OW DO YOU make things happen?
How does it feel to not be afraid?

Steve Sims, the founder of Bluefish, has built a company that gets things done. Bluefish makes seemingly out-of-reach, change-your-life, experiences happen. Experiences like training with the Navy Seals, singing with your favorite band, watching Formula 1 in Monaco with royalty, having a private dinner at the feet of Michelangelo’s David while being sung to by Andrea Bocelli, and being James Bond for the weekend. He calls it bluefishing.

Bluefishing is about changing your mindset. It’s about looking at life differently. “You can’t cower your way through life and hope to succeed; you’re going to have to stick your neck out a little.” We usually sell ourselves short.

“Anything I wasn’t achieving in life, any doors that were closed to me, I could figure out the password for.” It’s about understanding what someone wants and finding the right key for each door. Bluefishers look for connections. What are people passionate about and how can I find a win-win for their passions?

Passion is something you have to discover—your own and others too. Bluefishers question everything. They don’t doubt, they question. Read between the lines; get behind the façade. Drill down for it. Ask why at least three times. “The first why is what they think they think, the second why is what they think you want to hear, the third why is why they feel.”

If you go in there with the idea that it’s going to fail, or that you’re asking too much, or you’re giving something the person doesn’t really want, you might as well not even go. You’ve gotta go in there knowing that this is really going to happen, but understanding that it’s not going to happen if it benefits only you.

It’s not about how much you know. “I don’t need to know how to do the whole event,” says Sims. “The first thing I need to know is which things I can’t do. The next thing is to find those people who can do what I can’t. I just find the ones who are good enough at doing what I can’t to make me look brilliant.”

Entrepreneurs should take note: You shouldn’t try to do everything, just “be able to magnificently orchestrate those who can.” You grow by giving others responsibility. “There’s a difference between being able to do everything and doing everything.”

Lead the orchestra. “All you want is to find a whole bunch of people with unique abilities, all with their own 5 percent traits or skill that no one else can do. That’s how you build up an irreplaceable team. A dream team.” Don’t spend time on things that slow you down.

Don’t overthink everything. Try something and fail at it over and over until you find out how to do it properly—to see if it is worth pursuing—while everyone else is still trying to work out the demographics. Sims Dad told him, “No one drowned from falling in the water. They drowned from staying there.” Don’t stand still.

When you don’t succeed, it isn’t a failure. It is discovery. Failure is final. Discovery is just the beginning. “You didn’t fail. You learned what to do on your next attempt.” It’s an education. “If you build up obstacles in your head, you’re looking for a reason to end it.” That’s failure.

To build your brand, first, do a self-audit. What do you stand for? How do you want people to feel when they are around you? Discover your strengths and manage your weaknesses. “Focus on the smallest element that can bring you down. Focus on your own weak links, the things that foul up your life or your work again and again and again.”

Forget about counting likes. If you tell people how good you are, that’s just selling. Get others to talk about you—recommend you. “What brands need to do—both personal and business brands—is ask other people to validate the truth.” Focus on the community you’re building around you.

Invest in your growth. Get better for your clients—your followers. And let them know. Sims told a friend, “Mate, the only difference between you and me is that I was willing to get into uncomfortable situations. I was willing to look dumb, to be among people that I knew were far more intelligent than me, so that I could learn. There’s no reason to get into a room with people stupider than you.” When you expose yourself to something new, you never go back. Be a sponge.

Sims shares techniques to support the thinking but the tactics change over time. The thinking never does. Bluefishing is a mentality first, then a stack of tools and behaviors. Learn the password and the doors will open.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 07:44 AM
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