How many times have we heard….
“Just think big and your dreams will come true?”
When I hear people say that, INSTEAD I think of Pedro from the movie “Napoleon Dynamite,” when he says….
“Vote for me and all of your wildest dreams will come true.”
Both statements in my mind are just hot air. What does that really mean when they say to “think big?” Thinking, in and of itself, is useless. There’s a reason why the “Thinking Man” statue hasn’t moved. Thinking alone doesn’t change your life!
Instead, I prefer to say this….
“Dream big. Think small.”
What do I mean?
Dream Big
I believe it’s necessary to dream big. You have to challenge yourself, question the status quo, and find ways to progress, even if it seems unreal in the present. The “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King was inspiring and helped propel a revolution. It wasn’t a current reality, but that vision was necessary to move us forward as a society.
As it says in The Bible – Proverbs 29 verse 18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Think Small
This is where many visionaries and entrepreneurs fail. They believe they can just “Dream Big” and somehow the world will give them what they want. However, they quickly realize that no one will just hand them prosperity on a silver platter.
Once you have a big dream (or vision), then start working on your first steps. The money is in the details so be sure to not avoid them. This is where you go from being a “dreamer” to a “doer.” Doers get paid. Dreamers get nothing but more unfulfilled dreams.
My Own Example
I remember a phase that I went through where I just had big dreams as a financial advisor. I talked a good game, but I was still broke. By the way, it’s not bad if you are broke for a short period of time if you are doing productive things. Sometimes it does take time to see the fruit of your labors.
However, I wasn’t being productive. I was just being busy. Lots of activity, but little results to show for it.
Everything began to turn around when I focused only on being productive and cutting out wasted time and energy. For example, I started focusing on serving people, not doing business. I valued my time more and had people come see me rather than the other way around. I also focused on getting work done early so I could see my family. All of that led me to focus on the small details that produced the biggest results. Things began turning around, I left that financial advising industry to stay in integrity, and then made a lot more money in my own business.
So before you just go out there and “think big,” focus more on having a big vision for what you want, and then focus on the details (first steps) to getting there.
You don’t need to know all of the details. You only need to know where you are, where you’re going, and what the next step is.