You’ve been lied to.
In fact, we’ve all been lied to. The reason? Most people don’t want you to know one simple fact: Uncommon success is achievable, and the path is a common one.
I thought success meant money, respect and maybe even fame. That warped definition led me to law school, where after one miserable semester I dropped out. Then I dove into corporate finance, where I suffered in a cubicle for over a year before I simply couldn’t take it anymore and handed in my resignation. I then tried real estate thinking that would give me the freedom and fulfillment I desired. Nope.
One day I was listening to a business podcast, and the host shared a quote that virtually reached out of my earbuds and slapped me in the face.
“Try not to become a person of success, but rather a person of value.” — Albert Einstein
It changed my life. Becoming a person of value allowed me to achieve my goal of financial freedom and fulfillment. It’s allowed me to finally honor a pledge I made in 2003. It’s provided me the opportunity to share how the common path will lead you to uncommon success. The common path works.
It works because it’s simple. It works because it’s timeless. It works because of one truth you must never forget: If you provide the best solution to a real problem, you will find uncommon success.
Your common path to uncommon success begins with an idea—a big idea.
There are two mistakes people make when trying to identify their big idea. First, they believe their big idea can be something they are just passionate about. I love muffins! I’ll open a bakery! Second, they believe their big idea is something they just have expertise in. I know how to code; I’ll build websites!
Your big idea is not either/or. It’s not something you are passionate about or something you have expertise in. It’s both. Your big idea needs to be a combination of your passions and your expertise.
Let’s look at scenario one, just passion. Having passion for your big idea is important. You need to be excited to work on your big idea every single day. However, if you just have passion and you’re not providing a needed solution to the world, your idea will not gain traction.
Every human is tuned into the same radio station: WIIFM, or, what’s in it for me? Sure, people will be happy you’re pursuing a passion, but unless they are going to benefit directly from your passion, they’ll never become a customer, you’ll never generate revenue, and your big idea will become nothing more than a hobby.
Now let’s look at scenario two: just expertise. It’s great to be great at something. It’s wonderful to share your knowledge with the world. However, if you’re lacking passion, excitement, and curiosity for your area of expertise, you will never achieve fulfillment.
The common path to uncommon success is a simple one, but it does take time. If you’re lacking passion for your big idea, one day you’ll wake up and realize you’re no longer enjoying what you’re doing and you’ll quit. Also, you’ll have competitors who are passionate about the area of expertise you’ve chosen, and they’ll win every time.
Now that you can see the flaws in the above two scenarios, let’s talk about the final scenario. This is where you have both passion and expertise for your big idea. Your idea truly excites you and provides real value to the world. That is your big idea. That is your zone of fire!
Now it’s time to take you through the exercise that will get you to your big idea so you can live every day in your zone of fire.
Your Zone of Fire
For this exercise, you’re going to need a piece of paper. Draw a line down the middle, and on the left-hand side write the word passion, and on the right-hand side the word expertise.
Set a timer for five minutes and press start.
Spend the entire five minutes writing down everything you are passionate about. What excites you? What fires you up? What were you passionate about as a kid, young adult, adult? What would you do tomorrow if you had a completely empty schedule and zero responsibility?
Write down everything that comes to mind.
Ding!
OK, now it’s time to move to the right side: your area of expertise. Once again, set a timer for five minutes and press start. Spend the entire five minutes writing down everything you are an expert in.
- What skills have you acquired?
- What are you good at?
- What experience have you gained over the years?
- Ask your family and friends how they would respond to the question: What does [your name] do well? (You might be shocked at what others consider you an expert in that you thought was normal.)
Ding!
Now it’s time to start identifying where your passions merge with your skills—where your curiosity commingles with your expertise. Start drawing arrows that connect your passions with your expertise. These connections are your zones of fire. This is where you will choose your big idea.
On my passion side, I had written down, “having conversations with successful entrepreneurs.” On my expertise side, I had written down, “facilitating conversations and public speaking from my days in the U.S. Army and corporate finance.” I realized this was a potential zone of fire and drew an arrow connecting the two. I asked myself what opportunities existed that would allow me to combine this passion and skill set. That’s when the “aha” moment came: a podcast!
I loved listening to podcasts that interviewed successful men and women. I had experience conducting interviews in my previous careers. Why not launch my own podcast where I would interview successful entrepreneurs and share their stories with the world?
We live in a world that provides limitless opportunity and information at our fingertips. With opportunity comes excitement, and with information comes power. Today is the day we take a stand. The common path to uncommon success does not unlock overnight success. It is the north star on your journey toward financial freedom and fulfillment. And it starts with a big idea. Are you ready?
Taken from The Common Path to Uncommon Success by John Lee Dumas Copyright ©2021 by John Lee Dumas. Used by permission of HarperCollins Leadership. www.harpercollinsleadership.com.
Photo courtesy of John Lee Dumas
