Hey everyone! Patience and Speed are 2 of my favorite things in the world - patience allows you to make moves that will pay off BIG TIME in the long-term and speed allows you to be efficient and make quick moves that pay off in the short-term, but that create the essential building blocks for those long-term patience plays. As an entrepreneur, patience and speed are 2 qualities that are not optional - you absolutely must be able to focus on the long-term and not sweat the small stuff while also being able to work quickly and get things done.
Current Book & Quotes From: Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Patience:
In case you don't know Gary's story, he took over his family's wine business and built it into a "$60 million wine empire." Gary is an incredible businessman, but he stresses the importance of keeping your head down and staying humble and patient.
"When a normal twenty-six-year-old dude builds a $60 million business, he leverages it for twenty-year-old dude things. Yet, I lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Springfield, New Jersey. I drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I had no watches, no suits, and no flash. I could have paid myself hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, but the most I took was $60k. I kept my head down like an ox with a plow, putting almost every dime I earned back into the business and focusing all my energy on building a personal brand around unparalleled customer service, both in the store and online."
Let's face it, most people who start making a lot of money go out and start spending it almost as fast as they get it--actually there are a lot of people who also spend it even faster than they make it and put themselves in debt for doing so. In a world that's filled with opportunities for sponsored events, digital advertising, traditional media, content creation, etc. how could you afford the opportunity cost of not putting the vast majority of your earnings back into your business/investments?
To me, it almost makes my head explode when I see my friends and family spending money as fast or faster than they make it. I can't believe that people can just throw away countless dollars on things that they don't need when they could invest that money back into their business or investments and earn a better income or actually even retire in a few years if they keep at it. It's truly baffling, and these next 2 quotes really speak to this issue:
"You have no reason to start acting like something special until you actually have something special to show for it."
"Be patient. Be methodical. Pay off your debts."
Speed:
"I love a good contradiction, but this isn't one. Patience is for the long term; speed is for the short term. The pressure that builds between the two produces the diamond."
This is kind of a hard concept for most people to wrap their heads around - to work in a manner of speed: where you try to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible - and to also work in a manner of patience: to be able to do things that will pay off in the long-term and to be able to endure the slow grind that you have to put in day after day.
I think Gary is the king of these qualities. If you watch what he does in DailyVee, he's in a constant state of motion - not unlike a shark who's constantly swimming as fast as possible towards the blood in the water. BUT, he is also like a turtle who knows that slow and steady wins the race. Some of the meetings and projects that Gary takes on have no clear benefit for him in the near-term but are for his legacy and long-term vision.
Many objections to Gary's talks of being speedy and making decisions quickly are that people are afraid of making mistakes. I really resonate with Gary's response to that:
"Not worrying about what people think frees you to do things, and doing things allows you to win or learn from your loss - which means you win either way. hear me now: you are better off being wrong ten times and being right three than you are if you try only three times and always get it right."
Thanks for reading! Here's an update on the Brunner Project for those who are curious: I just received the final numbers from the contractors as well as the cabinet company and am putting it all together for the financial update on the project. I apologize for taking so long with this, it has been a grueling process to get this all organized and I appreciate your patience! I really look forward to sharing this and hearing your thoughts! Stay tuned!
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
Do you move with speed and patience? Are you able to focus on the long-term while also grinding out your short-term projects as quickly as possible?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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