Saturday Night Live recently mocked the entitlement paradigm with a bit called You Can Do Anything. It’s about a talk show where the guests are encouraged to do whatever they think they can do.

No matter how good they are.
No matter if they’ve ever done it before.
It doesn’t matter.
You can do anything!

We agree.
You can do anything.
You may not do it well.
You may fall flat on your face.
You may fail.

With a little practice, you will surely get better at it.
With a lot of practice, you may even achieve some level of success.

But you won’t reach BIGG success. So “You Can Do Anything” is the worst advice you can ever receive.

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I wanted to be an astronaut. But math and science were not strength. My mom said to me, “Math and science are going to be really important if you want to be an astronaut.” That was really important to me. I realized how much work it was going to take for me to be an astronaut.

Look at American Idol. The people who reach the finals, and ultimately win, have spent years honing their craft. They may be young, but most of the time, they’ve been singing for ten or more years.

Now we’re all about positive thinking. But sometimes the best thing you can discover is what you can’t do.

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I was a decent athlete in a much earlier era of my life. But the problem is I played all sports – football, basketball, baseball. Now, I was never going to be a great basketball player. But I could have been a much better baseball player if I had been forced to focus.

Look at Michael Jordan. In our opinion, he’s the greatest basketball player of all time. He’s also a pretty good golfer. But he tried baseball and didn’t make it.

Which raises the question – will you be content with success?
Or is it BIGG success you’re after?

We can only conclude the latter since you’re here with us.
So you’re a BIGG goal-getter.

Step 1

To reach BIGG success, follow George Costanza’s example. Instead of following the advice we hear all the time – think “can” – do the opposite and think “can’t”.

That’s Step 1: to find your talent.

Sometimes it pays to think about you can’t do. Because you may find it easier to spot your shortcomings than your strengths. But you’re not going to stop there!

Step 2

You’re going to quickly move to Step 2: Think the opposite. You’re not a detail person? Okay. Are you a BIGG picture thinker?

Not good at math? Are you good at English?

This is what you often see. There’s a yin and yang to talent. We tend to naturally fall into categories.

Discovering what you can’t do often helps you discover what you can do. And leads to BIGG success.

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It had been a hard-fought battle. The contest pitted two top-ranked teams and they had not disappointed. The score was tied as the clock clicked down.

The home team had staged a drive toward their opponent’s end zone. Now the ball rested on the 7-yard line.

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The player ran toward the huddle. He only got a few steps from the sideline when the coach yelled at him.

“Hey,” the coach exclaimed. “Hey!”

The player stopped and turned to the coach.

The coach said, “Don’t fumble.”

You might guess what happened next. The player took the handoff. And fumbled. A player on the opposing team scooped up the ball and returned it all the way to the other end of the field to score the winning touchdown.

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I witnessed this event firsthand. It was my high school football team. We were in the playoffs, ranked #1, and playing the #2 team. We lost by a touchdown, after we fumbled the ball on our opponent’s 7-yard line. Our season ended in a flash.

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I can just imagine the emotion of the moment, George. You went from anticipation of victory to certain defeat, all in a matter of seconds.franchise in Newton for the last 21 years.

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There’s an important lesson for all of us in this story:
You can predict your future.

You’re always right

Way back in 1902, James Allen wrote As a Man Thinketh. He begins his wonderful book with this poem:

Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.

Your thoughts predict your future.

Are you worried about fumbling? You’ll fumble.
Do you think you will never get unstuck? You won’t.
Do you think that your future will be just like your present? It will be.
Do you think that you won’t ever reach BIGG success? You’re right.

It’s your choice

Sounds cruel, doesn’t it? It’s not meant to be. But you want us to be real, right?

As long as you think nothing good will happen, nothing good will happen. Your brain will just keep focusing on those things that are making you worry.

Did you catch that? Your brain will focus on the negatives in your life. Even beyond that, it will work its very best to prove to right.

It will find the underlying rationale you need to keep you where you are.
You’re not smart enough, educated enough, attractive enough, young enough, old enough. There’s some deficiency.

