Success Advice

What Every Entrepreneur Can Learn from Will.i.Am

Published

11 years ago

Jan 9, 2013

Joel Brown (Founder of Addicted2Success.com)

Image Credit: Unsplash

What are some of the reasons that entrepreneurs do not succeed? If you were to ask them, you would probably receive answers such as, “I didn’t finish college” or “there was no customer base for my product“.

These excuses, along with all of the others that may be included, are not words that one would hear from powerhouse William Adams aka ‘Will.i.Am’, who has enjoyed immense success despite the fact that both of the excuses cited above could have applied to him at one time or another.

Will.i.am was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He never knew his father. In fact, his formative years were spent in a low-income neighborhood with his mother, who had a dream for her son that went beyond convention. Determined to give him every opportunity to succeed beyond his circumstances, she enrolled him in the more affluent public schools on the west side of Los Angeles, where he not only survived – he thrived.

Will.i.am discovered his love for music in high school, a fact which is evident by his energetic and brilliant creativity as a founding member of the hiphop/dance/pop group, The Black-Eyed Peas.

To Will.i.am, innovation is second-nature, which is what landed him in an enviable position with Intel. He designed his own digital camera with a more powerful lens than conventional cameras, not because he suddenly had an epiphany that people would want this, but because he realized that it would help him with his own efforts to shoot great digital photos.

Will.i.Am designed a cover for the iPhone, which snaps on the back of the device and greatly improves the function of the phone’s built-in camera. The i.am+ foto.sosho hardware fits over your iPhone, turning the device’s eight megapixel camera into a 14 megapixel camera and adding a range of filters and lenses, including standard, fish-eye, wide and zoom. It also includes a keyboard for the sharing and tagging of pictures. He then collaborated on an app that performs functions similar to Instagram with capabilities for editing and sharing photos.

His creative genius can be seen everywhere, from his idea for Coca Cola to launch the Ekocycle project which manufactures products with recycled materials.

Perhaps two of the best contributions Will.i.am has made to the entrepreneurial world is that of the concept of doing and giving back. His his entire objective in formulating the Ekocycle idea was to encourage people to recycle. The earnings from this highly-profitable venture are shared by Will.i.am and Coca Cola, and donated to their favorite charities.

Not all of Will.i.am’s ideas have been successful though. His efforts to launch a social media platform for music lovers (DipDive) did not succeed. When asked about the possibility of the failure of his new iPhone accessory, he simply shrugged and said:

“Well, then I’ve made something cool for myself.”

This kind of attitude has earned Will.i.Am respect as a risk taker who isn’t just in it to “please the people”, and is known to be “the way”, of most mature and successful entrepreneurs today.

Will.i.am has shown that the creative side of a musician contains more substance than traditionally believed by corporate America.

His example is the basis for the reason that large companies seek out his ideas and his innovation for new ideas and concepts. In the past, there has been a misconception that musicians lack the intellect, drive, and business sense that it takes to succeed. Will.i.am is a prime example of how the creativity, that is inherent in the make-up of a musician, is actually an asset that can be tapped into for entrepreneurial success.

What can every entrepreneur learn from Will.i.am?

To sum it up into a list, the items would include, but not be limited to:

1. Your social background, affluence (or lack thereof), race, or creed should not hinder you from pursuing your vision.

2. The only obstacles to success are those which you place upon yourself.

3. Envisioning the goal, then pursuing it, is only part of the formula. Once the goal has been achieved, envision another one.

4. Looking beyond yourself keeps things in focus. Giving back to your community, or even to the planet in general, yields an intangible benefit that keeps “you” as the entrepreneur, focused on the overall picture.

5. Failure should not define the entrepreneur. In fact, it should not be in his or her vocabulary. Call it a re-definition, a refocus, or a discontinued endeavour. The word “failure” implies an inherent shortcoming, which should not be allowed to be a consideration.

6. Sharing the spotlight does not detract from one’s success. Will.i.am saw that the addition of Fergie to The Black Eyed Peas would add improvement to his group, and would benefit to the whole teams success. Your team is just as important as you are when it comes to success, sometimes changes within your team are needed to take you business and vision to the next level.

7. The world is forever changing and so are the business landscapes in every industry, you must be open-minded and able to adapt when trends and interests evolve. Will.i.Am makes sure he is inline with or 1 step ahead of the trends within his industries.

Conclusion

Will.i.am fulfilled the vision of his mother, who saw the value of believing in her son. Through his love for music, discovered in high school, he built upon his musical creativity and used that energy in venues that typically do not reconcile easily, such as the left-brain/right-brain theory.

Entrepreneurs would do well to follow Will.i.am’s example of setting goals, imagining better versions of what we see every day, and then putting those goals and visions into action.

Enjoy & share this Will.i.Am Picture Quote:

Will-i-Am-Picture-Quote

Related Topics:artists black eyes peas Celebrities i.Am+iPhone Music Music Industry recording artist tech Will.i.Am

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There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

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Jamelle Sanders

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In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.