How to Think Big
Learn how you can set big goals and actually attain them.
Emma wrote in, “I started a small dinner dating service on the island where I live. I want to expand to our sister island, but I’m too scared!”
I also have trouble thinking big. I just attended reunions at Harvard Business School and MIT in one weekend. They think big there. The boy who woke up face down in the garden after our big party? He’s now a Fortune 500 CEO. The girl who always played the Bard in Dungeons and Dragons? One of the world’s 10 most powerful women, says the Wall Street Journal. And the dork who always had something stupid to say? A U.S. Senator. After I finished wallowing in feelings of inadequacy, I plied my fellow alumni with martinis and figured out how they approach the world.
How to Think Big with Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals
The rich and powerful set huge goals. For example: Say Europa wants to be Empress of the Solar System. She starts kidnapping scientists immediately to build an army of space androids to conquer the asteroid belt. She probably won’t succeed. But if she falls short, her android army can still conquer Australia. And that’s not too bad.
Life lesson: If you fall short of a big goal, you may still get further than you’d get with a modest goal.
Why You Should Set Huge Goals
Huge goals also make other goals seem achievable. If your goal is to open a second dinner dating location, you’re thinking “that’s hard!.” But if your goal is to build an empire of 32,767 dinner dating services, by comparison, expanding to your second location seems almost trivial. It’s not, of course, but mentally, it seems much easier.
How to Create a Huge Goal
Most of us don’t set big goals. We set goals relative to the life we know. Break out of that box by setting goals relative to someone else’s life.
Make a list of people who think big. Doesn’t matter if you like them or not, just as long as they are ambitious thinkers:
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Nelson Mandela
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Hillary Clinton
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Steve Jobs
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Melinda Gates
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Ted Turner
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Oprah Winfrey
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Donald Trump
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the Hunt Brothers
Don’t limit yourself to the living:
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Gandhi
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Mother Teresa
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Abraham Lincoln
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Thomas Edison
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Madame Curie
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Albert Einstein
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Bugs Bunny
Now write down what you think the people on your list would do if they were in your position.
What Would Bill Gates Do?
Bill Gates would create a world-conquering piece of dinner dating organization software and deliver it to every desktop. The Hunt Brothers would corner the dinner dating market, and then the entire dating market. Donald Trump would revolutionize the dinner date with a line of custom toupees. And Bugs Bunny would rock the culinary world with a supreme carrot soufflé.
How to Build Confidence and Eliminate Risk
It doesn’t matter if a goal is possible, just that it sends your life in a good direction.
Big dreams can trigger doubt, which might leap up and say “I could never do that” or “I’m not the kind of person who…” or “That takes so much money.” Your doubts could be right. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that having the goal sends your life in a good direction. Reaching the finish line is optional; having an amazing journey is what counts.
Don’t focus on the big goal and getting there in one huge step. Take it in baby steps. Limit yourself. Decide how much time and money you’re willing to risk for the next phase of your venture. Choose an amount you’re completely comfortable losing. For example, “I’m willing to lose $200 and two months pursuing the dinner dating empire.”
Take Whatever Step Fits Within Your Limits
Next ask, “How can I make progress for $200 in the next two months?” You’ll find answers like:
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Take someone to lunch who has built a multi-location business, so they can tell me what’s involved.
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Buy 15 minutes of a lawyer’s time to understand licensing requirements.
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Find someone to host a dinner dating event for free in my new market to test whether people will attend.
Choose steps that get you far enough along to learn something, and then decide whether you want to take further steps. I strongly recommend taking steps that put you in contact with other people. They can act as sounding boards, and if they get excited about the idea, they may be able to give you help directly or introduce you to customers, employees, bankers, and others who can help.
Once you’ve reached your $200/2-month limit, stop and assess.
Is it worth going ahead?
If so, commit the next chunk of funds and time and take the next step.
Thinking big requires first the dream and then the journey. If your own dreams are too small, borrow some dreams from big thinkers. Eliminate your risk by choosing your acceptable losses first, and then act solely within that limit to take your next steps. You’ll be staying comfortable, learning constantly, and making progress towards your Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
Do you have a “Think Big” success story? Share it with us in Comments.
Goal image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