That’s the reason you don’t get any breaks. Other people get them. But not you. It’s not fair. But that’s life.

This is your brain working against you. Because you’re not thinking about the right things.

Your brain will be your adversary or your ally. It’s your choice.

So turn your thinking on its head. Think about BIGG success. Then take action and you’ll become a BIGG success.

What are you thinking about right now?

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
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In Man’s Search for Meaning, a book we highly recommend to you, Victor Frankl tells his inspiring story as a prisoner in the concentration camps of World War II.

He seemingly lost everything – his family, his friends, his clothes, his dignity.

However, there was one thing nobody could take away from him:

His thoughts.

Sometimes, he chose to escape his circumstances and envision himself far, far away.

He chose to learn from his experiences – from the guards and fellow prisoners.

He was free from the day-to-day brutality of the concentration camp because of his thoughts.

His thoughts freed him from captivity!

Your alternative universe

You live in two worlds simultaneously. Now and the future.

You physically live in the here and now. Your mind is living in the future.

With your mind, you are creating your future reality.

Your thoughts are keeping you stuck right where you’re at. Or they’re lifting you up to BIGG success.

They’re keeping you captive. Or they’re setting you free.

The key to escaping to the future you want

The first step to escaping your current reality is to see yourself living the life you desire in your mind’s eye.

So when you feel out of control, think about the control you still have.

If nothing else, like Victor Frankl, you can control your thoughts.

When you have no strength, think you’re strong.

When you feel beaten down, picture yourself as the victor.

When that little voice tells you that you’re not smart enough, not attractive enough, not experienced enough, think about what a miracle you are.

When you feel like you’ll never escape, picture yourself as a BIGG success!

How do you get your mind working for you?

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When it comes to apologies, this is the good. Today we want to talk about the bad and the ugly and discuss three steps in the art of the apology.

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The bad

Domino’s, the chain, recently found itself making the news when two employees of one store posted a video on YouTube showing them mishandling food, to say the least. Domino’s President, Patrick Doyle, was featured in a video apologizing for the mishap and reassuring customers that this was an isolated incident.

There was backlash to this video because it didn’t seem sincere. We think that the apology itself seemed sincere. However, he wasn’t looking at the camera so it’s obvious he was reading from a script. He should have at least looked squarely at the camera when he said, “We’re sorry.”

The difference between this video and Ramon’s video is striking. Ramon is looking right at the camera and it’s obvious that he’s not reading from a script. There’s no question about his sincerity in the way he delivers his apology.

The ugly

You’ve probably heard about the free grilled chicken promotion by KFC. Unfortunately, KFC was not prepared for the overwhelming response to this promotion. Countless customers were turned away when they arrived at their local KFC to redeem their coupon. KFC’s President, Roger Eaton, issued a video apology.

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I’m a positive-thinking person who loves positive-thinking people. But he was too positive in light the situation.

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I agree completely. He seemed happy. If I’m dissatisfied as your customer, I want to see that you’re unhappy about it. Show me that you’re empathetic to my terrible experience.

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Show you know I’m as mad as a chicken on a hot tin roof?

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No … as mad as a chicken in a frying pan!

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The KFC apology focused too much on the success of the promotion and not enough on the debacle that followed. However, we’ll cut them some slack because they’re dealing with a more massive problem than the other two.

The art of the apology

Bigg success is life on your own terms. The five elements of bigg success are money, time, growth, work and play. Sometimes we experience the most growth when we’ve made a mistake.

No matter what medium you use to apologize – video, phone, e-mail, in person or some other way – there’s an art to it.

First, simply apologize.
Get it out of the way right upfront. Ramon, the Domino’s franchisee, gets right to it as does Patrick Doyle, the Domino’s President.

The KFC President, Roger Eaton, completely missed the mark. Instead of apologizing right away, he starts off talking about how successful the promotion was.

Second, talk about what you’re going to do about it.
Once again, Ramon nails this one. He told Amy that he was going to wow her. And wow her he did along with the rest of us. Patrick Doyle got this right too.

