Startup Business Tip - Picture It!
We take pictures with our cameras, on our phones, and in our heads to savor a certain moment in time. It’s a pretty great feeling to revisit your past and remember a happy/care-free version of yourself. Whether it was true or not in that very moment, you want to look back and say “I lived a good life”.
In my opinion, there is no point in keeping around photographs that bring you down. Years ago, I can vividly remember standing above a trash can holding a bunch of pictures in my hand and letting them slip between my fingers and fall into the bin. They were pictures of when I could not get what I wanted. Actually, of when I BELIEVED I could not get what I wanted. You see, I hate holding on to things that don’t embody who I am or who I want to become. It’s not productive. I let them go wholeheartedly knowing that I will never return to that person. In order to change my mindset, I needed to change the pictures that were in my hand and ultimately, in my head.
When I meet with current or aspiring entrepreneurs, some have a picture of who they are, but they don’t have a picture of who they want to become. It is for that very reason I ask some of them to write their own “dream” obituary. It sounds pretty crazy, but it really does help. This helps them get to see how they want to be remembered. I believe the process of looking back gives perspective, even if it is extremely hypothetical. In most cases, it causes action and urgency. See mine here.
It is so much easier to find buried treasure if you have a map of where to find it. Knowing the end product of your life, or having a goal to shoot for will help you cut through the noise without even thinking it. In 2008, I really wish someone would have sat me down and said:“In your head, take a picture of who you want to become. Then, simply try to be that person every minute of every day.”
Well, that’s one of the things that Dream Starters does very well. DreamStartersPGH.com was created to fulfill the much needed demand of cutting down the confusion every startup entrepreneur experiences in the first year. Through in-person meetings, facetime, skype sessions, emails, texts, and phone calls, we help cut through the confusion and help our clients get an understanding of what to focus their resources on. Whatever it may be (success in any form, closing the sale, finding your perfect match, building a business from nothing, etc), it is crucial to picture it first.
Somewhere on my computer, I have a picture of me in 2009. It brings back a plethora of incredible memories.
It contains a moment in time of when:
My first multi-unit rental property was making a healthy amount of money.
I just launched my 2nd business venture.
I was truly earning my stripes as an entrepreneur.
I was dating an amazing girl that got me to try in relationships again.
And the Penguins just won the cup.
Some pictures you want to keep forever. Some you want to let go. Like that picture in 2009, it’s important to take a picture of what you truly want, then simply try to live it every minute of every day. Go Pens.
