This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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I received some feedback from Daniel, of Graphic Define, regarding the idea of thinking big. If you remember, in my smallbusinessbranding manifesto, I suggest:
"Forget "Next Big Thing." Think Just This Thing. Trying
to be/create the next big thing is a distraction. Just do the thing in
front of you. Respond to your network’s needs. That’s big enough.
Expand your skill sets. Relentlessly. If you do that, one day you may
look up and realize you’ve actually created the next big thing."
To which Daniel responds:
"I think perhaps you must also realize that if no one ever Thought Big
then many of our most amazing technological, social, political, etc… may
never have come to fruition."
I hear you Daniel, and as I said in my email, I disagree. Although I can’t offer proof at this moment, I believe the major achievements in history were less about people "thinking big" and more about people having a general direction, keeping their heads down and making steady progress toward something about which they were passionate.
Further, IMO, the whole "thing big" thing is more romance, pipe dream and/or sales pitch than anything else. Obvisously there are exceptions, but they are just that. Exceptions rather than the rule.
What does everyone else think?
p.s. thanks to Daniel for the conversation.