It’s simple really. One of my best friends and mentors, Jeff Henry, shared some wisdom upon the start of my entrepreneurial journey with my team.
Quick aside on Jeff: Jeff is all business. He kicks ass and takes names like its his job. He’s productive and efficient during every waking hour of his day. He doesn’t wait in lines, because he’s got things to get done. I love his approach. Below is a picture of Jeff, Brendan, and I after the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon earlier this year.
So Jeff sent our team a PDF copy of Chapter 5 from Jim Collins’ highly acclaimed book, “Good to Great.” Chapter 5 is titled the “Hedgehog Concept” which represents the three key dimensions to a successful business. Jeff challenged us to ask these questions of ourselves:
- What can you be the best in the world at?
- What drives your economic engine?
- What are you deeply passionate about?
Though Brendan, Carlisle, and I discussed each of these items on a group level, below are my individual responses:
Question #1: Well, as a 23 year old, I quickly realized that my answers to Question #1 were limited. I asked myself what am I the best in the world at…
- Finance? Not a chance. You have an undergraduate degree, 1.5 years of work experience at a bank, and a few internships under your belt. Not the best by any means.
- Entrepreneurship? Nope. You have a dream and a plan, but no formal product. Even when your product is developed, it’s not the next iPad…not yet at least. You’re not Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, Mark Cuban, Oprah, or even close to that level. You’re a little fish in a big pond dude.
- Friendship? Maybe. I try to be a good friend to all. To say I’m the best in the world might be a stretch.
Question #2 is all about generating cash flow and profitability. Did not care to answer this one at the time. I instead had the mentality “If you build it, they will come” (with “they” representing both a brand following and profits).
Question #3: The final question was the one I cared most to answer- “What am I most passionate about?” I thought to myself: I am passionate about lots of things – winning (see earlier blog post “The Clutch Factor”) fitness, learning, business, leadership, music, culture, sports, and most importantly my family, friends, and faith.
As I contemplated all three questions in unison, the vision of how to build my future become much more clear. Focus on people, Josh- those you care about, those who care about you, and all in between. I found that my true passion is people, and the only things I even have a chance to be “the best in the world at” are connecting those that I care about, trying to inspire them or bring a smile to their day, and just being myself. Digging even deeper, I recognized that memories are what keep us all connected with those we love. I knew the “memory business” was the path our team (The Indivisible Group) would take. That’s why were out to redefine the way people live their memories and connect them in a revolutionary way.
“Life’s all about the memories we live and people we share them with.” Put your life in the clouds.
Not Just Josh 