What's your number?

Liking this one from Nigel Botterill ...

I'm hearing from a lot of people who are feeling overwhelmed with all the negative stuff in the press at the moment. I hear it all the time ... that concentrating on growing a business somehow feels insignificant and selfish when there is so much suffering going on in the world. Don't get me wrong, I think what's happened in Japan recently is devastating, the war, riots, inflation, cuts ... all of this is pretty depressing stuff... I'll grant you that. But who are you helping by getting down about it?

In my opinion, it's not acceptable to allow these events to stop you from performing (or to use them as an excuse)! In fact, there's one school of thought that would say just the opposite.

I read a story last year - I can't remember where I read it but I think it would be appropriate to share it now.

A group of people go to a conference about making more money and the speaker asks them to write a number down on a piece of paper. The number represents the amount they would like to make this year.

The speaker then collects the pieces of paper and writes the numbers up on a white board at the front of the room. They range from £20,000 to £200,000,000 and everything in between.

Next, the speaker asks the group to say which number they think is the most selfish amount to be aiming for and, perhaps not surprisingly, the group all chose the biggest number.

The speaker explained to the group that in actual fact the person who had written £20,000 on their piece of paper was the most selfish in the room and, amidst hundreds of confused expressions, he told them why.

You see, if you only make a modest amount each year, then you're only really catering for yourself aren't you. That's pretty selfish when you look at it wouldn't you say?

If you make a bit more, then you can start supporting your family as well as yourself ... so we're getting a bit less selfish here. Now ... when you're talking about those big figures like the £20,000,000 that was written on the board ... well, then you can start looking at how you can help friends, your community, charities and any other causes you believe in ... You can send aid to parts of the world that are affected by natural disasters ... you can make a difference.

So - next time you feel guilty for concentrating on something that in the grand scheme of things is as 'insignificant' as your business - just remember ... your super-success could serve a lot of people - being ambitious doesn't necessarily mean you are only looking out for yourself!