“Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of, who do the things that no one can imagine.”
Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it will last forever.
Gates didn’t seem like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn’t work, Gates’ later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft. And, today he’s one of the most inspiring philanthropists in the world.
If you want to be successful in any venture don’t shoot for the moon…shoot for the stars. Think big—and then think even bigger. All of us are thinking all of the time, so why not think about aiming as high as your imagination can soar.
I don’t know of any successful entrepreneur where he or she opened his or her doors and said, “I’m going to think small. I’m going to set my sights real low. I don’t want to be too successful.”
On a grander scale, we know that Columbus didn’t set out on a harbor cruise. Darwin wanted to do more than just write a travelogue. The Wright Brothers didn’t want to just fly across a field. And Einstein wasn’t satisfied reviewing the work of others in the Swiss Patent Office. They all had bigger dreams.
Today, mankind has stretched beyond the bonds of Earth and not only landed men on the Moon, but also sent exploratory missions to Mars and beyond.
Why? NASA explains it perfectly –
“Humanity’s interest in the heavens has been universal and enduring. Humans are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further. The intangible desire to explore and challenge the boundaries of what we know and where we have been has provided benefits to our society for centuries.”
I feel the same way.
Since launching my first Internet business as a teenager I’ve always been driven to push beyond the boundaries. I’ve always been inspired to explore new frontiers. And I’ve always been set to break conventional ways. My desire has always been to develop products and services that benefit not just myself, but society as a whole.
I’ve been blessed throughout my entrepreneurial journey. Each of my businesses have become bigger and more successful than the last. It’s an exciting journey and I’m privileged to surround myself around a team that is willing to endure moments of pain, so they can vouch each opportunity as a lifetime of glory.
Many will call it just luck as they see it from the outside, but what they don’t see from the inside is the pain, the sweat, and the tears my team will endure to reach that level of success. That is why we are here today. That is why my team has been successful. That is why we are successful. And everyday, we strive to make it better than the last.
There are only two options in life: make progress or make excuses. It will hurt, it will take time. It will require dedication. It will require willpower. You will need to make healthy decisions. It requires sacrifice. You will need to push yourself to the max. There will be temptation. But, I promise you, when you reach your goal, it will be worth it.