Amazon.com, Pixar and "The Little Engine That Could"

“So, you’re not a millionaire yet? What’s wrong with you?!?!?

After all, you have been doing this for………..how long did you say again?

a week? a month? a year?

Don’t all the “guru’s” say it’s so easy a 2 year old can do it? Didn’t they promise you fame and fortunes instantly over night?

Are you telling me they lied to you?”

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Well, it’s about 10:00 tonight, and my wheels are spinning right now, so I thought it would be best to put some of these thoughts down for you.

What prompted my late-night madness you might ask yourself?

Well, I can tell you it all started with reading Gary Simpson’s POWERFUL “Power of Choice” article – if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it as it is a free download right now on his blog.

It got me thinking about the choices that we have and make every day, and the talents that we have been given…and what we are doing with those talents and those choices.

Then I read Gary’s next post about a lot of people feeling overwhelmed and I couldn’t help but think that there are a lot of people out there right now that might be feeling the same way.

I went and hit a bucket of golf balls with a good friend this afternoon — we both call it our little “water cooler talk” time where we can go and talk about anything and everything and enjoy a little open air and sunshine. It’s amazing how good hitting a small white ball with a skinny stick can make you feel.

Sometimes with all the slime and garbage on tv and in the news about the economy…blah blah blah…and how everyone’s losing their home and their job and no one has any money any more…..garbage! You can get depressed and discouraged really fast if you listen to it for too long.

I don’t even listen to it any more – I turned it all off months ago. After all, why should I let it ruin my perfectly good day? And just that one little thing has made a huge difference in my attitued and my productivity.

Anyways, back to me and my friend hitting a few balls at the golf course…we were talking about business and family and life in general, and for some reason he brought up that fact that he saw Amazon.com on the front page about how high their stock is and what an amazing powerhouse retailer they are.

Maybe I’m just weird, but Amazon.com is an amazing story. They started off with an unusual business plan – while all the other dotcom internet businesses were taking off by 100000%, Amazon was slow and steady.

They started Amazon in 1994, but did not turn a single profit…not on penny of a profit…until 2001!

2001: $5 Million
2002: $35.3
…..
2008: $645 Million

7 years of going in the red, before one dollar in the black – how about that for perserverance!

And look at them now – a powerhouse global retailer and marketing giant! (You can check out more of Amazon’s story here)

My point is tht Rome wasn’t built in a day, and success rarely happens overnight.

Sometimes we see success and we think that it happened overnight, but if you look behind the curtain, that success took a long time to bear true fruits.

Microsoft – another great example.

Pixar is another one of my favorites. Every so often I like watching documentaries, and I watched one a little while ago on Netflix called “The Pixar Story” – fascinating story behind the company!

They started in 1979 – went 17 years and millions of dollars in the Red (which Steve Jobs paid for himself actually) before the smash-hit release of “Toy Story” in 1995.

Overnight success? Hardly. That was 17 long and hard years in the making. (You can check out more of Pixar’s story here)

I see a lot of people who get discouraged because they’ve been working for a few months at something and they aren’t a millionaire yet like all the guru’s promise! So, they go out and buy some more “hope” disguised as “Gimme More Money” as Gary puts it.

Well, I cleaned out my e-mail box so that I don’t even see those hype e-mails and empty promises any more. There are a few marketers that I truly respect and value their e-mails (and I can count them with one hand) – I do read and follow their e-mails.

It would do people so much more good to turn off the promotion e-mails, and really focus on their business in planning their work and working their plan – like several of you have mentioned already.

Implementation all comes with time and priotritizing.

You have to ask yourself — “Is it really worth it?”

Now I’m copying and expanding a bit here on my comments on Gary’s post, but It’s ok to be patient with yourself and your business and recognize the progress you have already made and are continually making!

One thing that Rich Schefren has said before, and it will be well for us all to remember — is that “there is no magic.”

Just good old fashioned work and perseverance! It may take a little while to find your stride, but keep at it and keep your hope alive.

Remember the little engine that could?

Remember Amazon, and Pixar and so many others…

You have a choice to make with each day as to what you will do with your God-given talents and strengths. If something is worth it to you – then go get it! No matter what it takes, you can do it!

Just believe in yourself, and then plan your work and work your plan. (And trust me, just pass on those so-called “one-time opportunities.” I myself have got caught up in those traps before, but I am learning and making changes as I go.)

If you are with me, and you can grasp the message I’m sharing with you tonight- why don’t you leave a comment here and let me know how you are doing and what I can do to help you?

There’s more great stuff to come…goodnight to all for now.

Adam