The Marketing Agency Talk

Corinne said she wasn’t comfortable with starting a business with borrowed money, in my previous post. This led me thinking a little.

When used properly, debts is just another form of leverage. Robert Kiyosaki has already explained the differences between good debts and bad debts in his “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” book so I won’t bother to elaborate. My point is many of us resist change. We would rather stay in our comfort zone with the nagging knowledge that we are stunting our own growth to making a change in our life. By doing so, We surrendered to fear and fear paralysed us to realizing our potential. If there is constant fear in us, we will never make it on the trail of success. We have to tame our own fear since losing them totally is tough.

I was reading Stanley F Bronstein’s new book, “Achievement IQ Moments” and it hit me that all the 50 ordinary people who achieved extraordinary success did not let fear stop them. I’m quite sure they must have felt the butterflies in their stomachs, but they chose to push on with the “ready, fire, aim” attitude rather than taking the “ready, aim, fire” approach. They knew what they want, they were committed to their goals and they persistently worked their butts off to realized their dreams. They did think but they didn’t think too much. They must have realized that too much of unnecessary pondering and analysis would paralyze their energy and faith. They took the smartest route, they acted. They tweaked and honed their skills along the way. Knowledge, like Stanley said, is nothing but potential energy. Action is where the real strength is.

To be an entrepreneur or an achiever in any field, we need faith, desire and unwavering commitment to do whatever it takes to get from here to there.

I was touched by Harrison Koroso. He is indeed one who “grow up with nothing have more than those who grow up with everything”. From a boy who could not afford a pair of shoes, he literally ran all his way from Kenya to USA to become the founder of a “Freedom K Charitable Organisation”. From being assisted out of poverty, he is reciprocating now. Just think of his humble background and let it sink in a while: He was a negro boy in one of the world’s poorest nations. He lived in a mud hut. He had no shoes. Bread and meat were luxuries he seldom had a chance to eat. Yet all these obstacles did not stop him from becoming successful. What excuse do us folks in developed and developing countries have for not making something out of themselves?

Then, there is Andrew Ly who escaped from Vietnam to USA. As a refuge who could not understand English, he toiled to make a living. When I said toiled, I meant it. This man worked 7 days a week for nine straight years. He only took a break when he got married. Can we really live up the notion of being committed and doing whatever it takes? Can we sacrifice our weekends? Can we worklong hours and  not spend time with our loved ones and friends? Can we continue working knowing that our favourite soap or football is on air now? Can we not spend 4-5 hours at the pub? This guy knew long term gain is far sweeter than instant gratification. Now, 20 years on, his Sugar Bowl Bakery is making $42 million a year. Don’t envy him, he put time, effort, sweat, blood and tears to achieve it. We can if we are willing to make the commitment and take the sacrifices in our strike.

We are all ordinary people but that does not mean we cannot achieve extraordinary successes. It’s whether we want it or not. Wait, perhaps it’s not about wanting. Wanting doesn’t lead to having. We can always want something but as long as no action is taken, the wanting will just lead to more wanting and more frustration. Only commitment, action and faith will lead us to realize our dreams.

If you think you can’t, think again after you go through the 50 extradinary stories in Stanley F Bronstein’s “Achievement IQ Moments.