Think Big, But Act Small...

The book I'm currently reading, and thoroughly enjoying, is Felix Dennis' How to Get Rich. While the title may not sound all too original as there's plenty of other books with that name, Felix is a straight-shooter with a no BS approach to telling people about getting rich. That includes the fact that getting rich isn't for everyone, and that you'll never get rich while working for someone else. Felix Dennis is the founder of the popular Maxim magazine, and several other publishing ventures including Blender magazine, a monthly Bruce Lee poster magazine, and several computer magazines. He estimates his wealth is somewhere over 400 million dollars, but he's not exactly sure of the amount. His book offers plenty of great advice from someone who's struggled to succeed, learned from his failures, and eventually became rich in the process.

One of the concepts in Felix' book which applies to entrepreneurial endeavors including your own start-up business and blogging for money, is the idea of "thinking big, yet acting small". Many entrepreneurs and bloggers think big. They see their blog or business venture as eventually producing a full time income so they can quit their day jobs. They want to be the next Donald Trump, or Bill Gates, John Chow or Darren Rowse. They mimic the traits and successful patterns of these people and start to see their own great success as they continue to believe in themselves more and more. Felix warns that once you start to see an idea or concept take off and become profitable, don't get sucked into the idea of wining and dining yourself, buying fancy toys and showcasing the arrogance of someone's who's a multi-millionaire. Doing this can cause resentment from your employees or network connections, or it can make your employees start to take the same attitude as your own, buying expensive toys and ignoring the important things, such as the business itself. You need to keep your eye on the prize while continuing to work harder than even your hardest working employee.

I extend this concept to blogging in the following way. Think of your blog as becoming the next big success, but continue to act as if you are still small. In reality, until any of us are earning more from a blog than John Chow, Shoe Money or Darren Rowse, we're small fish in the blogosphere. How do you act small? You need to focus on the basics for building success, including networking with other bloggers (also trying to make a name for themselves), giving out link love, responding to reader comments, giving away free stuff, and working harder than the rest to make your blog a huge success. Hard work combined with your vision will lead to that success, but never lose that concept in the process.

You'll often see the phrase "fake it til you make it" tossed around too, but this may display the very arrogance Felix Dennis warns against. There's no need to pretend you're bigger than the rest, because you'll ultimately need the rest to make it. I stronlgy advise any budding entrepreneurs or business-minded individuals to check out Felix Dennis' How to Get Rich for a riveting look at the trials and tribulations of a self-made millionaire.