If money is the goal you'll never achieve it [VIDEO]

[AllenCrawley]

Gurbaksh Chahal started his first business at age 16. Was a millionaire by age 18. Sold his first company for $40M and his second for $300M.

In this short video he talks about chasing money vs providing value (sound familiar?). If money is the goal you'll never achieve it. "The value you create is your barometer of success."

He also talks about how people want to create the next big thing but you should look to improve something already out there. "People at the end of the day want to be wow'd and want to be given a different angle at things." "Solve the same problem just differently." He attributes his success to attacking a problem from a different angle.

He compares his business model to snapchat and instagram. "Don't chase a headline."

 

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[MisterBHZ]

Talk about got rich quick...$40 million at 18.

I definitely understand chasing value instead of money. I built my current business on value. Now I'm working on it being worth millions.

 

[AllenCrawley]

I built my current business on value. Now I'm working on it being worth millions.

Progress thread?

 

[RogueInnovation]

I prefer to look at the journey to understand what I want out of the "destination", since the best predicator of future events is the present and the past.
Most people overlook that they went to school, tried to find out what they wanted to do, nightlighted or similar, travelled and then probably got into biz.

Biz in a sense is where we "all end up" and we forget that, we were part of businesses that whole time. School was a business but even more than that, its authorities were hired on a low wage and its originator was henry ford (who gave us big factory set ups). University or college, or figuring out what you want to do, is a business that wraps around what it knows college age people do, whilst drifting and unsure. It puts all this blah blah around it, obfuscating the truth that nothing is garunteed and that this system is merely a vanity or premium service industry wrapped around that age bracket and it takes full advantage of over protective instincts of parents and anxieties of kids etc etc etc.

We then might nightlight or work at a cafe or restaurant or whatever, learn to get by, live on our own. We might travel, and by doing so, gain some confidence and find places we like and reasons why we want to be who we want to be.

Then, you TRULY learn business...

What I mean to say is that, the above is the past or present of those learning, and biz is all around them.
Its about what businesses we choose, what businesses we create, what businesses we involve ourselves in that impacts how these parts of our lives vary.

I believe therefor that, business "your way" is really just like, the past "your way". Do you have the GUTS? The self confidence or whatever, to make that secondary and your life primary?
Its not about eradicating these business systems, but making them less intrusive and therefor more liberating to the people involved.

This doesn't require airy fairy ideas of what biz is or isn't, it just requires that you understand that its ROLE in your life can go from telling you what to do, to letting you be able to be you.


Its not about being the best or whatever, thats just a marketting strategy of schools and what not, or propoganda of governments or whatever else, its about finding the balance you need, and to construct a viable business around it, so we can see you live as who you are, more freely.

And in this task, building your biz too big too fast, can be just as much of a restraint as building it too strong and too slow. So don't feel too weird about doing it your way, because it is your way that will provide nicer results for you in the end, just make sure that your way isn't too passive or too crazy that you can't enjoy it and be the director of your own life.


Everyone that tells you to conform and behave... Thats not what business is really about, that is where human error is revealled. That is where our stupidity and arrogance and ego shows.
None of us enjoy that stuff, we just go along with it because "hey! why not, right?!".

Even when it comes to billionaires telling me what to do, I don't trust them. Cuz henry ford was one, I have nothing against the guy, because the true error is in ourselves not waking up, but he created that school system you hated so much. And it SUCKS to be put in the meat grinder to be made into mince for someone else.

If your greatest idols, are part of these cycles of mistakes.
Don't you really wanna ask yourself "why be like him at all..", why not just take back your right to be you, instead.

Home - Rome? Royalty?
Car - Henry ford
Wife - Bible
Kids - Bible/Biology
Diploma - Henry ford (and greece)

Just sayin...
We overlook where it begun, and how it is part of our lives and why. And to find your future, I think you should start asking yourself why we need these things at all.
Transport is needed of course, love too, the will to create more for the world also, and a place to rest your head. But WHY get sucked into a belief beyond that, its just crazy.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

@RogueInnovation I honestly have tried to follow some of your posts here on the forum but I gotta say... WTF?

Your posts are usually long and are not coherent (at least not to me) and as a result I usually skip over them.

I really struggle with what it is you're trying to say most of the time.

So, with that said, what are you trying to convey here in your post and how does it relate to the OP? I'm not trying to be mean. I'd just really like to understand.

 

[RogueInnovation]

Sorry man,
I'll try to make sense as succinctly as I can,
I put my longer version in quotes
The bold line below is my view in one sentence

If I understand the video correctly, he is suggesting that chasing headlines, reinventing things you don't need to reinvent, being so innovative that you are just wacky and wrong, are all symptoms of not having a satisfying relationship with business. Or in other words, chasing money is escapism and a distraction.

I believe this escapism comes from percieving past experiences with business negatively; school, college, your first job as a waiter, etc etc etc. And I think I am trying to suggest, that we can't sweep that under the rug.

