“Be so good that people jump on your bandwagon.”
I have been fired from every job I’ve ever had. (Is it wrong of me to be proud of that?)
Yep, I’m totally unemployable.
And there are three reasons why I’m totally unemployable:
(1) I have an issue with authority (2) I like to do things my way. And (3) I’m not a team player.
I have found that these are not “qualities” employers look for in an individual.
Well anyway, it wasn’t until I became self-employed that I felt good about my life. For one thing, I couldn’t get fired again. You know, I truly believe the worst day being self-employed is better than the best day being employed.
Now, if you’re self-employed, and you want to build a business of any significance, you quickly learn that you can’t do it alone. Nope, you’re gonna need some help, Chico. And getting that help can be difficult. Especially when starting out.
Why is it so hard at the beginning?
Good question.
I believe it’s because at the beginning of your business venture, you’re not very good.
When I first started my online biz, I didn’t know my arse from the computer screen.
You see, it took me at least 4 years to feel like I knew what I was doing.
And here’s the point:
When you finally start getting some success, finding help becomes a whole lot easier. And so does acquiring customers.
You see, people want to be part of something that’s working, and they want to be associated with someone who’s getting results.
Now, all that was really just a set up for what I really want to talk about.
Which is this:
My favorite Michael Jordan story.
Here is that story:
When Jordan first entered the league as a fresh-faced rookie, he joined the Chicago Bulls who, at the time, were a very established, and very “set in their ways” franchise. The coaching staff were strong headed and the veteran players had a philosophy of: Seniority rules.
And if you’re a rookie, you don’t just waltz in and start doing things your way.
Unless, of course, your name is Michael Jordan.
Yep, Michael Jordan left college basketball and entered the NBA and started where he left off: taking the ball himself and scoring a shit-ton of points.
Well anyway, in one of Jordan’s earliest games, the bulls were way behind in points in the fourth quarter and a loss looked almost certain. But Jordan took it upon himself to win the game. In that fourth quarter, Jordan scored 20 straight points and snatched victory from the claws of defeat.
In the locker room after the game, Jordan feels a tap on his shoulder.
It was the Bulls assistant coach, Tex Winter.
Tex Winter did not approve of Jordan’s one-man show and thought that Michael was not being a team player. So he whispers something into the rookie’s ear that would make his disapproval very clear.
Here’s what he whispered into Michael’s ear:
“Michael, there is no ‘i’ in Team.”
Jordan responded thusly: There’s ‘i’ in Win!”
Now, Jordan really shook up the Bulls team dynamic. And with his dynamic play, he made the coaching staff’s playbook become irrelevant. Because what good is a playbook when you have a guy who possesses the skills and the athletic ability the likes of which the NBA had never seen before, and who can take over games and win them almost single-handedly?
So, what happened was this:
The Bulls owner and coaching staff came to the intelligent decision to stop trying to make Michael fit into their system and quickly started building the team around Michael Jordan.
In other words…
They Jumped On The Michael Jordan Bandwagon!
Who’s jumping on yours?
