Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Virgin Enterprises were all started by previously successful entrepreneurs… not quite. What in our psyche makes us believe that in order to be successful… we have to has been successful? Isn’t it funny when people say “have you ever run a successful business before?” Isn’t it great that Sergei/Larry, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Richard Branson never paid attention to that choking question?
What would have happened if Christopher Columbus had been asked the same question? Hi Chris, “Have you ever sailed before and found new land masses?” Or the same question that was asked of Benjamin Franklin: “Hey, Ben… have you ever discovered electricity?” If not, you’d better not try it now, most likely you won’t be successful.
This ridiculous question is usually asked by people who have not been successful or are afraid that someone else will. Let me tell you about a personal experience regarding a man who did not believe in fear and led a quite happy and successful life.
In the town where I grew up, Harvey, Illinois, my father had a friend named Victor Petrucek. He was a friendly blue-collar worker who had a habit of watching his children and friends play. Vic watched the children use his imagination, creating new and interesting toys to play with out of boxes or whatever was around them.
Victor was smart enough to realize that if his children played with these creations, so would other children. This average blue collar worker with very little education but a very creative imagination put together ideas like the Jingle-Jump, which is still in production today, and a telescoping dart shooter used in the original Batman series.
So whether we have an idea for the next Facebook or possibly the next great kid’s toy, our most important thought should be to bring our idea to life… not whether we’ve done it before.
larry braccio
