I just noticed that a fellow with a massive database is following me on Twitter. He knows who I am. I could show him a simple, proven, safe, no-cost, risk-free system that he could introduce easily to his database. Conservatively, it would earn him $5,000 per month in passive income within three months. (No, it’s not Network Marketing.) Yet I can virtually guarantee that he won’t even consider it. Why? His giant ego. Seminar leaders, “gurus” and “trainers”, much like many of the owners of small and medium-sized business, allow their egos to steal massive potential profits from right under their noses.
We’re not in business to feel important or to impress people
We’re in business to make the most possible after-tax profit, with the least cost, time, risk, and effort. The fact is that most “gurus” and “entrepreneurs” are not really entrepreneurs – they’re really just slick salesmen and pitchmen. (Anthony “Sully” Sullivan, the well-known “Pitchman”, says, “Life’s a pitch, and then you die.”) Smart entrepreneurs understand that Joint Ventures and strategic alliances are the most sophisticated tools in business – they’re strategic, they employ leverage, and they are scalable. And they’re not based on ego, but rather on profit.
When we get our egos under control, we suddenly see new options opening up.
Look at the people who make the really big money, and you’ll find that they seldom sell their time, they actually prefer not to be on a stage unless they have no other option, and they evaluate business opportunities objectively and rationally. When we get our egos under control, we suddenly see new options opening up. But for that, we need to understand the back-end, leverage, and positioning.
Calvin Coolidge said, “Civilization and profit go hand in hand.” Most wanna-be business owners are simply broke, desperate, self-employed salespeople, whose arrogance is exceeded only by their ignorance, yet these are the very people who allow their egos to dictate their business choices. A big fish is a small, rancid pond is only impressive those to even more pathetic and needy than he is.
“Robin, It’s about the Bottom Line”
The most successful businessman with whom I was ever privileged to work, partnered with me in my business and taught me a very important lesson. He said, “Robin, it’s all about the bottom line. If you maintain your integrity and sublimate your personal feelings and pride, your profits will soar. There is always going to be someone richer and smarter than you are – don’t try to be a legend in your own lunchtime, don’t believe your own PR and BS, and focus on the bottom line.” He was a very wealthy man, one of the most humble, soft-spoken people around, and very strong and disciplined.
If you want to feel important, act in a pantomime, join a service or fraternal club and rise in the ranks to get a title, or teach kids. If you want to get rich, focus on the bottom line.
