The Lamborghini Mentality.

Let me take you back 18 years. I sat there, thinking of what success looks like. What did success mean to me and when I "made it", what would that really look like.

At the time, I remember thinking of what success to me looked like back when I was 18 years old driving around in my 1986 4-door Chevy Sprint. Yes, quite the car and not exactly what I deemed as a success, but it was mine and I actually paid for it through my own hard work which I was proud of.

I ( like most young kids) was somewhat ambitious but I didn't really know what I was going to do with my life that would lead me to what I deemed as being a success. To me at the time, that was driving a fancy car, a Lamborghini (or Lambo) to be precise.

Wouldn't it be cool to have one? Yes... so I thought. That was the ultimate goal.

"One day I am going to be able to afford to drive a car like that.", I thought to myself.

I knew I could work hard, I knew the value of money, and I knew that people were willing to pay you money in exchange for value and your hard work.

So I understood that, but I certainly did not understand the path to get there. But that was OK.

When you aim to determine "what" this success will mean to you and how it will "feel", that is a big part of success itself. You imagine what it will feel like to be in that situation one day which could be VERY different from the truth. The reality of it is, you don't know what you would do but the feeling of that very thing, or emotion, can absolutely drive you to get there.

My goal was to achieve things that perhaps seemed UNachievable to some, but I have always looked up to "achievers" and not wanted to necessarily be like them, but focused on what it took them to achieve their level of "success". I understood that they once had "none" of their successes and that they had to go through specific trials and tribulations to get there.

It's Not About the Lambo, It's About the Feeling Inside it.

I want you to try something here. Close your eyes for 5 seconds and think of what you perceive as YOU if you were what you picture as being "rich".

[5 SECOND BREAK HERE]

What did you think of? Did you envision yourself sitting in a fancy car, pulling up to your mansion, perhaps sitting on your private jet or hanging out in your own office building? I surely don't know what rich means to you, or if you even envisioned something material.

Did you imagine yourself at Disneyland with your entire family with no care in the world about the "expense" of the trip? Did you envision yourself globe-trotting? Did you envision yourself at home and able to spend time with your family?

Whatever your thoughts were, the idea of being "rich" means a lot of different things to different people. It will mean different things to you at different stages in your life. Perhaps at one stage it means driving a Lambo...or owning your dream home. Perhaps at another stage in your life in means having time freedom with your family. Perhaps it means traveling the world and operating your business out of coffee shops. Maybe all the above.

What many people don't realize is that "feeling" when you envision yourself accomplishing amazing things is a hypothetical reality that creates a great deal of positive emotion. That can serve as a motivator, but it can also work against you and skilled marketers can take advantage of these emotions getting you to purchase something in attempt to achieve "your dream life".

Imagine this:

• The feeling of people looking at you in your expensive car
• Coming home and throwing your keys down on the kitchen counter of your multi-million dollar mansion
• Jumping on a plane and going on an African safari or Exquisite vacation with your family.
• Being able to throw incredible parties with your friends and family
• The ability to walk into your local car dealership and pay "cash" for a vehicle
• Hanging out with your kids all day, without having to worry about where the next paycheck comes from

These are the emotions that play with us. These are things that entrepreneurs want to become their realities. These are what the driving force behind our effort becomes.

But is it GOOD to think about business in this way?

I have some definite arguments and I want to use a vacation analogy first.

Think of an Amazing Vacation, The Before, During, and The After

Over the years I have experienced the "feeling" of something, and the actual reality of something being completely different. Not just in business, but with the actual events we experience in our lives. People are drawn to the idea of things that they think will make them happy, but sometimes the reality of it isn't always the extreme level of happiness that we initially believe it will be.

One example of this is vacations.

You see a picture on your social feed of someone on a beach with a margarita in their hand, the beautiful white sands, the blue oceans, the mariachi band playing in the back ground, the fresh scents of ocean and the heat of the sun beating down on your amazing soul.

Sounds freakin' awesome right? Well it is, the idea of it.

But in reality we have a natural tendency to reach for happiness through our imaginary ideas. We believe something is going to lead to more happiness than it actually does.

People tend to forget about the arguments and disagreements they have with family/others during the day, the meals they don't enjoy, sore feet from walking, getting sun burned, and even dealing with a hangover!

Those are the realities though. Those are the things that we fail to think of when we picture a beautiful vacation, on a beautiful beach somewhere.

I am not raining on your parade of traveling, what I am trying to indicate is that if you are not happy with your situation before you travel, you are not going to be happy while you travel. And if you do feel happiness, it is likely going to be at it's highest point when you actually are "thinking" of the reality, versus when it becomes the actual reality.

The same thing with owning a lambo. Picturing yourself driving around in it, that amazing feeling of happiness that it may trigger, you are the talk of the town. But in reality, there are a lot of negative things that can come with having a nice car. People thinking you are a "show off", constant gawking actually isn't as exciting after the first few weeks of it wearing off, and even attracting the wrong type of people in your life.

If you don't have happiness and fulfillment in your life before the lambo, you surely are not going to obtain it after.

But having dreams is not a bad thing. It is a CORE component to success. But I believe there is a way that you should approach it to ensure it doesn't become an ongoing effort to chase some form of temporary or imaginary happiness.

It's OK to Think Shallow With Goals, But Act Deep

So how should you approach your business and your personal goals, but obtain them in a way where you are completely fulfilled.

You choose something to build your business around that will bring you fulfillment. This is exactly why we preach "choose something that you are passionate about" as your business. It is not because we are trying to use a "cliche" to help you drive your business. It is because if you do something that you enjoy, it lead to a great deal of fulfillment and happiness.

It makes helping people within your given business a natural process. Helping people lead to trust, and all successful businesses are built off of this.

If you build a business based on this and you decide to buy a fancy watch, a big house, exquisite vacations, or a "lambo", that is completely up to you. But the critical element of it not being a "material" thing that offers only temporary satisfaction, but the fulfillment that you have had to achieve this success. That is happiness.

There you go. Now go out and build yourself a business that affords you a lambo (and a lifetime of fulfillment and happiness)!

I would love to hear your feedback on this, what drives you, what your "Lambo" is so to speak (what you are working towards). :)