Comments on: It’s NEVER too late for a comeback

I just returned from Maui Hawaii, 100+ customers from a dozen countries face to face and palm to palm for 3 days. It was immensely energizing to shake everyone’s hand and hear war stories and spend time together.

In that conference room you heard every kind of story you can imagine. There were people there who literally made a million dollars last month. There was probably somebody who LOST a million dollars last month. I have no doubt.

One guy was literally down to his last twenty dollars. A trip to a pricey seminar was his last wing and prayer. There were many businesses that grew 400-500% in the last 12 months.

Welcome to the knife fight, to the rough and tumble world of being an entrepreneur. A universe of extremes. Work hard. Play hard. High highs. Low lows. Humiliation. Exhilaration.

When I moved from Nebraska to Chicago 17 years ago, there was a part of me that somehow just needed to flee safety and comfort. In pursuit of action and adventure.

Nebraska is a safe, genteel, polite, unthreatening, mannerly place.

And… it’s kinda boring there.

I don’t have very many customers from Nebraska. It’s just not a “Planet Perry” kind of place.

Here in Chicago we have the Chicago Bulls and Bears. Michigan Avenue and the Gold Coast. The Hancock Building and Navy Pier and yachts and hi-rise condos. O’Hare airport and tollways and commuter systems and Broadway shows and vast urban sprawl.

And gangs and drugs and hour-long commutes and gapers delays and starving artists and the West Side and the South Side and Joliet Federal Prison and crime and poverty and housing projects.

In Chicago, you get it ALL. From the ridiculous to the sublime. That’s why I love it here.

My friend, there are some of us who are just BORN to thrive in extremes. You crave the WHOLE enchilada. You want access to the whole box of chocolates. You want the CHOICE to grab that nugget of mystery out of the box and get whatever you get. And reach for another and another.

It’s hard, but it’s better than the SAFETY of having someone else skim off the gourmet stuff and feed you stale 8-month-old Hershey bars.

150 years ago if you preferred the Wild West to a 3 bedroom condo and 3 square meals everyday, you were surely a little bit INsane.

Today, if you prefer the Wild West to institutional mediocrity, it’s probably the best possible assurance that you ARE sane… that the world hasn’t yet pounded every last ounce of adventure out of your soul.? That you don’t want to sit in a cube under buzzing fluorescent lights and follow the car ahead of you to oblivion every day. You don’t want to gulp down antidepressants and watch TV from 5pm til bedtime.

If you thirst for greater things, if you dream of accomplishing something really big and daring in your life (and I’m NOT just talking about money by the way) then I’m here to tell you, you’re in good company.

If you’ve failed and failed and failed again…. or if you’ve achieved modest success only to have a monsoon wipe out what was so promising…. if you’re constantly dodging the snakes and arrows…. you’re in splendid company.

It’s never too late for a comeback.

It may be lonely in your particular corner of cyberspace on a particular Tuesday afternoon, but I’m here to assure you, you’re not the only one.

One more thing:

There is no such thing as a great person in history who was a “perfectly reasonable guy.” We’re all a little bit unreasonable, a little shaky, a little insane. And driven by an inner fire that won’t go out.

Passion is the fire that lights itself.

If you have that Passion, give thanks for it, honor it, and press into it. Harder.

Not everybody has it. But you do. And you know it. So write it in blood. Put it in an obvious place so you never let yourself forget it.

The entire history of your life culminates in the present moment, and all the possibilities that it holds. Right now.

Every hour, every day….

…seize the day.

Perry Marshall

P.S.: You’re awesomer than you think you are.

(I just added “awesomer” to my spell checker. My declaration: It’s a real word now.)

P.P.S: I’ll be posting videos from the seminar later this week.

By: Perry

Perry — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:25:46 +0000

Peter,

I remember after about 2 months into my first “real job” after college, working as an engineer, it occurred to me that 80% of the problems companies have has nothing to do with how talented their employees are, it’s how well they get along with each other.

Of course you don’t really learn a great deal about that aspect of life in college. In fact, in college, very little of what you do is done in teams.

You’ve probably heard my tales of “Nick” my boss who tried to slice my fingers off one joint at a time. And you’ve probably seen “Fist fight at the board of directors meeting” http://www.perrymarshall.com/fist-fight-pt4/

More companies are killed by pride and arrogance and refusal to listen than lack of competence – undoubtedly.

By: John Soares

John Soares — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:23:54 +0000

Perseverance truly is the key to success, no matter what the area of life: business, athletics, love.

That said, it’s also important to recognize when a particular strategy or method is not working, and then adjust accordingly.

By: Perry

Perry — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:01:59 +0000

Kelli,

Amen, sister.

I think one of the biggest things that takes down “gurus” in any niche is the need to extract large amounts of cash from their business at first. You have to plant the farm before you can harvest it. As Proverbs says, “Build your barn first, THEN your house.” Nobody understands that more than a Nebraska farmer. And yes, NE is a good place with a low cost of living – probably 40% less than Chicago, for sure.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:03:04 +0000

Perry–Thanks for being one of the few big league Internet marketers who still GIVES as well as “asks for the business.” Just today I began to wonder what’s happening to the “art” of auto responders. You have restored my faith.

By: Kelli Smith

Kelli Smith — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:15:07 +0000

Great post as always Perry. I understood what you meant about going from Nebraska to a big city and getting that rush of energy from the city. I felt that too when I moved from Omaha to Chicago. But, I’m not sure I agree with the sanity vs. insanity shift. Insane is safety, security, etc… sane is excitement, living your dream lifestyle, etc.

For me, it’s absolutely sane (and a really good idea) for an entrepreneur to choose where to live based upon cost of living… not excitement vs. boring, or other more lifestyle based reasons. The things that brought me back to Omaha (after living in Chicago, Nashville, Kansas City) were family and the LOW cost of living. You can do so much with so little money here.

For entrepreneurs (especially if you were someone just starting out), I would not get too caught up in the excitement of “where” you are.. but look at it in terms of how much freedom you can have. The nice thing about a town like Omaha (or even smaller) is that it can really take a lot of pressure off people in our industry because it’s so much easier to cover your expenses. I do get what you’re saying (and I know this isn’t the main point you were driving at), and agree that NE can be boring if you let it be, but would just caution anybody reading from getting swept up in the “exciting” lifestyle they dream of… and measure where they want to live by the amount of freedom they’d have. I’d rather be a little bored, and have a ton of money in savings and available to expand my business, than be worrying about making it month to month to live my dream lifestyle. Hey, that’s what vacations are for.

It’s a trade off I guess, and is different for everyone. I will admit though, I was just in Maui as well… and had more than one thought about moving there… so I’m definitely not immune to desiring a more exciting lifestyle… but then I do the math… just how I’m programmed I think.