Roger Eaton eventually gets to the point – they’re going to honor the coupon and give you a free Pepsi product if you do a whole bunch more work. Instead of talking about how they will remedy the situation, the people who were affected have to follow-up to get what was promised to them in the first place.

Third, look to the future.
There’s nothing wrong with ending an apology on an upbeat note. Look to the future of the relationship. Ramon hit this one out of the park as well. We think the park was Wrigley Field!

Patrick Doyle closes strong. He thanks people for their support and says Domino’s will work to rebuild our trust. However, right before that, he says that “it sickens him that the actions of two individuals” could impact their brand. You could feel his emotion. This is where he should have started.

This is a mistake that’s easy to make – beginning and ending with an apology. Follow the process mapped out here to avoid doing that.

The President of KFC completely struck out. He apologizes right at the end of the video – the best apology in the whole video we might add. Fortunately, he didn’t close on that note; it appeared as if he would. He does end on an encouraging note.

Use this three-step process and deliver your message with sincerity the next time you have to apologize. We all make mistakes. When handled properly, even they can lead to bigg success!

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Please join us next time when we talk about out of this world communication.

Thanks so much for hanging out with us for a bit today. Until next time, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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Why we started Bigg Success
We started Bigg Success to build a community of like-minded people. People who want to succeed bigg. Bigg goal-getters we call you. Fun-loving, positive thinking people who are usually happy, but never content. Looking to live your life your way and get to the next level of success.

We’re building a community that helps each other. We’re happy to volunteer our time to moderate – to be thought-starters – but we need your help. You see …

We don’t know you as well as we want to. And we don’t hear from you as much as we’d like to.

Now people in our business tell us that this is normal. But the Bigg Success community isn’t a group of normal people. It’s full of extraordinary people. Over-achievers. People who know they were born to do something bigg and are determined to do it.

People like you.

The most important thing we know.
We know a little about a lot of things and a lot about a few things. But here’s the most important thing we know …

We also know that you’re a quiet group. We know you’re busy. That’s why we keep our content as short as possible while still delivering something to take away every day.

But here’s the thing …

We can’t make bigg success better without you. Without your participation.
We’re happy to bring you our content for free – we’re not asking for money. We’re asking you to give something more valuable – just a little bit more of your time.

Because bigg success can’t be a bigger success without you. Without your input. Without your wisdom. Because as the Chinese proverb says …

And you’re that wise person we want to have a conversation with!

So here’s how you can help …
Tell us how we can help you. Tell us what you want and need from us. Tell us the answers to these questions:

• What do you like about Bigg Success?

• What do you think we could improve upon?
• What would you like to learn more about?
• What would you like to see us do differently?
• How can we help you get to the next level of success?

Here’s how to do it now …
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. We know a lot of you have never left a comment anywhere before, but it’s as easy as typing up an e-mail once you’ve done it.

The easiest way to find our comment box is to click on the title of the article at the top of the page and then scroll down to the bottom where you’ll see “Leave a Reply”.

You’ll notice that a name and e-mail are required. You can just use your first name or even a fake name. You can use your real e-mail address or even a fake one.  Either way, your e-mail address is NOT made public. Nor do we use it in any way or share it with anybody. This requirement just protects us from those dreaded spammers.

… and in the future.
And then, keep sharing your comments on future posts …

• Tell us you agree or disagree … we like to hear both. Just tell us why.

• Tell us what we missed … you’ve had experiences we haven’t had. We want to learn from you too and so does the rest of the Bigg Success community.
• If you don’t know something, or we didn’t make it clear … ask a question.
• If you have an answer to someone else’s question … share it with all of us.

Everyone wins.
Let’s all learn from each other so we all reach our potential. There’s no scarcity of bigg success at Bigg Success. Everyone can benefit. Everyone can win.

And yes …

… we work hard to deliver our content where you want it, but we’re talking to you, too! We want to hear from all of you!

Here’s what’s in it for you …
By getting involved in the conversation, we can choose future topics and design future posts that help you with what you need help with. Content that fits your wants and needs so you get to the next level of success in your life.

We thank you so much for reading, or listening, to this post. We look forward to getting to know you better. Until next time, here’s to your bigg success!

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