Need Inspiration and Motivation?

Here are a few "rags to riches" stories that we feel you will be able to relate to.

These powerful companies were all started by a couple of people with a dream... and not much more.

Most grew where they were planted, in over-worked, over-plowed fields that seemed an unlikely place for a Stage-1 Startup to bloom into Stage-4 Greatness.

In virtually every case, they entered a field dominated by huge, global competitors — any of which could have squashed them like a bug. So, how did they survive long enough to gain the traction needed to turn their dreams into bodacious success... to turn their sweat and smarts into world class gold mines?

You already know the answer!

As you learned way up in Book 1, the key to WINNING the game of business is remarkably simple:

• First, you must know the RULES of the game...
• Second, you must PLAN to WIN...
• Third, you must PLAY to WIN.

Business is not for the uncommitted, halfhearted or wanna-be's. It is a full-contact sport that will leave you exhausted... humbled... hurting... and in a constant state of turmoil. The winners give up a LOT of themselves to play the game.

So, it has to be worthwhile. Something beyond a replacement for a paycheck or a place to go because you have no better alternatives.

Done right, it can be nothing short of world-changing (Apple) and a hoot and a half, fun to run expression of your inner-self (Cirque du Soleil)... if not your inner-child!

The following stories are presented here as thumb nail sketches of each company's success to make a single point. Rather than go into the technical details of how they accomplished every step, our intent is to inspire you by showing you how others, just like you, started from humble beginnings — with possibly even less than what you have right now — and built a gold mine way beyond their greatest imagination.

We believe you can too.

As you go through each story, please take a moment to put yourself in the founder's shoes... try to feel what they felt when they decided to build a business — rather than just enhance their personal income and make a buck or two.

Empathize with their early experiences... the hoops they had to jump through just to get their idea out there... the money they had to raise from backers who had never even heard of someone making money from "something like that." The endless flood of rejection they must have felt as they begged, borrowed and grabbed the resources they needed to move up the food chain from Stage — 1 Startup... to Subsistence to Stability... to Sustainability.

Imagine how they must have felt when they reached full-blown Stage-2 Profitability. Imagine being in the room with their small band of followers when they decided to attempt Stage-3 Growth. Can you even begin to imagine how they got that far so fast. By most accounts, they too were surprised by their successes.

Finally, knowing they had a nice little business on the cusp of greatness, put yourself in the decision making process where they ALL had to risk everything. In a couple of cases, like Steve Jobs, they had to resurrect their careers from the dead to work for nothing... just to SAVE their babies.

No questions, WINNERS win because they can see through the risks to the rewards beyond.

Clearly they all expanded their VISION as they grew. They are all BIG thinkers.

Most had little formal education.

Virtually all were short on BUCKS — but long on DREAMS.

Take a moment at the end of each story to collect your thoughts. Think about the MyBizIQ perspective on their successes. Journal your thoughts.

Think about the big points and how they relate to your business.

If you have not yet purchased the MyBizIQ Quick Start System, get with the program! Further information is included following the last story.

We'll be watching for your success story next!