On May 10, 1869, the United States was officially ‘linked’ together by the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
The date marked an important symbolic and logistic accomplishment, as the west was finally accessible from the east.
There is a great drama series on Netflix called Hell On Wheels, that is somewhat historically accurate. Throughout the series, these people building the railroad are confronted with everything from attacking Native Americans, to disease, to extreme weather conditions.
However, no matter what the challenge is, they overcome everything.
One particular part of the story, which is simply incredible, is the time it takes to communicate from the rail road towns back to the headquarters on the east coast.
Messages and news would take days, and sometimes weeks to arrive. How did things ever get done?!
Today we can send emails back and forth in an instant, allowing us to get things done very quickly.
Last week I had a phone call with two other people. I was in California, one was in Ukraine, and the other was in Denmark… and we were talking about business in Colombia. That is crazy, if you think about it.
That is how the world works today. In the US, we talk to customer service centers in India. In China, family members call their relatives in the US everyday. Almost all parts of the world are within reach because of the internet and other technologies.
There is a reason I bring this up: There is no excuse not to take advantage of the opportunities we have. If you’re reading this email, then you have access to the internet, which means you have the world at your finger tips.
And while there is certainly lots of risk and places to go wrong out in this world, one thing for sure is that there is no lack of opportunity.
There is, however, a huge lack of execution. With all the tools we have in our world to make ‘it big’ only a few actually capitalize.
Here is a challenge to you:
Reach out to someone you don’t know. Send them an email or write a letter. I do this all the time and I can’t tell you how many incredible benefits have come from this practice.
Just think… would you be happy if someone reached out to you?
It’s not like we are building railroads with an inadequate communication system. But if you don’t take advantage of the tools you have, then you’re doing less than those that built those railroads.
I’ll share with you that big mistake I made, later this week.
Also, here is a recent article I wrote on Brexit: The Market is Now Higher Since Brexit. Will Italy’s Exit Fuel The Market Even Higher?