I believe that understanding how business has played a role in your life in the past, can help you understand what kind of business you want to play a role in your future.

What if that waiting job was better?
What if school was just you kicking rocks and going fishing?
What if college was you figuring it out all a lot quicker?
There are businesses BUILT around those times of our lives, and its these times of our lives we feel we need money to escape, right?

But for me it misses the point because I think we can say; hey school actually allowed me to meet some people, college was an example of what not to do but at least it gave me an idea that I should be learning, and hey that job as a waiter allowed me to focus my energy on whatever I wanted. You don't NEED money to escape that, you need a better outlook.

He has built business after business, not seeking more cash, or reinvent something, or for headlines, he provides value by bringing a new angle on what works to the market. Each time he moved on he has tried to make the relationship with his next business better than his last. He doesn't try to escape the role of business in his life, and as a result can judge his future by tweaking his past.

I guess I'm saying...
You need a more consistant view of business, you can't be bipolar about it.
I WANT MONEY CUZ I HATED MY OTHER JOB! makes no sense.
I WANT THAT HEADLINE BECAUSE IT WILL BE OVER! makes absolutely no sense.

What will your NEW business do? (use your past to understand this!!!)

I am genuinely trying to say that "negatively viewing your past businesses will not allow you to tweak your past attempts into a future success". And he suggests that tweaking is what business is about (not headlines).

I'm trying to show that, business shouldn't be driven by escaping a negative, you have to tweak it to be a positive.
I believe that tweaking negative business experiences into positive outlooks allows you to better manage your level of happiness with your future business.

"I like my next business because I used to just do x, and I really enjoyed it, but it was bad because y, and this next biz solves that"
or
"College was great, I really enjoyed the people, I wanna work with that outlook again, but making money was terrible so I've made a business that I can enjoy, but that I can also afford more that ramen noodles because of".

Happiness is what I seek when listening to this guy, and I figure that he is happier because he views his past positively and is comfortable, while other guys are trying to leap frog on the latest trend or whatever.

 

[smarty]

AllenCrawley following your post, I was just watching his presentation here. Some good points.

 

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[Brander]

I like this guy a lot. Unassuming and sharp, unfortunately the industry he was/is in is less then clean or moral in its current and past practices.

http://www.businessinsider.com/this...f-online-advertising-is-based-on-fraud-2013-4
http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2013/04/online-advertisers-getting-hosed.html
http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2013/04/online-advertisers-getting-hosed.html

 

[Gale4rc]

That's BS, I know a lot of successful people who only wanted success for the money (i'm not one of them) but, there are no rules to success/wealth other then if you work hard and do the right things, its obtainable.

 

[smarty]

I have a confession: through most of the year 2013, I've been chasing money. I would initially try to fill needs and provide solutions and start to build a website/service, then after a few weeks the money-chasing habit would kick in, inspiration would drop, I would start another project and try to find ways for quick money. It's a HORRIBLE habit that never gets you anywhere.
I'm now trying to establish more healthy habits, removed all distractions, improved work ethics, even uninstalled sound drivers from my laptop to keep me from youtube and entertainment.
It's not easy to stay consistent, but it's a worthwhile PROCESS.

 

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[BaladOfARichMan]

Ok, I see a contradiction in what he's saying. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe it's just that English is not my first language so I don't get it right.

On one hand he says you gotta be passionate about, gotta provide value to people, gotta be fearless and all that stuff. He also says "money was never the object to me".
On the other hand at about 5:30 min he critizes people who create Apps/websites only based on "how many users are using it". And says he wouldn't even give advice to those people if they haven't thought about the monetization of their biz.

If you have an App/web that gets a lot of users, you're definitely providing value. Otherwise people wouldn't download your app or enter your website. Maybe you're still not making money, because you simply dont know how to (since you only focused on providing what people want). But you're satisfying the first term of the equation, value.

So what does this guy mean? Does he want me, as a newbie, to focus on providing value, or money, or both?

I mean we all wanna make money, otherwise we don't start a business. But for me, is just very confusing when I hear businessmen/gurus talking about not focusing on money. I understand that value is key, of course, but money is important too, isn't it?

Thanks,

Luis.

 

[Mrs. BRKb]

So what does this guy mean? Does he want me, as a newbie, to focus on providing value, or money, or both?

He may be saying that the those people who haven't thought about monetization of their app haven't thought about their business model. A good business, by definition, makes money. I think this is what he is saying (quoting him from another source):


If you have a strong business and a strong team, the money will follow.
- Gurbaksh Chahal
Conversation with Gurbaksh Chahal, Founder, BlueLithium

 

[Mike Kavanagh]

And says he wouldn't even give advice to those people if they haven't thought about the
monetization of their biz.

I can see why he wouldn't give them advice.
Some bullets

• It's great that you have x amount of users for a FREE app. Would they use it if wasn't free?
• Is the only way to monetize adsense? Can you even use adsense?
• Plan to sell? AKA Exit strats

These are all things you need to think about in trying to make a successful app business.

