We’ve talked before about the importance of watching and listening to find your business idea.

You should have a number of ideas after watching and listening. But ideas aren’t what you’re really after.

Your ideas must be fleshed out to find your small business startup idea.

You don’t need an idea. You need a great idea for you.

The difference between an idea and a great idea is huge. Ideas aren’t worth much. They’re “a dime a dozen.”

The first step in evaluating an idea is to determine if it’s a great idea for you. Does it match your passions and preferences? Does it fit your priorities? Is it consistent with your principles? Does it capitalize on your proficiencies?

A great idea is found at the point where these personal factors intersect.

You don’t need a great idea. You need a great opportunity.

A great small business startup idea isn’t enough. You can’t ignore market realities. You need to determine if this is a great opportunity.

So you need to find a place with potential customers. And you must be able to easily reach them. You don’t want too few if you want to build a company of any significance. You don’t want too many because it’s likely to invite competition.

If there is too much competition already there, you will likely struggle to gain a foothold. If there is no competition, it is likely a bad sign as well. Many may have already tried and failed.

A great opportunity is found where your personal factors fit in a place with the right amount of customers and competitors.

You need more than an opportunity. You need a great concept.

Once you’ve determined there is an opportunity, you need to develop a great concept.

What problems will you solve for your customers? What makes your solution unique? How does it capitalize on your competitor’s weak spots? How will you get the word out?

An important part of the process

One of the ways you can be more successful with this process is to constantly look for synthesis.

You will have component parts every step of the way. You get an idea. Then another related idea pops up.

It may happen almost simultaneously. Or it may occur hours, days, or even weeks apart.

If you consider them carefully, you will see these separate ideas form a cohesive whole. Your mind has synthesized them.

General ideas will now have a particular application. The ideas themselves are likely to be simple. The combination creates something complex. You will have to find a way to explain it simply but you may be onto something. Something that takes you to BIGG success!

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BIGG success is life on your own terms.

It’s a destination. But it’s also a journey.

It’s a result. And a system with five component processes.

Listen to this post, click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast! (Runtime 6:05)


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BIGG success comes to those who truly know themselves. It’s a discovery process that lasts a lifetime!

What are your passions? As you start to find the answers to that question, follow it up with a more important one:

Why? Ask why five times to get to the root of your passions.

But passion isn’t enough. You also need to understand your proficiencies.

This is where the “You Can Do Anything” mindset strays from reality if you want to be a BIGG success.

You have certain talents. You may not be destined to be the next superstar on stage, screen, field, or court.

But you may be the next superstar at something else if and only if you discover your natural gifts.

Of course, discovery is just one component part of the system.

Matching

BIGG success also requires matching. It’s great to know what your passions and proficiencies. But to reach BIGG success, you have to understand your role.

You are an entrepreneur. You may or may not be one with the traditional definition of the word, but you own a very special enterprise – your life.

You’re not just a brand manager. You’re not even just a CEO. You are the entrepreneur in charge. And as the entrepreneur, it’s up to you to find a market opportunity.

So you have to match your passions and proficiencies with people who benefit from them. This may be an employer. Or it may be customers. Or both! You can have freedom and security simultaneously.

Execution

Now that you’ve found an opportunity to utilize your passions and profiencies, it’s time to execute. Begin by building a plan.

You have your strengths. But are they developed enough?

Be careful before you answer yes. The difference between success and BIGG success is often a fine line.

Almost no one has sufficient natural talent to be a BIGG success. People who stand out study and practice and study and practice…

So part of your plan must include how you will develop your skills.

You also want to think about how you will let the world know. It won’t do you much good to be the best in the world at something if no one has ever heard of you.

But a plan by itself does you little good. You have to perform, to put your ideas into action. That’s where the learning really starts…

Adaptation

As you execute your plan, you will run full-speed ahead into obstacles. Some of them will seem insurmountable.

But you will find a way to get past them. And even more importantly, you will learn.

You will learn about yourself. You will learn about the market. You will learn about the opportunity. You will learn about your plan. And you will adapt.

Transformation

As you adapt, you will transform. Ultimately, this is what BIGG success is really all about – transformative growth.

Growth – it’s one of the reasons for the second “g” in BIGG.

