I watched an episode of Shark Tank some years ago. For those who don’t know, Shark Tank is a TV show where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business models to a panel of investors – otherwise referred as Sharks – and persuade them to invest money in their idea.
In this particular episode, an entrepreneur had captivated the interest of the investors but was only willing to offer 5 percent equity for $650,000. To this Daymond John, one of the investors responded, “A shark doesn’t get out of bed excited for 5 percent”.
In other words, he would rather walk away than take the 5 percent deal. His response stuck with me, as a rule, most successful people apply in their life. And I believe it explains what the big win rule of success is all about. You see, the average person is comfortable giving their attention to things with little impact on their life, but successful people look for and stick with activities that would potentially result in big wins while walking away from those of little impact.
Let me give you a simple example. Imagine two people who just published an economics textbook for secondary school students. To sell his books, Felix, the first author went around talking to students to buy his book. He focuses on convincing each student that his book will help them prepare and ace their exam. The other author, Chris decided to take a different approach. He chose to target school proprietors instead of students. He understands that winning a proprietor automatically gives him access to 60 to 100 students every year. It may require more tactics to reach and convince a proprietor but one win is a big win; which makes the extra effort worth it.
As Chris’s network grew, he decided to change his approach. This time he would target the state ministry of education. He understands that approval of his book by the state government will give him a bigger win. This will require extra effort and tactics. But it could lead to a big win that will put him at the top of the competition.
Most people are like Felix in real life. That is why they will continue to compete at the bottom. Being a Felix is a comfort zone but it takes courage and grit to be a Chris. It takes tenacity to go for the big win and bypass the competition at the bottom.
High achievers focus on big wins
Here is a simple truth you must understand if you want to become a high achiever in life; you cannot depend on hard work. All these struggle, rules and hard labor is for the masses. People who get to the top don’t rely on these rules. They play for the big win. They focus on building their networks, developing big-win skills, and leveraging platforms that give them an unfair advantage.
If you can focus on the few Big Wins, rather than 50 little things, you will have an unfair advantage in life over the majority of people. The beautiful part about Big Wins is that you do the work upfront — and they reward you for the rest of your life. Here are some examples.
1. Build quality networks
Building relationships with the right people in your network is among the most valuable asset to have. The right networks will open doors for your big wins faster than anything else. Whether you want a better job, higher position, business growth, or career advancement the right network will make a big difference in your life.
2. Leverage platforms
You’ve heard stories of a-nobody showing up at a reality TV show; then boom – their career takes off. Or an unknown performer featuring in a Got-Talent contest and their life takes a positive turn.
Platforms are opportunities for jumpstarting people’s careers. Interestingly, nowadays, you don’t have to appear at a reality TV show or contest to take advantage of a platform. The internet offers everyone a platform to leap to a big win. Today we have social media influencers who got fame and wealth just by virtue of their platforms. We have bloggers and Vloggers recording big wins that they would not have dreamt of without their platforms. In fact, online platforms are the most democratic opportunities to win big. Platforms help you to build your influence in an industry very quickly. And influence open doors overnight that will take hard work decades to open.
3. Start investing early
The compounding effect of investing offers opportunities for big wins in life if you start early and invest smart. People have gone from little to financial wealth simple from choosing to invest, instead of squandering their income.
Imagine you bought 10 Bitcoin 5 years ago when the price was at $100. Today your $1,000 investment will be worth over $180,000. Or that you invested in Tesla. According to a study, Tesla stock has earned investors an average of 45% every year. When you think about it, it may seem unfair that a few people are getting big breakthroughs while everyone else is struggling to make ends meet. But that’s how life is. Those that win are those that play to win big. Even if they don’t eventually win big, at least they get above average.
Here is another thing you need to know. The general rule of personal finance is to have budgets and record all your spending. Financial experts advise you to have a monthly or even weekly or daily budget. But let’s be honest, no one wants to live their life like that. Even the experts don’t follow their own advice. High achievers and people who win big don’t waste their time on budgeting and monitoring their every expense.
They hate the idea of keeping tabs on their daily spending. They just want to spend when they want and need to without thinking too much about it. So they focus instead on growing their sources of income so that they won’t have to worry about petty budgeting. Petty budgeting is playing to win small; investing and growing your income is playing to win big.
4. Developing high demand skills
If you earn $100 dollars a month, should you focus your energy on saving $10 per month or on developing skills that will equip you to earn more? Your chance of growing your income increases as you develop skills that have high value in the market. Unfortunately, most people prefer to complain about not getting better pay or how bad the economy is than putting in the effort to develop high-demand skills.
One right skill you develop can set you up for life financially. You have to identify what skill it is and focus on being the best in that field. If you add to that building quality network and leveraging platforms, you will be unstoppable.
5. Understanding human nature
Successful people understand that we have limited attention and the capacity to hold information. Each additional thing that gets your attention short changes your attention and willpower to do other things.
People who try to focus on everything can never achieve extraordinary results. It’s against human nature. People like this are always jumping from one program to another; from one guru to the next searching for bullet magic that will solve all their problems. They never understand the importance of prioritizing and staying focused on what’s important.
However, people who study human behavior understand our shortcomings, and use systems, automation, and judicious use of our limited willpower to tackle the things that really matter — while ignoring the rest. Understanding your limitation as a human being and embracing your potential can dramatically position your mindset to leverage big wins.
6. Improving communication skill
The ability to sell, negotiate and close deals are some of the highest paying skills in the world of trade and commerce. You can go from the regular tech guy in the background to the top of your career by simply developing these game-changing skills.
The concept of the big win rule of success is simply to identify the game-changing action you need to take that will cut down years of hard work and struggle; and focus your effort on that aspect of your life while cutting out unnecessary activities.
If you are consistent on building few game-changing aspect of your life, you have a higher chance of achieving success than everyone else. Until next time, YOUR SUCCESS MATTERS!
Subscribe to my channel
Leave a Reply