Before Howie Zales became an Emmy Award winner, ESPN refused to work with him.
Howie is a private coaching client of mine, and he told me a funny story about how he got started as a camera operator at pro sporting events and the olympics.
There’s a great lesson about success in his story that I’d like to share with you.
In his first year as a freelance cameraman, Howie thought he would have “made it” if he worked at ESPN. For him, working there was the pinnacle of success and that was going to be his ticket to the top.
So he worked day and night to build up his resume and reputation just so he could work at ESPN. And when he finally got to speak to Donna, the head honcho at ESPN, he laid it all out there.
He told her about everything he had done up to that point.
Then Donna asked, “How long have you been doing this?”
He said, “A year.”
And then she replied, “Call me back in 5 years.”
This type of reply over the phone is soul-crushing for most folks with a dream. And normally, at this point, most people would have thrown in the towel and moved on to a new career.
Yet Howie didn’t.
He did something different.
Howie marked his calendar 5 years later to the day to call Donna so he could work at ESPN.
After 5 years passed, Howie called Donna and got the job.
There’s a great lesson in here.
I want you to pay attention to this: success is not found in one year, it may be found in 5, 10, 15, or 20+ years.
Most people who go into business overestimate what they could achieve in one year and they underestimate how much they can accomplish in 5 years.
Success takes time, effort, and dedication.
Dues must be paid!
It was the same for me when I started Fit Body Boot Camp back in 2010.
I figured I had stumbled upon a goldmine of an idea when I figured out how to take the outdoor fitness bootcamp and bring it indoors and make it massively profitable.
After two years of grinding people still didn’t think that indoor fitness bootcamps would work. It wasn’t until six years in that Fit Body Boot Camp hit the Inc 5000 list 4 years in a row and Entrepreneur Magazine’s fastest growing franchise list two years in a two.
Building your entrepreneurial muscles takes time.
Building your marketing prowess takes time.
Building your leadership abilities takes time.
If you aren’t willing to do the work and put in the time then you ain’t going to make it to the top.
Talk soon,
Bedros Keuilian
PS. The Modern Day Knight Project for next month is sold out. However we are running ONE MORE Project class this year. If you’re a man and want to reach your fullest potential in business and in life then click here