Get Real About Your Bottom Line
Who is more successful? Bill and Melinda Gates or this father and son:
Over the past thirty years, Dick Hoyt and his son Rick have completed hundreds of races, including more than sixty-five marathons, more than two hundred triathlons, and six Ironman races. This is an amazing feat for anyone, but when you take in to account the fact that Rick was born a non-speaking spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, it’s downright miraculous.
Dick had to overcome obstacles too. He didn’t have much experience running when they started racing together, and he had to learn to swim in order to run the triathlons. Training five hours a day on top of his work schedule, Dick was determined to succeed. It wasn’t about winning races, it was about living.
What’s Your Success Bottom Line?
Entrepreneurs talk about the bottom line all the time, and it’s almost always in reference to net cash. Success = money, “take home” money. Spending money. Right? Wrong.
For Dick the bottom line is the joy he and Rick feel when racing together. You see after their first five-mile race, a charity event for one of Rick’s schoolmates, Rick told his Dad (through a communication assistance device) he didn’t feel handicapped when they were competing. That was it. That was Dick’s bottom line from that moment forward.
Success At the Starting Line or Finish Line?
Are you focused on the end goal, or the process? Do you feel successful in your pursuit of a goal, or do you wait until you’ve crossed the finish line before you consider yourself a success? What if you don’t “win?” Are you a success or a failure?
The Hoyt’s never win. In their early days of competing Dick and Rick often came in dead last or almost dead last. But Dick’s bottom line was how Rick felt during the experience of competing, so in just showing up for the race they had already succeeded.
Today, the Hoyts still run races. In fact, they ran the Boston Marathon on June 24th, Dick pushing Rick in his wheelchair the whole way.
How do you measure success? What’s your REAL bottom line?
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Tags: Bottom Line, Profit, Revenue, toilet paper entrepreneur
September 30th, 2008
Wow this touched the inner core of me. I had heard about Dick and Rick sometime ago but had no idea they had amassed so many successes in their endeavours. For two abled individuals it would still have been mind-blowing but given Rick’s challenges it is as you said miraculous. I am as touched now as I was then. Their success being the joy they feel when running together, the unadulterated feeling of happiness and pride father and son must feel from knowing that whilst running Rick doesn’t feel handicapped is truly the bottom line. It is when we have that double bottom line, interest in wealth but also a deep and far reaching desire to help others, to make others successful, that success truly comes. Mike, thanks for the well written and poignant reminder. Tugged at my heart strings…
September 30th, 2008
My success is never measured by my bottom line. Profitability? Yes? Success and/or happiness, no. I do not want to reiterate everything I said in my 1 Box of Happiness post. I invite you to read over it. My last paragraph summarizes and ties in to this post:
Money is a tool and focus on what you actually want in life. It’s not the money we want in life, but the things money can buy. Money can not buy you happiness. You can not go to the store and purchase a box of happiness. However money can buy things that bring you happiness and joy. So when someone repeats that worn out old phrase, “Money can’t buy you happiness.” Smile. Nod. And reply, “But it can buy the things that make me happy.”
September 30th, 2008
WOW! that is truly an amazing story! I love hearing about people overcoming all obstacles, no matter what. It truly gives me motivation to persevere NO MATTER WHAT!
Thanks for sharing this great story!
Sarah
October 1st, 2008
After reading your blog, thought you would be interested in this…
CNBC will be airing “The Entrepreneurs” on Wednesday October 1st at 10p ET featuring the founders of Feed Granola Jason Osborn and Jason Wright. They will be discussing the methods which led to their estimated three million dollar a year business. Additional web extras can be found at http://theentrepreneurs.cnbc.com