Has anyone ever told you that you needed to “think big”?  Maybe you’ve told yourself this and knew intuitively that you were meant to share your gifts and talents with the world in a way that makes a bigger impact so you can help more clients.

I know “think bigger!” was something I often heard from friends and family when I was first starting out with my business.  If you told me five years ago that I would be the founder of several successful businesses that help other companies increase revenue by leveraging technology and strategic marketing techniques, I wouldn’t have believed it.   Not in a million years!

What I love the most about what I do is helping my clients paint a big vision for themselves and then showing them how to navigate the marketing landscape so they can reach their goals and make their dreams a reality.   What I’ve noticed during this process is that thinking big is something that doesn’t always come naturally, it often needs to be learned and practiced. 

Here are four key steps for thinking bigger and getting what you want from your business and life.

1. Paint the Picture: The first step in creating any blueprint for success is to paint the vision.  Look forward five or ten years into the future and have clarity around where you want to be.  Maybe you’d like to live in Hawaii, maybe you want to have a house on the ocean in the Caribbean, or possibly traveling the world as a speaker.  Write as many details as you can about what your future holds for you.

It may seem ironic that the starting point is actually in the future. However, once we have a crystal clear picture of where our future lies, we can plan more easily for the steps that will take us down that path.

2. Face Your Fears: Almost 100% of the time, the clients I work with are being held back by their own fears more so than any other challenge.  Whenever I do a strategy session, I ask “what are you NOT willing to do to move your business forward?”.  It’s the things we are afraid of doing most that keeps us within a comfortable space and preclude us from moving forward.

The reason we stay comfortable is because there are fears around stepping out in a bigger way, fear of rejection, fear of success, fear of failure, fear of investing in ourselves, etc.  It’s crucial to identify what our specific fear is so we can face the enemy and move past it.

3. Seek Successful Examples: Take a look around and identify colleagues who have successful business models.  Identify the visionary leaders in your industry, and evaluate their marketing strategies and techniques.  Align yourself with mentors who understand your industry and work with them to save yourself time and expense.  Get past viewing investments as expenses.  If you’re not willing to spend it, it’s virtually impossible to make it.

4. Understand Opportunity Cost: Visionary entrepreneurs are those who have a clear vision of the future and are able to skillfully navigate the course.  Successful business owners must be willing to embrace new ideas, accept the inevitable, and be decisive action takers.

New ideas might come from industry trends, advances in technology, or innovative changes. The opportunity cost comes from delaying the inevitable.  Not working with mentors, delaying the implementation of technology, and not embracing new ideas can be expensive mistakes that will cost you in the short-term as well as the long term which adds up to cumulative damages.

Small companies usually justify delaying investments on budget and pricing.  However, the opportunity cost of not investing costs much more.  The price usually goes up as more time passes, and the opportunity cost rises exponentially as well in the form of lost clients and revenue.

There is only one question to ask in order to make a quick and decisive decision.  “Will this help my  business reach it’s goal?”.  Ask the question and then get quiet to hear the intuitive answer.  If it’s a yes, decide and take action immediately.   Don’t let fears and doubts rise up and muddle your path toward success.

What resonates with you about this article?  Please leave me a comment, I’d love to know your thoughts.