Think Small to Grow Big

One of my favorite quotes is “think big and dream bigger” and one of my favorite books is The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz. I'm convinced you need to think big to achieve big. Big ideas inspire. Big ideas galvanize. Big ideas bring us together; but not all the time and definitely not at first. The key is the starting point of the big idea. Your first steps are crucial.

I believe the focus needs to be on something much smaller, as nothing becomes big without starting with a few passionate followers.

In fact, Derek Sivers in his famous Ted Talk "How to start a Movement" makes the point that the first follower is as important as the leader. He shows how the first follower at a concert was able to bring everyone together dancing. All the leader needed was a motivated first follower to start the movement. The dancing leader here was not focused on creating a big dance with hundreds of followers. He was focused on his own dance and made sure to make that first follower feel welcome. By keeping his focus small, a big movement had started.

This is seen over and over again. In Tribes, Seth Godin says, "Trying to lead everyone results in leading no one." He shares that starting as a small tribe and focusing on tightening the tribe is an important first step. To do this, the leader of the tribe needs to communicate quickly and make special announcements to the inner group. Apple does an amazing job of this. Online forums and chat rooms are built for this insider group.

The key is to focus on gaining just a small number of passionate followers. Kevin Kelly writes about "1,000 true fans." A group of people who will go out of their way for your product and then tell everyone they know about it. By gaining 1,000 true fans, Kelly believes you and your brand/company can thrive.

So where do you start?

For me it's always been passion. As a kid, my passion was playing baseball. So I gobbled up anything I could read or watch about baseball.

While I've now made a career in the baseball industry, my passion has changed. I now see everything through a lens of making things different, making things stand out and making them better. I'm passionate about building something that's never been done before. And while I'm at, inspiring a community to change the world.

Big thoughts, but I need to think smaller. The first step is to define the passion. The second step is to find that first follower who shares the same intense passion. Finally, the third step is to continue to share your passion with your voice.

Then, if the passion is strong enough and the ideas are worth spreading, a powerful community will form.

Then things can grow big. But first you need to start small.