Resources vs Resourcefulness
Lack of time, lack of money, lack of staff, these are all excuses we’ve heard before, but lack of resources is almost never the answer..
The most common excuse we hear when it comes to not achieving a goal, is something relating to a lack of resources. Not enough staff, not enough money, not enough material, not enough time (though you can get more of it), etc. But when we look to the most successful people on this planet- the people that truly started from nothing and worked their way to the top (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates), almost always we find that their success derived from spectacular use of the resources they did have available to them. Meaning- instead of focusing on how limited their resources were, they focused on how they could become resourceful. Being resourceful is one of many habits of the successful.
How do you know if you’re resourceful?
By definition, “fullness” (as in resource-ful) means to be filled to capacity- to use all that is available to its fullest. Are you using all resources to their fullest capacity? I can tell you this- by the fact that you have an internet connection and are able to read this article, you have one of the most powerful resources on the planet, technologically speaking. But are you using the internet to its full extent? Probably not, but that’s not the only resource you have, thought it certainly has merit.
Emotion and the power of human connection are the most powerful resources that transcend all material objects. The way we feel greatly determines how we think and act, wouldn’t you agree? Aren’t you much more likely to be a positive and outwardly helpful person if you already feel positive and helpful yourself? Knowing that, wouldn’t you want to always be in a positive state? Or what about the way you make others feel, do you think that has any affect on how willing they are to do something like say.. purchase your product? That’s called being emotionally resourceful.
Become resourceful in your business
Beyond emotional resourcefulness lies a vast field of abstract, resourceful ideas. In marketing, resourcefulness could mean the difference between a $0 and $500,000 budget. Do you remember the story of those miners that got stuck underground for three months? When they were finally located and about to be brought up, the company Oakley asked a very simple question- what’s going to happen to these miners when they surface? Well, their eyes are going to hurt from the sun!
Oakley flew one of their staff down to the site where these miners were being pulled up, and gave each of them a pair of sunglasses. Every single magazine, newspaper and TV station was broadcasting that picture of the miners and guess what they were all wearing- Oakley sunglasses. That’s a multi-billion dollar marketing campaign that cost them maybe a couple thousand dollars total. Now that’s being resourceful.
Knowing this, can you honestly look at your life and say you’re lacking resources? The answer is most likely no- what you’re lacking is resourcefulness. Here's a challenge for you today- evaluate your goals and come up with two to three ways that you can become more resourceful in achieveing them. Think abstract, think big, and you'll be amazed at the solutions you come up with.
If you found this mod helpful, please consider sharing it with your network using the social media icons below. Any questions or comments? Let's connect on Twitter!
Aleksey Weyman
Aleksey Weyman is a web designer, music artist and creator of Millennial Moderator
