Developing an Entrepreneurial mindset Part Three

entrepreneurial mindset

Nothing can add more power to your life than concentration all you energies on a limited set of targetsNido Quben

When I was a child, my friends and I played The Game of Life. We excitedly tried to get to the millionaire's mansion rather than land in “the poor house.” The more we played the game, the easier it became to get to the millionaire's mansion. I wish someone would have told me that real life worked the same way. I would have been as careful with how I reacted to the real-life Chance Cards as I was when I played the game. I now realize that the better we get at addressing and reacting to life's lessons the easier it is to get to the millionaire's mansion.

One day, while pondering my difficult financial situation, I had the opportunity to pick up a very wealthy businessman named Mr. Chen at the Seattle Airport and drive him to Vancouver, BC, where he was going to purchase a $200 million office building. On the way to Vancouver, we talked about business, and I asked him about the greatest lesson he had learned throughout his years and successes.

After thinking for a few moments, he said, “Get used to dealing with the problems or obstacles in business while the zeros are still small. The problems seldom change—just the zeros behind the problems or obstacles change. If you get used to dealing with the problems while they are still small, as your business or financial life grows, you won’t get bogged down when challenges arise.”

I didn't fully understand what he was saying until a few years later. I'd made a payroll mistake that cost me $43 and complained about it to my wife over breakfast. Later that day, I was driving the vice president of the MGM Casino to a dinner party. He was on the phone with the CFO of the casino, mad and complaining about the same things I had complained to my wife about earlier...only his was a $43,000 mistake! In a flash, I understood what Mr. Chen had meant a few years back, and my little $43 dollar mistake didn't seem so bad.

As in The Game of Life, things happen. How we react to these challenges often dictates how things will turn out. When we play The Game of Life and lose, we just pack up the game and put it back on the shelf for another day. In real life, when people lose the money game, they often pack up their dreams, goals, and empty promises and put them away...however, unlike The Game of Life, there may not be another chance to play.

 

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