If people wont use your app if it wasn't free, what value are you really providing?
If adsense decides to terminate your account, then what?

 

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[throttleforward]

I think he's talking about the difference between chasing personal riches and trying to come up with some scheme to do obtain it vs. using money as a tool to measure the value you provide to people via your business. He mentions this money=value given concept in another video, where he talks about why entrepeneurs like him don't just cash out after they make a couple million, but seek to build companies that make 8-9-10 figures.

 

[limitup]

Dunno this is a tough one. Until recently, money was my only goal and I've done pretty well for myself over the years. Honestly the only businesses I've had that "failed" were the ones where I tried to provide REAL value and/or do something I was really passionate about. The other businesses that all succeeded and made millions honestly provided very little value at all.

 

[James Fake]

Thank you for this video.. impact millions to make millions.

 

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[Arandhawa23]

If your chasing a scheme that earns you XX amount of dollars in a certain time frame, you will not get anywhere. You will psychologically collapse due to constant failure, and will most likely jump from one opportunity to the next. You will not have focus. If money is not the goal then why are you creating a business? Apply for a non-profit instead. Your idea should not be centered around a money value you want, but around a value you create. Manifest an idea, stick to the idea, make the idea a reality, give value to that reality and money will come. Stay focused!

 

[Gale4rc]

If your chasing a scheme that earns you XX amount of dollars in a certain time frame, you will not get anywhere. You will psychologically collapse due to constant failure, and will most likely jump from one opportunity to the next. You will not have focus. If money is not the goal then why are you creating a business? Apply for a non-profit instead. Your idea should not be centered around a money value you want, but around a value you create. Manifest an idea, stick to the idea, make the idea a reality, give value to that reality and money will come. Stay focused!

read limitups post 2 posts right above you

 

[throttleforward]

I'm thinking the chasing money vs providng lasting value is the same as losing weight vs. living healthy. I've experienced this personally - I've set weight loss goals and achieved them, set marathon time goals and broken them - but I've never really felt totally satisfied, because once the goal was achieved the systems I had built to achieve those systems suddenly no longer had purpose. What ended up happening? I lost motivation to continue (since I had crossed the finish line so to speak - why keep running when you've passed the finish line?), I regained weight, and I haven't run a marathon in over a year.

I have a feeling that setting specific money goals is the same for many. Sure, you can reach it, but I'll bet you'll feel kinda empty about it - perhaps lost. I've read it over and over when researching successful entrepreneurs...I've thought to myself "wait - they've made buckets of money selling this company...why in the hell would they try it again? Wasn't the point 'crossing the money finish line'? If they want to help people, why don't they become a paramedic or start a non-profit...why start a 2nd/3rd/8th for-profit company?" The answer they give time and time again is that it isn't about the money...it's who they are, it's the process and value-giving that they love, and their value-giving scorecard is profitability.

So how does this apply to you/me? I've shifted my mindset away from "I'm losing weight" to "I'm a healthy person/athlete - weight is a natural byproduct of that lifestyle." I've also shifted my mindset from "One day I want to be rich so that I'm financial free" and "I'm trying to start a business so one day I can be rich" to "I'm an entrepreneur - I create profitable companies and products that provides value. A natural byproduct of that value provision is wealth." The change in focus is away from the end result, and more on my personal identity.

What I've found is that by changing my mindset in this way, the other stuff makes a lot more sense. I eat healthy not because I'm trying to get to some number on a scale, but because it's who I am as an althlete. Similarly, I purposely expose myself to rejection and failure not because I'm trying to get to the "I'm rich, bitches!" finish line, but because as an entrepreneur that's who I am - that's an integral part of me and what I do, regardless of how successful I am or not in my current venture.

Sorry for the long post - felt good to write it as changing my mindset is an issue I've been struggling with. Didn't mean to hijack.

 

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[RogueInnovation]

@throttleforward I'm glad you took the time to write all that out, the health analogy is a great angle on how to make yourself consistantly successful.

If you have the guts to be the guy that does it better, what is left to fear?
I'm sure that once you master this attitude you are already well on your way to a success.

Internalising that new identity strikes me as one of the most important things you could ever do. As it will really allow you to step up with a fantastic new business and product every time you DECIDE it is time to do so.

That combo is surely unstoppable, just like a healthy lifestyle. Nice work!

 

[Formless]

Not Chasing Money/Chasing Money is a paradox you have to accept to shut your brain up. You do everything to provide value but you do it because you want toys or a house in Okinawa.

Make peace with it.

Accept it.

Be done with it.

 

[NNR]

Dunno this is a tough one. Until recently, money was my only goal and I've done pretty well for myself over the years. Honestly the only businesses I've had that "failed" were the ones where I tried to provide REAL value and/or do something I was really passionate about. The other businesses that all succeeded and made millions honestly provided very little value at all.

Could you elaborate?

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Could you elaborate?

Look up his "ask me anything" thread. He covers a lot of info there.