Go Big or Go Home
An interesting phrase that sprang to my mind while I attended the Science Achievers Celebration event at the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry on June 7th. The MSI Science Achievers youth development program provides high school students with the opportunity to complete rigorous science projects on a variety of topics, meet with working science professionals, and prepare for college and careers. I became involved with this program when I made a commitment to donate 5% of my annual business revenue to the MSI Center for the Advancement of Science Education. Okay, so why did I do that, you might be thinking.
Well, in a way I did it because of a combination of altruistic and self-focused reasons. When I began my own coaching practice in 2011 I needed a compelling reason to push myself out of my comfort zone in terms of sales and marketing. I have no background in those disciplines and to be quite honest, I didn’t like the whole idea of “selling”, but how could I run a successful business if I didn’t even sell anything? In my corporate life, I was always a buyer of goods and services and it felt very odd becoming a seller. So, I needed a reason bigger than me to force me to get over myself and to get out there, meeting people and marketing my offer, and I found my reason in the Museum program.
The person who managed individual donations at MSI gave me a private tour in 2011 and let me sit in on a science class for young middle school kids. The kids seemed so excited to be at the Museum, learning science and I was impressed by their energy for learning. I discovered that for many schools it’s impossible for them to raise the $100 required to get the kids to the Museum by bus and therefore that’s one of the things the Museum can pay for via the donations it receives. I thought of all the opportunities my own kids have had through their school and it reminded me of the level of privilege we often take for granted. So, making the commitment to share my revenue with the Museum gave me the impetus to get out of my comfort zone by doing something that would impact more than just me. Instead of thinking about myself during my sales and marketing work I would think of how my earning money would help more kids be able to participate in science activities, and the more I earned the more I could give.
Fast forward from 2011 to June 2018 and the Science
Science Achievers CelebrationAchievers Celebration. These young students impressed me greatly with their determination and enthusiasm to move beyond their current circumstances and to move toward their vision of a better life. Participating in the program takes real effort but the kids see the pay off in terms of support in college applications, public speaking expertise, networking (they have to network with business people/community to complete some of the projects) and teamwork skills. They struck me as being a group of young people who aim to “go big or go home”.
The urban dictionary defines “go big or go home” as doing whatever needs to be done to be successful. In other words, do things to the fullest or not at all. Play to win or don’t get in the game.
These kids demonstrated they are playing to win, some of them against very long odds. My “go big or go home” mentality has to apply to my sales and marketing efforts. I don’t always succeed but I know I have to “go big” or be irrelevant with my business.
What is your “go big or go home” challenge? Are you brave enough to go all-in or will you take the low-risk route and never stretch your boundaries?
I hope you’re going to “go big” (and here’s my marketing plug) – if you want to go big, get in touch with me, I know I can help you significantly with delivering your goal.