Don�t be Afraid to Distort Reality � Think BIG

Friday, April 6, 2007 at 01:21pm by David Askaripour in Life

Last night I went to an event at the new Google building here in the city and I fell into a spell as I stared around the large room filled with people. I said to myself: �wow, I am sitting here now because of the idea of two Stanford students who wanted to create a search engine. Two former students who are now worth over 13 billion dollars. Two students who have changed the world as we know it.�

I bet you the Google founders couldn�t have imagined what their initial idea would have turned into years down the line — an empire. Google is the Internet. Period.

Young entrepreneurs, it�s crucial that you think big straight from the beginning. Yes, yes� we all hear the same thing �start small and grow�� yaddah�yaddah� Sure, it makes sense to start small, focus on a niche, and grow from there — of course.

But, that doesn�t mean that you shouldn�t think big. Thinking big is essential. You have to defy reality. You have to completely distort reality and set extremely high goals. The only way that you are going to become successful — to become �Big� — is by constantly thinking big.

We attract our dominant thoughts in life. Whatever you think about the most is what you�re most likely to get out of life. Like attracts like. It�s as simple as that.

When you create your own reality and set what seem to be insurmountable goals for yourself and you tell yourself that you are going to do everything in your power to make it happen, you begin to see the world in a different way.

You begin to turn a deaf ear to the naysayers. You begin to stop caring about all the obstacles in your way. And your mind goes into auto-pilot mode as you set your destination to success.

Don�t be afraid to think big. It may seem like you�re crazy for having such large aspirations and your friends may think you�re insane and that you�ll never make it happen. Richard Branson�s friends thought he was crazy for starting an airline, but he went with his gut and kept on setting the bar higher and higher. Now look at him.

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8 Comments

Girish

April 7th, 2007 at 9:37 am

Dave.. I agree with you in having a big vision and not be afraid by others calling us insane and all that… But I would like to add something here.

Why do we all want to become big ?! What is this ‘big’.. how do you define it? Its the game of our ego which wants to be bigger (than others) It is this greed of becoming bigger and bigger which has caused always all the evils of humanity.

Instead of thinking how we can get ‘big’, why not think how can i make big service to others, how can i create big value in others’ life. And not for again feeding our ego how great we are.. but for making a big contribution to the progress of entire society. This minor shift fundamentally changes how we think/behave/act..

Its right like attracts like. But no need to keep thinking for it. If we keep thinking of goals, we cant focus on the current moment which is all we have at any point of time. Lets do our best at each moment, leaving the results (big or no) on universe.

love

David Askaripour

April 7th, 2007 at 10:25 am

Good points Girish. But in order to help as many people as possible, in order to change as many lives as possible, and in order — for many — to make as much money as possible, we must “constantly” think big and live big every day. Such things aren’t best left up to “the universe” nor anyone/anything else. We have to “make” it happen, not rely on anything else. We’re in control of our futures. What we do and think everyday will have an impact on our results.

Girish

April 8th, 2007 at 5:34 am

Dave, I get the essence of what you want to convey. Words many times dont indicate what we actually want to say, which i find very limiting especially when the person is not face-2-face.

Yes, you must always have big vision and live big. Say you have a vision of very very cheap OS or a solar car. If you keep thinking constantly of this OS or the day in future when your OS will be ready, you will not be able to give your 100 % attention to the current moment which is all you have with you. Have a vision of future but dont keep thinking future, just keep doing whatever you can now.

Yes, we are in control of our future and our beliefs create us/our lives. But no one of us can ‘make’ it happen. What i mean here is we dont know what will happen how, what turn life takes when. Steve Jobs never knew and never thought that he will have to leave the company he had started (and later come back). You define the essence and it is universe (or god or whatever you wana say) which brings things to you in miraculous ways which you could have never thought.

love

Avipals

April 8th, 2007 at 10:33 am

Why do we have to stay aloof of this word, ‘BIG’? Why dont we accept, want and say, “Yes, I wanna make it Big!”

Becoming or dreaming to become Big is no sin.. why do we have to be safe in not really letting out our desire to be Big.. We dont want bad things for others, so wanting good things for us shouldn’t make us shy, right Girish?

Ok, we may fail. So do countless people. But speaking out/accepting our desire to be big should not make us feel pressurised.. Moreover all this noise about service will make sense when we are in a position to serve others, the kind of service that Bill Gates or Warren Buffet have done.. And its possible when we grow big. So being big or wanting to be big is good, you see!

David Askaripour

April 8th, 2007 at 1:31 pm

Girish, I’ll agree with you on your point in saying that we must live in the now, live in the present — very true.

Avipals, great comment. I agree with everything that you said. Dreaming big is so far from a sin, it’s beautiful; it’s great. Making it big will give us the opportunity to help even more… I don’t think that there is any doubt in that.

Girish

April 9th, 2007 at 6:42 am

Avipal - Its absolutely fine and no sin in wanting to make it big. Thats what i said, have a big vision. The problem happens when we start thinking that we are big as compared to others. Feel great within, dont feel greater than others. If you dont compare yourself with others, nice.

Its not that the more you grow, the more you can serve. Its the reverse. The more you serve, the more you grow. You will not be in a position to serve sometime in future when you are big - you are in that position right now ! Service is not just charity, giving your money. Bill gates coming up with a OS was itself a service, an expression of his creativity for use to others. We all get paid only when we serve others, i.e. when we bring value in others’ life. You serve, you earn, you grow. It always happens like this. The key is where is your focus.. what is your centre of attention. Is it serving.. or earning.. or growing… ? This focus will fundamentally change the way you think/act/..