Twenty years ago a business mentor I looked up to asked me one powerful question and then made one of the truest statements I have ever heard, while I was discussing a cash crunch in my very first business. The first thing he asked me was "Are you bragging or complaining?" 

That completely made me pause and reframe my thinking about the way I was oriented to the present struggle I was facing. Then he made the following statement. "Chris, we are all broke at different levels."

Think about both of those statements for a few seconds and let's talk about why "broke" can be a positive asset to you and your business, not just a negative temporary reality.

If you are struggling to see the genius in these two statements a mentor of mine shared in 2000, then you should read Daymond John's book (of Shark Tank and Fubu fame) "Power of Broke" or watch the interview with him below.

 Poverty is a disease of the mind, and broke is just a temporary business and financial reality that is the outcome of prior misjudgements, flawed decision-making frameworks, and in some cases, market forces that are not in your control. The beautiful power that broke gives us is direct access and the immediate need to increase and maximize our 'resourcefulness'. After all, the most important skill you can develop as an entrepreneur (and even a parent or leader) is your own ability to be more resourceful. Doing more with less. Finding creative hacks to achieve the desired outcome in unconventional ways. Tools (like capital, people, technology, etc.) will give you a competitive advantage for sure, but without the discipline and honed skill of resourcefulness, you will tend to be more wasteful and ill-equipped to win important battles in the market when the odds get stacked against you. 

The hunter who knows that at the end of the day, it can seek and kill with his or her bare hands is built for sustainable survival and as an entrepreneur, this will give you the rare level of 'certainty' that will allow you to take calculated risks and recover when things are slightly off.  

The game will never end for you. There will always be a new challenge you wish to conquer or deal you wish to do. You will always be short on the resources to pursue the ones you really want to go after, no matter how much you have sitting in the bank account. In other words, as creative beings, "We are all broke at different levels" and it is exactly the fuel that forces us to grow and become more of who we have the potential to be. 

While you are staying hungry and humble check out this "Ramen to Riches" tee in our store!