Start Something That Matters

by Blake Mycoskie

SUCCESS To laugh often and love much To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children To earn the appreciation of honest critics endure the betrayal of false friends To appreciate beauty To find the best in others To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. [Often attributed to Elisabeth-Anne Anderson Stanley]

An idea hit me: Why not create a for-profit business to help provide shoes for these children? Why not come up with a solution that guaranteed a constant flow of shoes, rather than being dependent on kind people making donations? In other words, maybe the solution was in entrepreneurship, not charity.

Something about the idea felt so right, even though I had no experience, or even connections, in the shoe business.

I asked Alejo if he would join the mission, because I trusted him implicitly and, of course, I would need a translator. Alejo jumped at the opportunity to help his people, and suddenly we were a team: Alejo, the polo teacher, and me, the shoe entrepreneur who didn’t know shoes and didn’t speak Spanish.

No matter how furiously we argued, and we did argue, each evening would end with an agreement to disagree, and each morning we’d resume our work.

No matter how convenient it is for us to reach out to people remotely, sometimes the most important task is to show up in person.

I didn’t have to compartmentalize any of my life’s ambitions: personal, professional, or philanthropic. They all converged in a single mission.

People are hungry for success—that’s nothing new. What’s changed is the definition of that success. Increasingly, the quest for success is not the same as the quest for status and money. The definition has broadened to include contributing something to the world and living and working on one’s own terms.

that combining a for-profit company with a social mission would complicate and undermine both.

six elements offer lessons that will challenge you to look at your business and your life from a different perspective: They teach that having a story may be the most important part of your new venture; that fear can be useful; that having vast resources is not as critical as you might think; that simplicity is a core goal in successful enterprises; that trust is the most important quality you bring to your company; and, finally, that giving may be the best investment you’ll ever make.

that you can earn money, achieve personal fulfillment, and make a positive impact on the world all at the same time.

Eric then found a nearby business that made cleaning products for other companies and an expert in the field who was willing to work with two inexperienced guys who wanted to create an environmentally friendly alternative.

But because the two had a compelling story to tell about who they were, why they wanted to create this product line, and how environmentally safe it was, they were eventually able to attract attention

felt connected to a story that moved them and a movement that became part of their story.

According to renowned storyteller and author Kendall Haven (author of Super Simple Storytelling), “Human minds rely on stories and story architecture as the primary road map for understanding, making sense of, remembering, and planning our lives—as well as the countless experiences and narratives we encounter along the way.”

When you have a memorable story about who you are and what your mission is, your success no longer depends on how experienced you are or how many degrees you have or who you know. A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices.

A story evokes emotion, and emotion forges a connection.

“Facts are neutral until human beings add their own meaning to those facts. People make their decisions based on what the facts mean to them, not on the facts themselves. The meaning they add to facts depends on their current story … facts are not terribly useful to influencing others. People don’t need new facts—they need a new story.”

A barrage of facts is simply not as powerful as a simple, well-told story—

Facts are important, but the story matters. Poorly presented facts can even get in the way of the story’s impact.

Conscious capitalism is about more than simply making money—although it’s about that too. It’s about creating a successful business that also connects supporters to something that matters to them and that has great impact in the world.

The lesson: The power of your story isn’t just a way to connect to your ultimate consumer but is also a means of making you attractive to potential partners who want to attach themselves to something deeper than buying and selling.

Everyone belongs to some community, whether it’s based on your background, your home state, your college, or your favorite sports team. By identifying all the possible communities to which you belong, you may well find an affinity group—and a story—that helps get your business off the ground, secures your dream job, or lets you achieve whatever goal you are pursuing.

first find a

way to articulate your passion to yourself.

If you did not have to worry about money, what would you do with your time?

What kind of work would you want to do?

What cause would y...

The more strongly you feel about what you do, the more likely you are to push yourself to be good at it and find a way to make a success of it.

commit to telling that story at every opportunity. It’s not an incidental part of your business; it has to be a major area of focus—otherwise, you won’t spend the time you need to promote and share it.

People outside an organization can sense the difference between a story that is authentic and a story that was fabricated just to make money—

Make sure to get your story in front of people who are in a position to tell it to others.

You can’t be all things to all people and still maintain your credibility and integrity.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. —MARK TWAIN

“I knew what I was doing could change the lives of many people, and the desire to make that difference was stronger than all the fears that I kept having to face,” she says.

Everyone who succeeds battles through adversity.

The thing that distinguishes the ultimate successes from the ultimate failures is this: What do you do with them?

Fear is one of our most powerful emotions, and the more we focus on it, the more it grows and distorts our behavior.

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WIN, LOSE, OR DRAW, NEVER FORGET THAT LIFE GOES ON

DON’T FEAR THE UNKNOWN

“People fear the unknown, but the truth is, everything is unknown by definition—no one really knows what they are getting themselves into.

If you spend all your time learning and studying to be ready, you’ll never stop learning and studying. And you’ll never start your venture.”

EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES

Analysis Paralysis. They become so fixated on the idea that every decision matters so much that they obsess over each one and ultimately do nothing.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK

DON’T FALL VICTIM TO THE BEST IDEA FREEZE

I’d take a decent idea and superb execution over a great idea with sub-par execution any day of the week.”

When you go back to your core motivations, you affirm the authenticity of your project, which takes away one of the biggest fears: that you are a fraud.

Having a group of enthusiastic people around you,

who can challenge your ideas and make you feel young and confident, no matter how old and scared you are.