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Adam Hergenrother is the founder and CEO of Livian. He believes that business is nothing but a conduit for personal growth and embraces the company’s vision to Love How You Live. When he’s not leading and growing his organizations, you can find Adam either in the mountains or out in nature with his wife and three children.
Think big. Think bigger! These are common catchphrases in the world of entrepreneurship and personal growth. But what does “think big” actually mean?
The first thing I want to clear up here is that you don’t have to think big about everything. Thinking big is more of a mental model than a perpetual mindset. You really want to get clear on your priorities and what’s most important to you and then apply the think big philosophy to those items only.
We have limited time and energy to invest. Use it sparingly. Not everything matters equally.
Ten years ago or so, I was obsessed with golf (yes, I have a bit of an addictive personality). I spent hours a day at the driving range, took at least one day off during the week to play, and generally spent a lot of time, energy and money trying to reach my version of the top.
And, to a certain degree, I did. I was always under par, and I was even featured in Golf Digest. You could definitely say I thought big when it came to my golf game.
But, about a year into it, I had to stop and ask myself: Why? What was I chasing, and why was I using my energy to “think big” about golf? Did it really matter to me that much?
After some reflection, I realized the answer was, “No.” So, here’s your sign to take inventory of your life and where you are spending your time. Make sure you are clear on your priorities before you dive into thinking big.
What matters?
OK, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s focus on what does matter. Whenever you set a goal, you are automatically boxing yourself into a series of questions, a series of activities and, in theory, putting a limit on the results.
Hang with me here a minute. Let’s say you have a goal of netting $50,000 in income this year. That’s a solid goal, and there are thousands of ways to get there. But will it really change who you are or help you grow in any real way?
Well, consider this. What if you apply the “think bigger” philosophy and set your income goal at $200,000? All of a sudden you are asking yourself a different set of questions, which will lead to a different level of activity, and inevitably, a bigger result than if you boxed yourself into the $50,000 income goal.
Now, it doesn’t take any more energy to ask $200,000 questions than it does it ask $50,000 questions. But it does give you different answers.
- Who will you have to become?
- What will you need to learn?
- Who will you need to hire?
- Will you need a new daily routine?
- What will you need to say no to?
All thinking bigger really means is that you will be asking bigger questions, taking bigger action and getting bigger results. Through all of those experiences, you will be growing faster in all aspects of your life.
How to really think big
So, what’s important to you? What goal are you currently focused on? Make sure it’s clear and measurable. Now use your mind to think bigger.
Expand your box of questions to solve the challenge of getting to your goal. It’s not completely relevant whether or not you hit your goal, it’s really just a milestone on your growth journey of life and business.
In fact, when you start getting close to your goal (and you will), naturally people tend to slow down. It behooves you to move the finish line.
If the goal is truly important to you and you want to continue to grow in that area, make the goal bigger again. It will automatically open your mind all over again to new possibilities.
I like to keep this equation in mind:
Thinking + Action = Results
Change any of the variables and you get a different outcome. Change an action, and you change the result, which will change your thinking. Changing your thinking coupled with changing an action leads to a different result. And if you change the result (the goal), your thinking and actions will have to change. That’s what think big is all about.
Here’s my challenge to you today: Think of a goal that you want to hit before the end of the year. Make sure it is truly important to you and what you want for your life and business.
Now, take that goal and quadruple it. If your goal was to sell 10 homes this year, now your goal is 40. Let go of the outcome, but think about what you will have to do differently and who you will need to become in order to hit that “think big” goal.
You have just expanded the possibilities available to you. You will now be asking bigger questions, which leads to bigger experiences, more growth and a “bigger,” more meaningful life. So go forth, and think big!
Adam Hergenrother is the founder and CEO of Livian, the author of The Founder & The Force Multiplier, and the host of the podcast, Business Meets Spirituality. Learn more about Adam’s companies and culture here.
