Rich Branson has 55,000 people working for him every day. Mark Zuckerberg has 12,600 people working for him every day. Steve Jobs had about 95,000 employees working for him every day at the time of his death. These self-made millionaires discovered one of the key variables to success: leveraging 24 hours in each day. Successful people are not limited to 24 hours like the rest of us. Branson, Zuckerberg and Jobs were able to succeed by creating teams devoted to their goals and dreams. By leveraging human capital they are able to magically transform 24 hours in a day into millions of hours in a day
With respect to time, we are all on equal footing. We all have just 24 hours in a day. Successful people, however, figure out how to leverage time by getting others to help them pull their cart in order to move them forward in achieving their goals and realizing their dreams. Ten people working together for one purpose equals 240 hours each day, one hundred equals 2,400 hours each day and so on.
But it’s not just time self-made millionaires leverage. They also leverage their limited knowledge and skills through their teams and their relationships. They understand that they cannot possibly know everything or be good at everything, so successful people leverage the knowledge and skills of their teams and their network of relationships. They tap into the collective knowledge and skills of everyone in their inner circle to help them with their goals and dreams. Leveraging what you have means being aware of all of the assets, knowledge, skills, time and relationships at your fingertips in order to get what you want and need so that you can achieve all of your goals and realize all of your dreams.
“But I am only one person. I have no employees. It’s just me.”
All is not lost. There are still ways to take advantage of leverage. Here’s a few ideas that I picked up from my five year study on the daily habits of the rich:
Volunteer
Seventy-two percent of the rich in my study volunteered five hours or more per month. Why is this important? Volunteering helps you build valuable relationships. It allows you to showcase your skill-sets in a safe environment. It also introduces you to the knowledge and skills of others who might be able to help you with their knowledge and skills. Plus, the people you meet volunteering bring with them their own relationships and those relationships could help you with your goals and dreams.
Mastermind Groups
Some of the self-made millionaires in my study were part of a mastermind group. These groups were exclusive groups, typically comprised of no more than six individuals who met regularly (weekly, monthly or quarterly). The mastermind groups that were the most successful were the ones in which everyone in the group was pursuing virtually identical goals and dreams. For example, if the self-made millionaire was an automobile dealer, their mastermind group was comprised of other automobile dealers who sold the same product, albeit in a different regional market (i.e. Hyundai car dealers). At these mastermind group meetings, the participants share ideas on what works, what doesn’t work – their successes, failures and mistakes. They also use these meetings to brainstorm new ideas, new processes or better ways of doing things.
Anyone, even sole proprietors, can organize or find a mastermind group. Meetup.com is a social networking portal that facilitates group meetings of individuals who are pursuing something in common. Trade organizations often have numerous meetings every year and some have specialized sub-groups who meet frequently. For example, the New Jersey Society of CPA’s has various committees that members can join. Facebook has groups you can join that are specific to your interests. Mastermind group meetings do not require that you physically meet with each other. Freeconferencecall.com, Skype, Google Talk and many other tools make it possible for individuals in different countries and different time zones to easily get together.
Business Incubators
Business incubators are often sponsored by private companies or municipal entities and public institutions, such as colleges and universities. Their goal is to help create and grow young businesses by providing them with necessary support and financial and technical services. There are approximately 900 business incubators nationwide, according to the National Business Incubation Association. Incubators share rental space, supplies, equipment and the much-needed expertise of on-site staff. Many incubators specialize in particular niches.
Business Organizations
Many local communities have business organizations you can join. These organizations are made up of local business people with different skillsets that you can leverage to help you in pursuing your goals and dreams. It’s not enough, though, to just join a local business group. You must become an engaged member through committee participation or board membership. This ensures you will build close relationships with other committee or board members. The stronger the relationships, the more available fellow members will be to lend a hand.
About Thomas C. Corley
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