Time Suck or Gravitational Slingshot?

Mel,   At my most recent 4-Man Intensive, there was a guy who reminded me a lot of me...a go-getter entrepreneur with lots of hobbies, ministries, and side projects he's passionate about.    But, unlike me, he's in a family business and he doesn't have 100% final say about what he can do in the business...or even outside it.    He explained to me that if he pursues his outside passions too much, the other principals in his business, his family members, might see it as him shirking his responsibilities...they may even label it laziness.    So I told him a story about a space slingshot.     I told him how both Voyager 1 and 2 employed something physicists call a "gravitational assist" to increase the relative speed of a spacecraft.     It's a complicated formula, but the simplified version is that the space craft, by interrupting it's path to make a pass around a large planet, can greatly increase it's relative speed, thus conserving fuel and reaching its destination faster.    So, a little detour around something with a massive gravitational pull actually speeds up your ship.    I told him to think of his side projects like that.  To keep his brain, heart, eyes, and ears open for insights and ideas that will help him grow his business.    Because, if he's passionate enough about them, if the gravitational pull is deep enough, he will find those insights and ideas everywhere. Guaranteed.  I've noticed it again and again and again in my business.  My passion for biology, electrical engineering, music, spirituality and family have always provided with me breakthrough insights that have powered my business forward like a "gravitational slingshot".   On December 7th, I'm headed to China to adopt my son.  I'll come home with a child I get to cherish for the rest of my life...And I guarantee I'll slingshot back to the US brimming with new energy, new insights, and new ideas for my business.  It just always seems to work that way.     So, today I want to say " Blessings on your passions.  May they slingshot you to the stars!"   Carpe diem,   Perry Marshall   PS: Oh,  and after I gave him my space analogy, the 4-man guy told me he's an avid astronomer and even builds telescopes in his spare time. So, I'm guessing he really got the message!      ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Update subscriber options   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Are You Creating Value...without Becoming Valuable?

Mel,   Most entrepreneurs are excellent at creating value for their customers.     You know how to craft a killer USP and then deliver the goods.    You know how to solve any marketing problem you throw at them.  You know how to drive costs down, assemble a crack team, and apply 80/20 to their business and life.  You deliver value, value, value.    But are you yourself becoming valuable? Is your company capturing  value in the process?  From what I've seen, the answer is "Very rarely".    Sharp and savvy Planet Perry member, Ed Harycki recently forwarded me this article, "Competition is for Losers", from the Wall Street Journal.    The author, Peter Thiel, nails it when he points out how companies that deliver tremendous value often do a very poor job of capturing that value, or become valuable themselves...   "For example, U.S. airline companies serve millions of passengers and create hundreds of billions of dollars of value each year. But in 2012, when the average airfare each way was $178, the airlines made only 37 cents per passenger trip. Compare them to Google, GOOGL -1.37%  which creates less value but captures far more. Google brought in $50 billion in 2012 (versus $160 billion for the airlines), but it kept 21% of those revenues as profits—more than 100 times the airline industry's profit margin that year."   Confession from the hamster wheel:  This really hits home with me.  I've spent the last 10 plus years delivering value to my customers...but not capturing much of that value.    It's my homework for 2015.  How can I capture more of the value I create?    What about you? Are you merely creating value, or are you capturing it as well?    Carpe diem, Perry Marshall             ***NOTE: Please do not reply directly to this email, instead go to http://support.perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Update subscriber options   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here