I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to speak with and work with a number of wealthy individuals over the years. It’s one part of my job that I absolutely love because it is like having an annual unlimited pass to a learning exhibit that is constantly evolving and updating in real time. I love asking questions, observing and listening to each individual share their experiences and learning opportunities. It is rewarding to hear about some of their greatest successes and also some of their greatest failures and setbacks that they personally experienced.
One interesting experience that many wealthy individuals will share with me are what they would describe as pivot points, catalysts, or life changing moments when all of a sudden things just kicked in and they jumped from one level to the next (or multiple levels within a very short time period). I call these instances “personal big bangs” where a person experiences massive personal expansion within a short amount of time.
These are exciting and mind blowing experiences because it is when the results are astonishing not just in real terms but relative to inputs versus outputs. As most of us progress through life, we are well aware of the times that could be described as normal (i.e. “the grind”). During the grind we put in a lot of energy (inputs) and get a related amount of results (output). Things appear linear and correlated. But during personal big bangs, things are not linear or correlated. Things explode like dynamite. It’s all kinds of energy that is coming out of a compressed series of events.
Personal big bangs are usually observable from outsiders as well because they are that dramatic. Perhaps that could be what defines a personal big bang, when others watch in awe as to the changes that are rapidly taking place in the life of somebody else. Personal big bangs is when all of the magic happens from doing a lot of small things over longer periods of time that finally set off an explosive and life altering chain of events.
I’ll give you a few examples of a few personal big bang events;
- An athlete practices and plays for years. Then all of a sudden they meet a particular coach, win a particular event, catch the eye of a certain media outlet, and KA-POW it sets off a chain of events that moves the athlete up into the stratosphere. They go from a commodity to a superstar in a short amount of time.
- It could be a software programmer (think Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg) who lock themselves up in tiny rooms and code and code and code. They are experimenting, talking with folks, testing their products on the market and within a short amount of time (months to just a few years), magic happens and things just personally explode for them.
- You have probably had a few “minor big bangs” in your life where within a few weeks of meeting somebody, starting a new job, taking a course, watching a competitor, being discovered by somebody else, a chain of events is started and within a short amount of time you jump up multiples layers in your life. The growth wasn’t linear, it was exponential.
What is important to know is that personal big bangs are possibilities within all of our lives. What we are trying to do is increase the probabilities of them happening at a higher rate of frequency and with more energy.
So how do we influence the start of potential personal big bangs?
Here are a few ideas to consider;
- Go on a reading frenzywith an open mind. I’ve done this on a few occasions and I can never recall being disappointed. I generally enjoy reading (it’s worked wonders in my own life) but I’ll sometimes do some compressed reading blitzes. An example may be like trying to read 10 books in less than 10 weeks (and we aren’t talking about Dr. Seuss books either). I’m talking about books that can change the way we think about the world, our lives, our profession, our methodologies and behaviors.
- Go on a meeting/networking frenzy. This one is a bit tougher for introverts (count me in that camp). It’s not uncommon for our lives to change because someone or some group of people came into our lives and said, “Hmmm, that person is special or has something to offer others.” Then ideas start bouncing around, different people are using some of our concepts, people start buzzing about new applications, and KA-BOOM, a personal big bang results. It’s hard to have a personal big bang without other people being involved in some way.
- Change something significant in your life or environment. Sometimes we all get caught up in a grind that isn’t allowing sunshine to hit the sweet spot of our garden that needs it the most. It could be taking a new job at a competitor, doing a joint venture with somebody else, using methodologies unrelated to our field of study, taking a number of learning courses, or anything that just makes us look at things from a completely new perspective or with different resources.
If you’ve ever experienced a personal big bang, you know how life changing it could be. Knowledge compounds, earnings compound, exposure compounds, and new opportunities are created. Your entire future just opens up into endless possibilities that never existed prior to the personal big bang.
But big bangs take a recipe to happen. They do take a lot of work and ingredients to set up something that at least has the potential to be personal explosive. They also require a fuse of sorts. It’s hard to create such an experience when sitting on the couch watching TV or denying that one ingredient the opportunity to enter our life that will be the catalyst that sets off the entire chain of events. Put yourself in a position to experience these episodes and you will not regret it.
Usually your wallet and net worth statement won’t regret it either.