Think Big, and Then Think Bigger Than That.

[Kak]

You’re basically sayin ‘leaders don’t need the step-by-step... THAT WHAT MAKES THEM LEADERS!” and I agree

Close, but probably more on the track of...

‘Leadership stuff is out there, but once you get your feet wet you’ll realize you’re on your own.’

But yes. Good post.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

@ChrisV

In response to your evidence based management... there is a lot of stuff worth reading out there. I myself took a lot out of Charles Koch Market Based Management book.

When you apply things like this in the real world, however, it sort of becomes a mashed together system of instinct, knowledge, wisdom, and experience... especially when considering real world constraint.

 

[ChrisV]

Yea, it can be kinda funny when you’re actually doing it. Some management book says ‘keep a cool head’ which is easy until someone does something that makes you want to ring their throat. It’s sometimes akin to all the other good advice out there that’s easier said that done. “Don’t eat junk food”.. word lol.

But to follow up my last post,

What he says at 1:42 and 2:00 is perfect. Seriously I think this is amazing if you have a second

View: https://youtu.be/5-oyaQ98sWs?t=103


But in terms of stuff like ‘6 rules of great leaders' or whatever blog post, i don’t even waste my time. I do enjoy HBR though.

 

[YoungPadawan]

@ChrisV

In response to your evidence based management... there is a lot of stuff worth reading out there. I myself took a lot out of Charles Koch Market Based Management book.

Good stuff, just added to the reading list. What are some other good books that you've found to be a good leader that help inspire/motivate employees?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTEE1985]

Good stuff, just added to the reading list. What are some other good books that you've found to be a good leader that help inspire/motivate employees?

I enjoyed Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” and “Leaders eat last” as far as working with employees goes. One minute manager is decent and a very quick read, good on fundamentals. Add in “Winning” by Jack Welch. He’s regarded as one of the best leaders/managers in the last 30 years.

Like any subject, make sure it’s by somebody who walks the walk (like Koch) and not somebody who is just compiling “good leadership skills” but has never led. As a blanket recommendation for leadership books I’d say mostly biographies and auto biographies on those who thought big and changed the world. Marcus Aurelius, Rockefeller, Walton, Jobs etc...you really won’t go wrong learning what made those guys tick.

 

[ChrisV]

@Kak - i just noticed the rep transfer.. thank you, but you didn’t have to do that

But intuition... intuition fascinates me.

We’re finding out that intuition scientifically is just this storehouse of experiences and things we’ve learned. Then our brains just automatically compile and put them together. We take all these little micro details and in a split second.. boom a surgeon just ‘knows’ what to do.

Go With Your Gut -- Intuition Is More Than Just A Hunch, Says New Research

That’s why I find reading so fascinating. Especially biographies. It’s almost like you can ‘download’ other people’s experiences.

It’s almost like arts and crafts (sorry for the corny analogy lol but it’s perfect.) As we go through life we collect all these little experiences. A great play, an amazing piece of art. And as we do that, we’re constantly adding to our collection. Then when it comes our time to make something, we dig into our little bin and using the pieces, build something new. Which is why I love to expose myself to the greatest works in human history.

By doing so you have this amazing bin that holds Shakespeare, and Latin, and trigonometry and when a problem comes up, you can string all those amazing things together and make new things. And then people look at you like “wow, you’re amazing... how did you think of that stuff?!” and then you tell them “no look.. you can do that too.. want me to show you?” and then they say “no no no I’m watching The Bachelorette but wow.. you’re just so lucky... I wish I could do what you do” you: “but....” them: “OMG HE GAVE HER A ROSE!”

ugh.

 

[ChrisV]

But back on the topic of thinking big, i was just thinking and this is a trend that I’ve noticed a long time ago.

Every billionaire that i know of has this big, ridiculous mission.

Think big?

Bill Gates wanted “a computer on every desk and in every home” >>

Jeff Bezos wanted to make an “Everything Store” >>

Elon Musk wants to colonize mars. Connect the human brain directly to the internet. Stop ice caps from melting.

These guys aren’t aiming for a middle management position at Well Fargo corporate.

