You Become What You Think About™
Find a Need and Fill It: Earl Nightingale on Seeing Opportunity
These days we hear a lot about big business and how big it's getting. There's nothing wrong with big business, and one of the most interesting things about it is that every business, no matter how big it might be today, started small. One of the largest corporations in the United States was started with about $30,000 of borrowed money, and after 10 years of operation only had $6,000 in its account. But a good thing to remember too is that every business, no matter how big or far-flung, no matter how many thousands of employees and skyscraper office buildings it might have, got its start in the mind of one human being. Committees are all right, and groups are all right when it comes to solving problems, but every good idea had to start in the mind of one human being, and usually came as a result of something he observed. You could start a business of your own this year, which in 20 or 30 years could be a big, far-flung business too. These people who tell you all the good businesses are taken, or that there aren't any opportunities anymore, are full of hot air, and I have to admit that there are quite a few of them running around. They make you want to come up with Shakespeare's classic line, he jests at scars that never felt a wound. There are six words that lie at the root of any business success: Find a need, and fill it. Now the extent of your success will be determined by your ability to fill that need, and by the need's importance. Anytime you see a business that's thriving and successful, you must realize that it is filling a need. If it weren't, it would just stop and close up shop. And the size of a business is controlled only by the number of people it serves. For example, a store that can accommodate 500 people must be larger than a business that can accommodate only 100. I know a man who made a really big business running a gas station. One day he was watching a customer, and he noticed that while the man's car was being serviced, he just had to stand around and wait. He had money to spend, and there were undoubtedly things he'd like to buy, things he needed, if he could only see them. So my friend started adding these things, and he kept right on adding them until now he's had to add a big sporting goods store alongside of the now large and modern gas station. While your car is being serviced at his station, you can buy anything from a package of chewing gum to a $200 shotgun, or a boat and trailer, outboard motor, a box of chocolates for your wife. You can also cash a check anytime you feel like it, and he extends credit on everything. On a Friday or Saturday, he'll cash forty to fifty thousand dollars worth of checks on each day, and hardly anyone leaves without buying something, or at least having his car serviced. Now, my friend's business was no different from any other gas station in the country, but he thought about his business, and one day there popped into his mind an idea. He saw a need, and he filled it. I guess he could sell out today for around a half million dollars, when you figure all the properties bought and paid for during the years, and added on to his original small business. The fact is, there's more opportunity today, far more than there ever was before. We're completely surrounded by it. There's just one catch to it: We've got to be able to see it. I'll be back in just 60 seconds. A lot of people would like to try something better, but they're security conscious and worried. You know, there's no way in the world to get to second base, unless you take your foot off first, is there? This is Earl Lantingale. Thank you. Thank you.
