Kelly O'Neil International

One of the greatest quotes I have ever seen is by Donald Trump. He says: “I like thinking big. I always have,” says Trump. “If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”

Trump considers his ability to think in larger than life terms one of his greatest strengths and a major reason for his significant success. “Most people think small because most people are afraid of success, afraid of making decisions, afraid of winning,” he says. “And that gives people like me a great advantage.” Trump is not afraid to go after what he wants, nor is he afraid of the consequences of his decisions.

He is not the only leader who believes this. If you read any book on success or achievement, the leaders credit their ability to think big, make decisions quickly and take strategic action as the primary reason for their success.

Thinking That Big Takes Courage

The reason it is so scary to people is because it is about risking your 'identity' - your sense of who you are and who those around you think you are. Being prepared to change the received 'definition' of who you are and what you are capable of. Overcoming the fear of “what if I fall on my face”. You need courage in a very real sense to take such a leap.

And where do you get courage to carry you through?

Well, it's like everything else in life. You practice.

Successful People Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway

Eleanor Roosevelt had this to say about it: We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.(emphasis added)

And that brave lady (she's the one who also said: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent) stands in a long line which stretches all the way back to the Greek philosophers. Aristotle himself said: Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. (emphasis added)

I have personally faced this challenge. But this year, I had a good friend of mine say to me…”How much longer are you going to play small?” And when she said that, my stomach landed in my throat. Now for many of you out there who have followed my career, you might be thinking “Kelly doesn’t play small”. Well, it is all relative.

And she reminded me of the famous quote by Marianne Williamson

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