You can be the “lone wolf” but you may be missing this important component to a success.
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Like most days, I grab the mail out of the box out front and flip through it to find the “good” mail. My fingers touch a higher quality envelope addressed to me.
Catalyst John, your presence is requested to join the host and hostess at their event. Please, RSVP. I grab a pen to check off the box advising I will be attending with a guest, my plus one.
Both of these entrepreneurs invested in their success, but also in the success of each other. |
Most of us have received an invitation inviting us and our plus one since we are social creatures and want to attend events in pairs. Speaking of pairs, I noticed something interesting in the world of entrepreneurship while visiting the home of Dan Miller.
If you have not heard of Dan, he wrote an amazing book, 48 Days to the Work You Love and hosts the 48 Days podcast. My wife and I drove from Florida to Tennessee to attend his Coaching with Excellence event in January of 2013.
As I learned more about Dan’s life and how he grew his business, I noticed how significant his bond was with Dave Ramsey. Both of these entrepreneurs invested in their success, but also in the success of each other. At times, it appeared Dan was selling more of Dave’s stuff than his own and vice versa. They grew their businesses together.
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I felt like Vilfredo Pareto in 1906 when he discovered the Pareto Principle (aka the 80/20 rule). I began to look for other times this occurred and began to see the power of the concept of having a plus one.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen built Microsoft. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened their first Ben & Jerry’s.
The list goes on with William Procter and James Gamble’s (Procter and Gamble in 1837). Gordon Moore and Bob Noyce (Intel), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), Evan Williams and Biz Stone (Twitter), and many more.
Obviously, you don’t have to have a co-founder or a plus to one to be successful. You can do amazing things on your own, but your plus one creates an environment for amazing synergy, which is another thing I learned about at Dan’s house (aka the Sanctuary).
“I see many people struggling to develop an idea, a business, or just their personal growth without taking advantage of this principle. I have always been fascinated with the concept of “synergy” – that phenomenon whereby the total equals more than the sum of the parts (e.g. 1+1=3). This may not hold water with the mathematicians, but conceptually it does make sense.
We are told that one Belgian horse can pull about 8,000 lbs. So we would think logically that two Belgian horses in a yoke could pull about 16,000 lbs. But the truth is that together they can pull about 25,000 lbs and with a little training they will go to nearly 32,000 lbs. That’s twice what we could mathematically expect. But that’s the incredible power of the mastermind principle. It’s the unique combination of power that comes from working together and from the spiritual power from above that is added to the process.” – Dan Miller
You have so many options for success: doing it yourself, joining a mastermind, finding a mentor, hiring a coach, etc. Each has positives and negatives, but there is something different about the power of your plus one.
I spent over a decade in law enforcement. No matter where I was assigned, (uniform patrol, detective land, traffic unit, even training) you almost always had a “partner” that you connected with in a special way.
It is the same in most aspects of our lives.
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Right now, my friend Michael is my plus one when it comes to obstacle races. We are going to conquer BattleFrog together in December. I hate to admit it, but I would most likely find a reason to back out of my workouts and runs, but I can’t because I have committed to running this race with him.
Week by week we have been creating synergy and inspiring each other to do amazing things. |
A dear friend of mine introduced me to an entrepreneur named Tom. Tom became my plus one in business. Now Tom and I meet every week on Friday mornings to talk about our how we are going to grow our businesses. Week by week we have been creating synergy and inspiring each other to do amazing things. I can’t wait to see what we do with the second half of the year.
My favorite plus one is my wife, Allison. We met by accident in 2002 and were married in 2003. Everything is better having her in my life, and since she knows me best, she can remind me of the things that matter most in my life. Plus, we have the most amazing adventures!
Is there someone you just really connect with and share a passion for the same amazing thing? What if you both began to invest in each other and create an environment of synergy?
Are you ready to add a plus one to your success story?
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Photo: Flickr/ @Doug88888
John – way to rock! Thanks for the shout out here. And yes, you’ve identified a major principle for success. Even as solopreneurs we can’t reach success “alone.” Linking arms with others on the same path will accelerate success for all.
Great stuff John! This is so true. We were talking about this in life group last night. It’s good to have a support system, but even further having that plus one that rare person who sees something in you before others do is so valuable.
Great reminder, Catalyst John. As one who just took the entrepreneur plunge, I’m seeing the value of Plus one even more.