How many of your friends say f---ing “I want to colonize mars.” Even when they’re drunk. How many people even think it? How many people even have the balls to entertain thoughts of the magnitude of raising the funds to build a rocket and sending it to space. Do you have any idea of how far space is??? Literally think of the logistics of that. Most peoples’ brains won’t even let them finish without laughing.

I mean I’m probably at risk of milking Steve Jobs quotes to death in this thread, but he’s good because he spoke on the philosophy of success more than any other billionaire I’ve seen, but this is perfect for the ‘think big’ theme:



But yea, I mean I think life will bring you wherever you aim it. Most people just aim for the easier targets, even though the better ones may not be as hard to hit as they think.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ALC]

For those that love this thread but can't get the real meaning of what Kak say or can't make that 'shift', read 'The Magic of Thinking BIG'

 

[MTEE1985]

For those that love this thread but can't get the real meaning of what Kak say or can't make that 'shift', read 'The Magic of Thinking BIG'

Great book. I started re-reading it last week. Another one is Choose Yourself by James Altucher...I would specifically skip to where he’s talking about the 21 things Google is currently working on. Blows your mind and makes you realize that no matter how unachievable something might seem to you, it isn’t.

And before anybody starts with the “well, that’s Google” stuff, remember, that was an idea at one point that two guys had, nothing more. It didn’t just exist out of thin air.

 

[GPM]

Guys, this thread is all about thinking big, stop filling it with fluff that isn't even related to that. @Kak is not trying to win some internet points by making this thread and sounding cool. He is literally trying to raise those of you out of the muck if you are able to understand it, and come join his army.

If you are not able to do it, or genuinely don't understand it, you don't need to post 30x in this thread hoping to gain some sort of internet pat-on-the-back or approval. @Kak does not care about internet approval or dollars, he is out there winning in real life.

Lets keep this thread amazing, and keep it full of brain-busting ideas that push your mental boundaries into big areas. Once you get there this stuff isn't so far fetched and unattainable. This is "The MILLIONAIRE Fastland", not the "Thousandaire Fastlane". I would even argue that big ideas put billions into the realm of possibility. If your "big idea" nets you 6 figures maximum then these sorts of paradigm shifts are not exactly where you are at yet, and there are other resources to push your thinking up to the next level if that is all that you want to be at.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[SquatchMan]

What I find funny about this thread is that the guys from Texas Central Railroad obviously think big, but I bet they're still thinking bigger.

They haven't denied that they have plans to expand to other cities. In fact, they leave expansion open, but won't specify where.

Most people think they will expand into Austin and San Antonio.

If the first route is successful, then I could see investors throwing money at them to build more routes all over the country.

Connecting Florida and Georgia (Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, and Atlanta)?
Connecting California?
Connecting Portland to Seattle?
Could they connect all the major US cities to each other??

America is a massive country with virtually non-existent land transportation infrastructure between cities.

Amtrak sucks. Greyhound sucks... That's it for ground transportation other than driving your own car, which takes longer than taking a bullet train.

Probably a massive market here. Similar to how Europe has the Eurorail and Japan has an amazing train system.

Interesting to see how this plays out with self-driving cars though. Passenger trains might become irrelevant, but I'm sure these guys thought about that.

 

[MTEE1985]

What I find funny about this thread is that the guys from Texas Central Railroad obviously think big, but I bet they're still thinking bigger.

They haven't denied that they have plans to expand to other cities. In fact, they leave expansion open, but won't specify where.

Most people think they will expand into Austin and San Antonio.

If the first route is successful, then I could see investors throwing money at them to build more routes all over the country.

Connecting Florida and Georgia (Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, and Atlanta)?
Connecting California?
Connecting Portland to Seattle?
Could they connect all the major US cities to each other??

America is a massive country with virtually non-existent land transportation infrastructure between cities.

Amtrak sucks. Greyhound sucks... That's it for ground transportation other than driving your own car, which takes longer than taking a bullet train.

Probably a massive market here. Similar to how Europe has the Eurorail and Japan has an amazing train system.

Interesting to see how this plays out with self-driving cars though. Passenger trains might become irrelevant, but I'm sure these guys thought about that.

Great points. So would it be fair to say that those who think big never really have an “end” in mind? More of a never ending improvement strategy? Obviously with both short and long term goals along the way?

