business | The Caleb Barney Collection

Strive to be the captain, not the MVP.

Strive to be the captain of your team, not the MVP. — “If everyone would strive to be captain of their team as opposed to the MVP, there would be a lot better teams.” – Derek Jones

“If everyone would strive to be captain of their team as opposed to the MVP, there would be a lot better teams.”

How true is this? Instead of trying to be the superstar, trying to be the center of attention, trying to go viral, trying to produce highlight reels, trying to get recognition from others…just work on being the best teammate you can be.

Respect others, care for them, and do things the right way. Everything you do, do intentionally. Take pride in your work. Share credit with your teammates and take accountability for your faults. Be positive. Communicate clearly to those you work with. Always try to improve – not just yourself, but your team as well. The more you can be a team player, even if that means that you lose out on some of the glory, the better your team success will be.

Calling all entrepreneurs!

Don’t underestimate the value of having a good team!

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” – African proverb

It’s easier to do things by yourself. You can trust that you’ll “do things right.” Training others can be time consuming and stressful, but if you’re not willing to let go of the $10/hour tasks so that you can focus on the $1,000/hour tasks, you will cap your upside. We only have so much time in the day…

It’s perfectly fine to try to do things on your own. But to make the biggest possible impact, you’re going to need a great team around you.

Smart debt versus dumb debt

If you’re buying an asset that makes you more money (whether through appreciation, cash flow/dividends, or tax benefits) than it costs to borrow (paying down your principal and interest while more than keeping pace with inflation), you can make a legitimate argument to go into debt to invest in that asset.

If you’re going into debt to buy something that doesn’t make you money, you’re giving into your inner child.

Only borrow money to buy things that go up in value. Otherwise pay all cash for it or not at all.

On hiring others and getting out of the way

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Delegate them get out of the way! Don’t micromanage! You hired them because they are smart, qualified, and the right person for the job, right?

Once you’ve trained them and have the systems and processes in place for them to succeed, let them do it. There will be bumps in the road and nobody is perfect, but if you let them learn without catastrophic consequences, they’ll be better off for it and you will too.

Be obsessed or be average

“Be obsessed or be average.” ⁃ Grant Cardone

Have you ever met someone who was head and shoulders better at what they did compared to others in their field? Chances are, this didn’t happen by accident. Natural ability can give you a leg up when you’re starting out, but to stand out amongst the standouts, you have to be obsessed with improving your craft.

Malcolm Gladwell touches on this with his 10,000 hour rule, where he states it takes approximately 10,000 hours of doing something to master it. You have to put in the practice and gain the experience to master something.

But it’s not just about going through the motions. You have to intentionally plan out what you’re going to do. You have to look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You have to keep up with market trends and know the market so well that you can predict future trends. You have to eat, sleep, and breathe whatever it is you’re trying to be the best at in order to make it work. You need to read about it, talk about it, listen about it, connect with others who are experts, and go experience it for yourself. In short, you need to be obsessed or else you’ll end up “average.”