What's the Big Idea?
April 27, 2009
That's not a rhetorical question... What IS the big idea? Certainly, you have one. Right? A big idea, I mean... not a big nose, or a big dog, or a big house? No matter how big your nose is, it's a small part of your life. No matter how big your dog is, someone, somewhere, has a bigger one. And, no matter how big your house is - the only person who cares, is you.
So, are you thinking small or are you prepared to start thinking BIG.
Michael Port wants you to stop those small thoughts from commanding so much of your time. Small may be the new big for some people, but for Michael and the people who are on board with his Think Big Manifesto, BIG is the new BIG. Think big, accomplish big things, leave the small world of yesterday behind and join the big world of today. Be here, in the now... where BIG is beckoning, to those ready to take the challenge.
Here's where I'm going with this...
I've been doing a LOT of reading lately, in preparation for some REALLY BIG things planned for Lip-sticking (stay tuned) so when I got the opportunity to read Michael Port's new book, The Think Big Manifesto, I was eager to dig into it. I put aside two other books I was reading, which you will hear about in due time, and I gave Michael's book the attention it deserved.
Here's why: Michael Port doesn't think small. He doesn't think "can't." He doesn't think "someday." On the inside page before the table of contents, here's what it says:
- We are more than we know.
- We can do more with less than we think.
- We (and that means you, too) will think bigger about who we are and what we offer.
- But this big thinking must happen now; today, tomorrow, and forevermore.
Oh I know, it's been said before. Shoot for the moon; if you're going to think, why not think big? This is not about that. This is about creating something that is so big, has so much expectation, is so full of possibilities, it cannot be ignored. Something that is truly life-changing.
It doesn't matter if you're male or female, and that's the beauty of how Michael writes - he writes to the reader, no matter what gender, race, ethnicity, political or sexual persuasion. He's writing ABOUT people - all people - and the misconceptions we have about thinking big. He isn't writing to achieve fame or fortune. To me, his truths and ideas endow the reader with permission to THINK BIG! (because, face it - you've been taught not to think big; you've worried that you're getting ahead of yourself; you are even afraid that if you think BIG something big will happen and you won't be able to handle it!). Michael wants you to stop doing that! So do I.
"Our values and actions are contagious." A Michael Port quote. Nothing is more true. So, get out and spread the word... the revolution has begun!
I'm off to tweet about this book, to grab snippets and share them with my tweeple. I would recommend that you buy this book and visit Michael's website and begin your Think Big participation in this manifesto, now. It's not about me, or you, or Michael. It's about thinking big. It's about the we that can make things happen. Big things.
As he says on page 67, "There's NO right FIRST STEP and no last step. To begin to think big is ORGANIC. Once you start it will grow like the seashell, your thoughts EXPANDING ever upward and outward." Michael challenges you to be revolutionary. I challenge you to be bigger than you are.
Starting...now...
Great post Yvonne! It's so true..we can do more with less than we think!
Marita
Posted by: Marita Greenidge | April 29, 2009 at 02:53 PM
Great post. It's about setting goals much bigger than we've ever imagined, and reaching out achieving them.
Posted by: Sharon Wilson | April 28, 2009 at 08:57 PM
Thanks for the review of this book, Yvonne. Definitely one I'll pick up!
I've shared your book recommendation and blog with the "Getting Ahead" Forum readers of HerRochester.
As Les Brown Says, "Shoot for the moon. If you miss, you'll land among the stars."
Posted by: Carol White Llewellyn | April 28, 2009 at 07:13 AM