If you didn't know what it was, you would swear it was a cheap strip joint based on the way it looks from the outside: a small, brick building with no fancy signs, no windows, and weeds growing through the cracks in the pavement. There isn't a ramp to the parking lot...you have to jump a small curb - and the parking lot isn't paved. It's filled with gravel and cars park any which way they can. The entrance is a heavy, red metal door with a paved ramp and thin metal railing leading up to it.
And it doesn't get any fancier inside...
There isn't a matching table or chair to be found. It looks like a yard sale special. Beer is served out of the bottle and the bathroom doesn't have doors...just old curtains hanging over the entry.
But any time I've ever gone, the place is PACKED with standing room only.
On the Saturday after the 4th, we were able to grad the last seats in the house to listen to "The Steel Drivers," an awesome bluegrass jam that is well-known in the biz. As I sat there and listened to them, I couldn't help but count the heads in the room. Best guess is that there were over 200.
This got me thinking...
How interesting it is that a band can easily get 200 people to pay to be entertained for a few hours and simply provide a nice memory, yet I can hold a seminar to teach people how to make a lot more money and dramatically improve the quality of their life - give it away for free - and still struggle to get people to come.
Now I don't have any grand illusions about who I am. I know that I'm not a rock star...a MARKETING rock star yes, but I'm no Van Halen...so I don't take this personally. It's just the way it is. BUT, it underlines why so many people struggle to get ahead in life or in their business.
Compared to the vast majority, I'm rich. My business is thriving and I'm successful in all areas of my life. I'm married to the love of my life, I'm very fit, and I live in a beautiful paid for house. I drive expensive cars and fly first class. I don't say this to brag. Heaven knows there are far smarter, richer, and more successful people than myself.
But it does demonstrate that anyone can be a success IF they are willing to do what it takes. So many people complain that they don't have the time to attend seminars, read books, or work on marketing. They don't have time to set goals or measure their success. Yet, they waste hours surfing the net, wading through unimportant emails, working on low-level tasks, or jawing at the water cooler.
I wasn't born rich and I have a GED instead of a high-school diploma. I was working while my friends were on spring break. When I first tried selling, I sucked. Any gain I've made in my life has been a crawl to competence, much less excellence. But the one thing I am willing to do is stay the course and study, study, and study. I've had to invest countless hours and money I didn't have into seminars, coaching, books, and tapes to improve myself.
Zig Ziglar once said that rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs. Very true. Success is a choice, but most choose what is easy rather than what is necessary.
The individual who makes an earnest effort to master critical business and marketing skills will automatically make more. Everyone else will stand on the sideline watching and whining about how they can't seem to get ahead.
