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I am responsible for 145 downloads and a friends life.

It wasn’t until I went to their website recently, that I realized I am responsible for one hundred forty-five (145) downloads of the Cerroneshow.com podcast. I never thought about that before. It got me thinking how I am responsible for a lot of success stories and that’s what I want to share with you today. Think about this for a minute. Nike sells 300,000 shoes online in less than 30 seconds. You happen to buy two (2) pairs. That means you contributed to their company and helped that sale become successful. In some small way, isn’t that what entrepreneurship is all about? Did I lose you? Follow me.

Think about this for a second. The whole point of going into business for yourself is quite simple. You want to make yourself successful. What I think most entrepreneurs forget is that they are responsible for the success of several businesses, not only their own. You take a mom and pop knitting shop in Las Vegas, or even a brand new line of yarn that’s truly creative. They have to buy supplies from other businesses in order to make their products. Now they go on to create a wonderful product that sells out. Now they have to go back to those stores and buy more supplies. Not only did they help their brand become successful, they made their suppliers brand become successful. See where I am going with this? If you think about business like that then the sky is the limit. Most entrepreneurs I meet are so stressed about time and money. Well my friends, meet my other friends.

CerroneShow.com

If you have never heard this podcast, let me tell you what you are missing. Everything. Say it people. EVERYTHING! A great man once said “I should start a podcast”. He did by the way. His name is Chris Cerrone. cerrone-show-host-chris-cerrone He was at the New Media Expo here is Las Vegas and he decided that he was going to interview awesome people. That’s his secret blend of herbs and spices. He went on for a few months and recorded show after show. Once he hit a certain number of shows, he started to release them. One by one, his download numbers started to grow. This is what an actual entrepreneur looks like everybody. In case you were confused.

I am responsible?

Have you ever thought about how many Coca-Cola Cans you have bought in your life time? I have. Mostly because my family has stock in Coca-Cola, since the late 1930’s, and I buy Coca Cola all the time. A part of business that every entrepreneur should learn is that everything has a price. Either a price that’s going to contribute to your success or a price that you have to pay. I was thinking about that one day and it occurred to me that every can of Coca Cola equals some dollar amount. By me buying their product, I am responsible for their success in a very small way. Regardless, I am responsible for that.

I’ve probably bought 3 packs of coke a week, this year alone. When you add that up, you’re looking at $372. How did I get that number? I spend $12 a week on Coca Cola. Because they are $12 for 3, 12 packs, at my favorite grocery store. So every week I buy 3 packs at $12. We’re roughly in the 31st week of the year. So $12 times 31 weeks equals $372 spent on Coca-Cola.

Oh my god Russ, who the hell cares.

So I had to introduce you to Chris Cerrone and tell you about how I am responsible for a very small part of a specific companies success to get you to this point. From 1986 to 2000, suicide rates in the U.S. dropped from 12.5 to 10.4 suicide deaths per 100,000 people in the population. That’s awesome, but I think we can do better.

Something I am responsible for. A life.

I used to have this friend who would call me late at night and ask me “what’s the point man?”. I knew and he knew that he was having difficulties with depression. He didn’t really have a lot of skills. He dropped out of high school and he had less than $12 to his name. So I made it my job to help cheer him up when he would call me. I would think of the most random things I could at the given moment. In doing that, he wouldn’t be as depressed. Like all good things, everything comes to an end. Did you hear me Justin Bieber?

After a certain period of time, thinking of random funny jokes starts to get old. Not for me. Let’s be clear. I can do that all day. For my friend, he would get tired of me trying to cheer him up. So he stopped calling. I got worried. So I started thinking of new ways that I could cheer him up.

I am responsible for a call last night

Last night, 6 years since my friend would call me in the middle of the night asking for help with is depression, I get a phone call from him. It was really random. We talk on FB every now and then. Other than that, there’s not a real line of communication anymore. Anyways. I get a phone call and my friend wanted to thank me for saving his life. He admitted to me that he use to have really bad thoughts and my randomness helped him battle through his depression. He also wanted to point out that I said something that has stuck with him for the 6 years.

When you have someone battling depression, one of the best things you can do is call to their attention just how important they are. At the core of it, that’s what a lot of depression comes from. Low self-worth. I use to point out to my friend that he was responsible for the happiness of every child that would visit his candy shop. Every time a child walked away with a smile, it was because he had a business that sold candy. In return, he was also responsible for making M&M’s and Snickers successful and that is a pretty cool way to look at the world and life in general.

That inspired me to share this post with you. Maybe by sharing my story of why I am responsible for so many things then maybe it can help you realize that you are responsible for the success of others. I am responsible and I am proud of that. Smile.

2 thoughts on “I am responsible for 145 downloads and a friends life.”

  1. I truly love your writing style. Not just because Chris is my son, but because your style is easy to read and magnifies important points throughout the piece. Not many people in this world can say they actually saved a life. That is the ultimate in “giving back”. You are a true inspiration and thanks for making “one” mom’s day in giving my son great recognition. I will certainly share this in the hopes that it does impact all that share it along with their circle of friends and so on…as you described so well. You are very blessed. Keep on writing…

  2. It is incredible how we are all connected through such intricate webs that are subconsciously knit and woven, layer upon layer. The earth may be vast but the world is small and we are all in this together, whether we are aware of it or not. Well done!

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