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Go Ahead and Tell Everybody You're Going to Mars: The Benefits of Being Bold. An entrepreneur whose goal is to take his startup to the red planet discovers the virtue of thinking big.

By Tim Denning

entrepreneur daily

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"Go on, say the word Mars and be bold. Say it like you mean it and look them in the eye." That's what I told a very young entrepreneur recently. I've been working with a few startups recently, this entrepreneur was part of one of them.

Someone had suggested he take his product to Mars, and he loved the idea. But at the same time, he wasn't sure if he should pursue that goal, so he asked me. What I said is now on the record, but another wordsmith put it this way: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

There are many benefits to being bold.

It separates you from the competition.

Everyone else in this cohort of startups I'm assisting is doing something interesting. The difference is that they are not intending on going to Mars. There's nothing wrong with that either. What's cool about the entrepreneur that wants to take his product to Mars is that he's different.

In the beginning, he's seen as a wacko; what I know for sure is that as he executes, these same critics will become raving fans. His vision is very different from his competitors'. When you hear all the pitches, you remember the young guy that talks about going to Mars -- you may not remember the others.

It gives you a voice.

Everyone wants to hand the microphone to the "Mars guy.' You know what comes out of his mouth is going to be interesting. Being bold is fascinating and so rare. When you're bold and say stuff like "We're going to Mars, baby!" your voice gets heard.

Related: Achieve Self-Mastery and You Will Never Settle for Less in Business

The best marketing you can ever do is to be bold and tell people your grand plan. So make that plan so big that your voice becomes louder than everyone else's. Don't have the loudest voice to feed your ego. Have the loudest voice so you can change the world. Take us all to Mars with you.

It builds your confidence.

As you begin to repeat phrases like, "We're going to Mars," you start to feel different. You get chills down your spine because your brain begins to believe what you're saying. Having a grandiose vision changes the way you approach your day.

You play the game of life differently because you believe your purpose can empower the human race. It's for this reason I told this young entrepreneur to tell everybody he's going to Mars. I've noticed in a short amount of time that his confidence is growing. He's beginning to believe he can be extraordinary. You have this same superpower. All you need to do is believe.

It motivates you.

Despite what all the self-help books tell you, motivation can be hard to come by. We're not all coached by Tony Robbins every day, telling us to get our ass into gear and to do 100 more push-ups before saying another 50 affirmations.

However, being bold is itself motivating. Each time you do it and say things like, "We're going to Mars," you unlock your own innate motivation. Powerful ideas give us energy that we don't normally have access to. The cool thing is that as you become motivated, so to do those around you.

It attracts game-changers.

The key problem for a startup with no brand, no revenue and no capital is finding a way to get to Mars (or whatever destination your personal boldness compels you to seek).

This young entrepreneur asked me about those too, but I told him in my usual hyperactive way, "Figure out the details later."

Related: The Nitty-Gritty: Knowing The Details Of Your Business

I meant what I said. When you act with enough boldness, the golden chunks of detail come to you one at a time. I told him that if he kept talking about Mars, between myself and a few others involved, we could find a way to partner with someone who can help their startup get there.

When you're bold, someone like Elon Musk could get involved. Now most of us don't know Musk, but chances are we can get to him if we really want to. For example, I don't know him, but I know three people that could get me a meeting with him if I tried hard enough and was bold enough with my vision.

Being bold requires you to take action, regularly, without necessarily having a plan. Being bold will attract game-changers to your big vision. Then it's through their help, and partnering with others, that you can fill in the gaps with the very resources and knowledge you lack.

I often say that life and business are just a series of partnerships.

It makes people listen.

When you're bold, people listen. When you don't sound like everyone else, you are able to capture people's attention. The challenge is that capturing attention nowadays doesn't last for long.

Being bold is not enough unless you can back it up with something. Still, having people listen to what you're saying is part of the jigsaw puzzle.

It's exciting.

Imagine going to work every day and feeling excited. Think about that for a second.

Most of us don't start our days like that because we don't decide to work on something that is bold. Being bold and having a vision to go to Mars is exciting. Feelings drive us to do so much in our lives.

Being excited about what you're working on will change the way you behave. I find that when I'm excited about what I'm doing, I don't focus on the negatives as much. Your goal in life should be to experience how great it is to live with positive feelings. Being bold helps you feel that way.

Related: Mastering Your Emotions and Using Your Most Valuable Asset

If you've had a similar idea to do something crazy like going to Mars, then I encourage you to pursue it.

Don't let critics rob you of all of the benefits you receive when you decide to be bold. People will laugh at you when you're bold, but that's a reflection of where they are at, and not of you.

You can do whatever your mind can dream up. Discover your innate boldness and then use it to change the world. Take us to Mars with you.

Tim Denning

Entrepreneur, Blogger, Writer, Coach

Tim is best known as a long-time contributor on the Entrepreneurship and Personal Development website Addicted2Success. Tim's content has been shared hundreds of thousands of times and he has written multiple viral posts on social media all around success, personal development, motivation, and entrepreneurship. During the day Tim works with the most iconic tech companies in the world, as an adviser, to assist them in expanding into Australia. By night, Tim coaches his students on the principles of personal development and the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Tim's biggest inspiration is Tony Robbins and his goal in life is to show people that anybody can achieve the impossible! 

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