That’s how you close the execution gap. That’s how you
convert thoughts into things. And that’s how you convert
experiences into moneymaking wisdom.
s much, leverage must become
an essential component to
your entrepreneurship lexicon.
Leverage is “increasing the rate
of return from an investment.”
But leverage isn’t a word or a
strategy or something you do to
make money.
Leverage is a lifestyle, a way of
thinking, and an approach to doing
business. Take it from a guy with no
background, no job experience and no
credentials—who turned a simple idea
like wearing a nametag every day into
a successful enterprise. Twelve books
later, if that’s not leverage, I don’t
know what is.
The following series of leverage
questions will help you kill two stones
with one bird.
If everything you’ve done up until now
is just the beginning, what’s next? Past
is prologue. Past brought you here. Past
made you who you are. When you start
to align your thinking with this truth,
a new world of possibilities opens up.
Your challenge is to extend gratitude
for—and embrace the value of—
everything you’ve already accomplished. At
the same time, don’t overvalue prior
successes. Arrogance will bite you in the
ass. As John Mayer explained during
a 2009 interview with Esquire, “To
evolve, you have to dismantle. And that
means accepting the idea that nothing
you created in the past matters anymore
other than it brought you here. You
pick up your new marching orders and
get to work.” Will you view the past as
a crutch or a fulcrum?
What will you do differently next time?
Kaizen is the Japanese term for continu-
ous improvement. That’s exactly what
this question is all about: Honoring
March 2011 SPeAKeR | 17