Our society has essentially made a common theme out of people who start with the end in mind and try to work backward from there “I’m gonna create the next Amazon, Facebook, whatever” but then the task is so massive that nobody ever begins.

@Kak where are you on this? Do you have defined ends in mind or just goals/plans where after you hit them you’ll just set a bigger goal?

 

[ChrisV]

If the first route is successful, then I could see investors throwing money at them to build more routes all over the country.

Humans are designed to want more. The. the iPhone 10 comes out, they’re looking forward to the 10S. When you become a millionaire, you aim to become a billionaire.

It’s simply the hamster wheel that is Dopamine. We become acclimated to a certain level of pleasure, then want more. Today’s "holy shit” will always become tomorrow’s “meh"

Humans will forever be expanding.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChrisR]

The simple answer is they don't.

The complex answer is that the strategy you are highlighting there is putting the cart before the horse.

Go back to the original post on this thread. The guys that are building the railroad. They HAD (key word) no track record, or background. So before they raised money they built enough of a background to speak with some semblance of authority on the topic.

Remember, these guys, for this particular venture traveled all over the world talking to the actual companies that do the labor, talking to rail lines about revenues and learning what is out there to learn. Thinking through the numbers. Making it all make sense. Some stuff will just need to be learned as they go, VC's understand they invest in incomplete pictures often, but they need the reassurance that you are "the guy" that will figure it out.

NONE of this is fake. You need to legitimately become who you need to be to get the job done. If not, you are scamming.

Thanks Kyle. I'll definitely go back and re-read the original post. I'm also going to go through this whole thread again because I probably missed some things. There is definitely a lot of great info in here.

 

[amp0193]

how would you suggest they develop leadership skills? Books will get you a decent head start but what else? Try to find a mentor? Try to get a job in a managerial role?

For me... it came in part from working under a great leader.

I was a school teacher, and he was my mentor teacher, and was the best of the best.

I will run my company the way he ran his classroom.

 

[amp0193]

After some internal dialogue and conflict sparked in part by the challenges posed in this thread, I twitter DM'd the owner of one of the biggest companies in my industry.

7 years ago, they were where I am now. I wanted to know how they overcame their growth hurdles, when they decided to take on funding, why they brought in an outsider as president, how they were able to grow two separate distribution channels, etc.

We've got a chat scheduled this week.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTEE1985]

After some internal dialogue and conflict sparked in part by the challenges posed in this thread, I twitter DM'd the owner of one of the biggest companies in my industry.

7 years ago, they were where I am now. I wanted to know how they overcame their growth hurdles, when they decided to take on funding, why they brought in an outsider as president, how they were able to grow two separate distribution channels, etc.

We've got a chat scheduled this week.

That’s awesome. Talk about a future gold thread, imagine getting everybody at TFLF to take action on something like this. If even 1,000 people reached out to heads in their fields I bet we would see 50-100 that got responses which could be worth millions down the line. Well done @amp0193 now time for me to go find some more people to connect with.

 

[ChrisV]

After some internal dialogue and conflict sparked in part by the challenges posed in this thread, I twitter DM'd the owner of one of the biggest companies in my industry.

7 years ago, they were where I am now. I wanted to know how they overcame their growth hurdles, when they decided to take on funding, why they brought in an outsider as president, how they were able to grow two separate distribution channels, etc.

We've got a chat scheduled this week.

i love this reply so much. Congrats sir.

 

[jon.M]

I thought about you today, Kak.

Took a walk in the city where famous entrepreneur Alfred Nobel moved some of his operations near the end of his life. I stood at the town square and watched a statue of the man.

He invented dynamite, made life safer for miners, had a fortune of roughly $250 million, was a shareholder in over a hundred factories across the world and founded the Nobel Prize. After more than a hundred years since his death, his actions still affect the world today.

He definitely didn't accomplish that by setting up an Amazon store selling garlic presses or selling an online course on selling an online course.

This made me think of Elon Musk. No matter what people think of him, he will go down in history as many men and women before him. Which also made me realize...

We're writing the history of today. And it's up to ourselves if we want to be silent, faceless bystanders or take our own place in the books of tomorrow. Build a legacy for those who come after us.

God put me on this earth to provide massive value to the world. It's my duty to make his wishes come true.