It’s the reason it’s so important to start today. As you grow, you will be able to conquer bigger and bigger goals. But it all starts today, right now.

Because this isn’t a serial process. You may loop back at any point in time as you gain new information. And you will grow some more.

BIGG success doesn’t come just because you want it.

You can’t say it and make it so.

All the affirmations in the world won’t get you there.

It will come when you discover what truly makes you unique. Then match that with the marketplace and get to work to get your taste of BIGG Success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00784-022312.mp3

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It’s 11.11.11. So we thought we’d share 11 + 11 + 11 = 33 ways to be a BIGG success.

11 terms

BIGG success is life on your own terms. Here are 11 terms that help you take control to build the life that fits you perfectly.

1) Believe:
Belief is hope internalized. Believe you will reach BIGG success. Then let your mind go to work to help you get there.

2) Design: Your purpose is the place where your passions, proficiencies, and preferences all intersect with opportunity. Find your reason for being.

3) Live: Always remember that your career is part of your life, not the other way around. Your career is what you do, not who you are. Work to live!

4) Love: Relationships are critical to a fulfilling life. Love is a verb. So actively show the people around you how much you care about them.

5) Innovate: Innovation is imagination in action. Don’t accept the status quo. Discover ways to make your corner of the world a better place.

6) Act: You won’t fulfill your purpose just by thinking. Action turns intangible thoughts into tangible results.

7) Learn: Action creates advantage. But only if you learn from the situation at hand. The future belongs to the learning, not the learned.

8) Adapt: The whole point of learning is to know when to adapt. In uncertain times, flexibility is critical to your BIGG success.

9) Endure: Most people fail because they give up too soon. Remember that the journey is part of the reward. Press on!

10) Experience: Try new things. Go to new places. Experiences make you more interesting to others and ramp up your creativity.

11) Give: Giving implies abundance. So tell your brain you have more than enough by sharing some of what you have.

11 Quotes

We love inspirational quotes. So here are eleven that resonated with us as we prepared this post.

1) “The greatest strength is gentleness.” ~ Iroquois Proverb

2) “Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.” ~ Dennis Wholey

3) “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” ~ Sun Tzu

4) “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” ~ John Lennon

5) “Do or do not. There is no try.” ~ Yoda

6) Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible. ~ M.C. Escher

7) “I have not failed; I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ~ Thomas Edison

8) “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” ~ Oscar Wilde

9) “Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.” ~ Brendan Gill

10) “You laugh at me because I am different, but I laugh at you because you are all the same.” ~ Author Unknown

11) “A person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.” ~ Shirley MacLaine

11 funny thoughts

We often try to be a little lighter with our posts on Friday. So below you’ll find the final third of our 11.11.11 installment. Hopefully, they’ll provide a chuckle or two.

1) Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

2) Warning: Dates in calendar are closer than they appear.

3) After all is said and done, more is said than done.

4) The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.

5) If you understand what you’re doing, you’re not learning anything.

6) The only job where you start at the top is digging a hole.

7) Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.

8) Never, under any conditions, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

9) Even when you feel poor, you can still pay attention.

10) A smart man covers his ass. A wise man leaves his pants on.

11) Don’t sweat the petty things. And whatever you do, don’t pet the sweaty things.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Until next time, here’s to your BIGG success!

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When you were born, there was a promise made to the world. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to fulfill that promise.

It’s your reason for being.

Only you can discover it and bring it to life.

In order to truly feel whole, you must design your life so you deliver upon the promise and reach your full potential.

To find your purpose, look at your passions, proficiencies and preferences.

Listen to this post! Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast


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One of the most common questions we get is how to discover one’s passions. Set aside some time to reflect. Select a place where you can relax. Have paper and pen in hand (okay, your notebook computer will do).

Ask yourself these questions:

• What would you do even if you didn’t get paid to do it?
  
• Of all the things you do now, what brings you the most joy?
  
• What activities do you perform where time just flies by?
  
• Are there things you used to really enjoy doing, but for some reason you don’t make time for now?
  
• What really fascinated you as a kid?
  
• What classes really piqued your interest?
  

Can you see any common threads running between your answers?

It’s often not the activity itself that we’re passionate about. Instead, we actually love one or more components of it.

