can truly find something you are passionate about.

Trying many things does not necessarily mean moving companies or not having direction. An environment which allows you to learn about different areas of the business and work in different units, may provide the necessary tools to find your passion. This could mean being proactive and volunteering to working on projects outside of the specific job description.

James Altucher on Finding Your Passion

“You are usually passionate about what you’re good at. So it is best to look for your passion in things you are good at.”

Becoming good at something is a daily practice. The daily practice of showing up. If passion lies in becoming good at something, what do you show up daily to do? Do you believe it is worth it?

As the abundance of wealth in our society grows, I think we can be more selective about work. Life is too short to work for the sake of working, being thankful we just have a job, and being unfulfilled in something which consumes much of our time.

I don’t want to settle, how about you?

Good luck and good selling!

I admire Steve Jobs. He created a beautiful phone.

Mark Cuban had a vision of being rich.

I think Jack White is pretty cool too.

Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, and Jack White all practice think big act small.

What all three of these people also do, is act small. They are great at their craft and built a solid foundation. None of them focus on what is realistic. There was a desire to push the boundaries and create things that were bigger than what had been previously done.

Building a foundation is important and here are some examples of how these three think big and act small:

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is unique, in that you can take things he has done and said, and apply them to so much. Most of all, Steve Jabs was a dreamer. He dreamt big and was not afraid to push the boundaries. Creating a computer, which has impacted the lives of so many, was not only something he wanted but strove to accomplish. There was never a sense of being realistic.

Steve Jobs also acted small. There was an inherent understanding that he needed to have a foundation to build on. He states in the Stanford commencement speech that there was a Calligraphy course he took at Reed College, which provided the necessary knowledge to create Fonts in the Apple Word Processor. This is a small act, which had a revolutionary impact on the events that followed.

Mark Cuban

As you read about Mark Cuban, his goal was to be rich. Mark Cuban wanted to hit it big, and he accomplished it. There was no small dreaming or being realistic. But looking back at how he got there, he followed the principles of thinking big and acting small.

Mark Cuban acted small when he first started in business by selling door to door. A skill that was the foundation for building his business. Also, through college he owned a small bar, which catered to the College crowd. Both of these provided the necessary skills to promote products, as well as run a business. So if the goal was to become rich, he ensured that he learned the core skills necessary to get him there.

Jack White

Jack White had big ideas for having a two piece band, which nobody was doing at the time. He even states that he had no idea whether it would work, but went for it anyways. His big thinking came to fruition in the form of The White Stripes.

In the case of the Jack White, acting small was having a strong foundation in the blues. Understanding where the style came from, how to play it, and as a result, having the ability to build upon it and make it his own. This provided the foundation for his big thinking.

As we reflect on the big thoughts and small acts of these three individuals; we have to ask, how are we thinking big and acting small?

Good luck and good selling!

“Starting is the most difficult part.”

No, starting is not the most difficult part. Starting is slightly uncomfortable. The most difficult part is showing up day in and day out, for long periods of time.

How many projects have been started but not finished because they got difficult? Businesses started and abandoned? Sales cycles begun but not closed?

The most difficult part is putting in 10,000 hours. Showing up every day to get good at your craft. Whether you have plateaued or have become tired. Possibly you have lost motivation or become distracted.

Difficult is not showing up for the first day at a new job when the future seems bright. Difficult is coming into work 1 year, 2 years, or 10 years later wondering where you are going and what you are doing.

Becoming excellent is the hardest part.

Motivation for the most difficult part

This is the point where you need a little motivation. Something to help push through to the other side.

I turn to quotes and sayings, and here are a few that I find motivating. Quotes I have turned to for over 10 years.

———

“There Is Always More Left In The Tank”

It is amazing what the human body can endure. Physically and mentally. Mentally you will want to stop well before you have reached your limits. But physically you can go much longer.

This is the “2nd wind”. Where you find the small amount that is left in the tank. Push harder than you thought possible, and the results will be greater than you thought possible.

“If Your Not Early You Are Late”

Punctuality. Be early to meetings. Customers, colleagues, friends, may all be late, but that does not give you an excuse to be late. Be on time; better yet, be early.

“You Are What You Are When No One Is Looking”

Who are you when you are alone? Alone driving between meetings? Alone in your office? This defines who you will be in public, business, and life.

“TCB – Take Care Of Business”

At all costs, take care of the business at hand. Do what you showed up to do, and don’t be distracted.

If it is to close a deal, close a deal. Get a meeting, get a meeting. Take care of business.

“Success Comes In Cans Not In Cannot’s”

You cannot build a business or learn skills thinking they are impossible. Change your mindset to think about what you can do, rather than what you cannot do.

Good luck and good selling!