The Entrepreneurial Kryptonite
A true entrepreneur stays motivated and hungry. But you sometimes complacency creeps in, and this is an entrepreneur's kryptonite.They start to take pressure off the gas pedal after making their first million, five million, or crossing that "finish line."This is the "Okay, I've made it" attitude. There's nothing wrong with feeling pride in your accomplishments. But nothing stays the same for very long - it either expands or contracts. This is a law of the universe.So how do you stay hungry and motivated? How do you guarantee success when you get to a certain level? What comes next after you've achieved your goals?It's simple; you need to create a bigger game.In fact, you need to keep your eyes on your progress at all times. Let's say you have your eyes set on a specific goal, the biggest level on your radar.When you get to that level, if you don't have another bigger goal on top of that, you're in trouble.Now you're vulnerable to complacency. You are susceptible to all kinds of trouble.
If you are content, you open yourself up to idleness in life. And an idle mind is the devil's playground.So before you achieve the big goal you've set, figure out what's above that. What is the next level? What is the next goal? How do we get to the next plateau?This is the only way to think if you want to keep expanding.Your goals don't have to be financial only. What else can you do to add value to your company? To the world? What else can you do to create more?Never allow yourself to get idle or bored because it creates trouble. It happens to people more often than not.I've seen very successful people who get to a certain level and never even consider the next big goal.They plateau, don't have the next goal figured out and decide they've made it. Next thing you see is that person out partying because they believe "I've made it."This all stems from complacency, a horrible disease to catch.You want to be thinking about "What's next?"
If you don't do that, you'll get in trouble.What will you do when you cross that "finish line" you're trying to reach?Because everyone has this idea in their mind of where or what success looks like.Instead, think about what's after that, "What's next? What's bigger than that?"There's always a higher level.Let's put this in perspective:Say you're worth $300 million.There are guys out there worth $10 billion that could buy your $300 million empire and shut it down--for fun.They can shut down everything you've worked 30 or 40 years to achieve in a single day.They can give it to their six-year old, and it wouldn't change anything in their life.Let that sink in because it gives you clarity and comparison on how many levels there are.
So if you think you've made it and built a $50 million or $500 million empire? Know that somebody out there could write a check for that and donate it to their dog.That puts the "Oh, I've made it," attitude in some perspective.There's that much wealth out there, but there's also that much intelligence.Because the guys who can buy your empire don't think they've made it.The entrepreneurs making $11 or $12 billion don't believe they've made it.They think that there's always another level. Because there's somebody above them that can turn their lights out.There will always be somebody that can turn your lights out, always.So never be complacent; never think that you've made it or that you can rest on your laurels to relax.Because somebody will come along and turn out your lights.