One final note: This is a process. Don’t get discouraged if the answer isn’t readily obvious to you. Keep letting your mind (and your heart) ponder these questions and your answers. Don’t fret – you’ll find your passions.

Preferences

We all have a favorite color. We also have preferences for a bunch of other things.

• Do you prefer to work on the “BIGG picture” or are you a “detail” person?
  
• Are you a hands–on or hands–off kind of person?
  
• Do you prefer to work at a desk or do you like to be out in the field?
  
• Do you like to work with a lot of people, only a few, or alone?
  
• Would you rather work at an office or from home?
  

These are just a few examples of your preferences regarding work. But your life is about more than just work. Think about preferences in your personal life as well.

Passions are about the bigger picture. Preferences are about the finer points. In order to live your life on your own terms, you have to find those places where your passions and preferences align.

Proficiencies

• What do you find easy to do that others find difficult?
  
• What classes did you ace in school?
  
• What assignments have you excelled at in your career?
  

While there is much debate among scholars about the importance of innate ability compared to developed skills, we believe it’s a combination.

BIGG success comes when you master a craft (personally and/or professionally) that plays to your natural gifts. It takes a lot of work to master a craft which is why it’s so important to discover your passions and preferences first.

Purpose

Your purpose flows from your passions, preferences and proficiencies. The place where they converge is your center, your purpose. At this point, you feel abundant energy.

With your purpose in mind, you can begin exploring for opportunities. You’re starting with you in mind and then finding an opportunity to match.

That’s life on your own terms.

It’s also the opposite of how most people do it. They find an opportunity and try to match themselves to it.

But they don’t feel energized. They don’t feel fulfilled.

But you’re a BIGG goal-getter. You’ll progress to your full potential by living with purpose, on purpose.

You’ll fulfill the promise that was made to the world at your birth. That’s BIGG success!

Have you found your purpose? If not, maybe we can help.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00736-091611.mp3

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We love Julia Cameron. We’re especially BIGG fans of her book, The Artist’s Way. And we love this quote by her:

“What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.”

We’ll share a few thoughts on this quote in the context of BIGG success.

“What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do.”

BIGG success is life on your own terms. It’s about taking control to design and build the life that fits you perfectly.

Before you can design and build it, you must discover “what you really want to do” which is “what you are really meant to do.”

You must find your purpose. Your purpose is found at the intersection of your passions, your proficiencies, and your preferences.

Deep down in your soul, you know you’re here for a reason. What is it?

“When we do what we are meant to do…”

We love that Julia Cameron said “when” and not “if”. However, you have to look at the context to understand this important term.

BIGG success is about entrepreneuring your life. You may never be an entrepreneur in the traditional sense of the word.

But you are the entrepreneur of an incredible important enterprise – your life. You own your life.

Ownership starts with a decision – a decision to take full responsibility for your journey. A decision to stop accepting the status quo. A decision to live out your destiny.

“When” you do that, rewards follow. That’s the reason she said “when”. There’s an implicit assumption that you will do it.

But the decision is just the starting point. You must act.

The best decision in the world is worthless without subsequent movement. Take a step toward your dreams.

It can, and probably should, be a small step. But small steps lead to BIGG success.

The rewards

Before we get into the specific rewards, it’s important to understand that many of them may not be immediate.

However, here’s something to really understand about your journey to BIGG success:

The journey is the reward.

Almost all of the most successful people all grew immensely to reach BIGG success. Growth is one of the five elements of BIGG success along with money, time, work, and play.

Money and time are your two resources; work and play your two opportunities. Growth begins as an opportunity; if you capitalize on it, it becomes your most valuable resource.

The author of the quote lists four rewards to living your calling:

• “Money comes”
  

  In the dance of life, money follows your lead. You win by picking the right dance contest.
  

• “Doors open”
  

  You must position yourself in the right room to be by the door when opportunity knocks.
  

• You “feel useful”
  

  At its essence, BIGG success is a sense of fulfillment given your opportunity cost. When you live your purpose, you maximize your fulfillment while minimizing your opportunity cost.
  

• Work “feels like play”
  

  The BIGG idea behind BIGG success is synergy. When work feels like play, you know you’re in the right place. Every day, all day, is a play day.
  

If you aren’t sure how to find your purpose or you’ve tried unsuccessfully, maybe we can help.

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