Think big. Go big.

Thank you. There are a lot of things I will change from now on.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

He definitely didn't accomplish that by setting up an Amazon store selling garlic presses or selling an online course on selling an online course.

God put me on this earth to provide massive value to the world. It's my duty to make his wishes come true.

This is GOLD!

“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:16‬ ‭

 

[Cruze]

After some internal dialogue and conflict sparked in part by the challenges posed in this thread, I twitter DM'd the owner of one of the biggest companies in my industry.

7 years ago, they were where I am now. I wanted to know how they overcame their growth hurdles, when they decided to take on funding, why they brought in an outsider as president, how they were able to grow two separate distribution channels, etc.

We've got a chat scheduled this week.

Do you mean the Germany Company DM?

 

[MakeItHappen]

Do you mean the Germany Company DM?

Doubt it. DM was already huge 7 years ago in germany so unless amp is about to have a 10 figure net worth it's unlikly.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

Do you mean the Germany Company DM?

Doubt it. DM was already huge 7 years ago in germany so unless amp is about to have a 10 figure net worth it's unlikly.

What are you people talking about?

DM means AMP direct messaged whoever.

 

[MakeItHappen]

What are you people talking about?

DM means AMP direct messaged whoever.

ahh ok as not native english speakers the message read as if amp had contacted a biz that has the initials "DM". In this case from dm-drogerie markt - Wikipedia

 

[Kak]

I think a big part that plays into thinking big and playing big without quitting is your motivation.

What are you motivated by?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ChrisV]

I think a big part that plays into thinking big and playing big without quitting is your motivation.

What are you motivated by?

Modafinil lol

All jokes aside, I find it helpful to always remind yourself of your goals and specifically the rewards. I even have photos of the things I want to achieve set as a screensaver on my MacBook. Cars, jets, money for your family... whatever gets you up in the morning. Napoleon Hill said ‘a burning desire,’ and it’s a huge part of success. Seriously, it’s science. Desire stimulates dopamine, and dopamine is literally motivation fuel[1].

 

[ChrisV]

Dopamine is released when we think about something we desire. So keeping the end in mind is important.

 

[Cruze]

After some internal dialogue and conflict sparked in part by the challenges posed in this thread, I twitter DM'd the owner of one of the biggest companies in my industry.

7 years ago, they were where I am now. I wanted to know how they overcame their growth hurdles, when they decided to take on funding, why they brought in an outsider as president, how they were able to grow two separate distribution channels, etc.

We've got a chat scheduled this week.

Do you mean the Germany Company DM?

What are you people talking about?

DM means AMP direct messaged whoever.

Oh haha sorry I didnt know that dm direct messaged means... In Germany we have a Company namens DM so I didnt understand the bridge to the topic and asked.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

Modafinil lol

All jokes aside, I find it helpful to always remind yourself of your goals and specifically the rewards. I even have photos of the things I want to achieve set as a screensaver on my MacBook. Cars, jets, money for your family... whatever gets you up in the morning. Napoleon Hill said ‘a burning desire,’ and it’s a huge part of success. Seriously, it’s science. Desire stimulates dopamine, and dopamine is literally motivation fuel[1].

This is something I do frequently...

I list those things, but I follow it to the core of my beliefs. Why do I want a jet? Why do I want hundreds of millions instead of tens of millions? Why do I want the home in River Oaks? Why, why, why... My ultimate why ends up my true motivation..

Interesting.

 

[Andreas Thiel]

I think a big part that plays into thinking big and playing big without quitting is your motivation.

What are you motivated by?

Good question, hope the noise does not drown it and more people reply.

For me it is ... or more like I want it to be ... empowering the working poor by establishing competing mechanisms that undermine winner-takes-all dynamics.

Can't say that is a force that propels me and creates a warm and fuzzy feeling at this point. I want to get there, though.
Creating a motivational video sounds like an awesome idea. The Fastlane theme song thread might contain decent source material to choose from.

I get triggered when privileged people talk about the importance of never selling to losers and that their work ethics are to blame for their misery. I know too many people who do hard and dirty work that is never rewarded.
But when I think about owning a business that makes tons of money, then I must admit that my thoughts drift into a more selfish direction quite often. Must work on that.