How to Raise 1.3 Billion Dollars (True Story)

Is your own inability to wrap your mind around something so big it seems seemingly ridiculous holding you back? If you answered no to that question good for you because like my very good friend Darren Thompson you are completely fearless. You can accomplish pretty much anything without fear, doubt or any worry whatsoever. If you are like me and answered yes, maybe, or I’m not sure, than this story and life lesson is for you.

On March 13 I received the text message from Darren you see on the left, I chuckled and put my phone down and thought it was some kind of joke. Now you should understand that first off I love hockey but man…I hate the Maple Leafs. Second Darren is one of my very best friends for a few reasons, for one he’s one of those obnoxiously happy people that never ever seems to be rattled by the inconveniences that life throws at us (except maybe this one time when I received this odd voicemail with a profane slip where Darren was somewhere on Glenmore Trail in Calgary I think, I tried to save this voicemail for all prosperity in the anomaly that it was but somehow it was mysteriously deleted from my phone anyways…we now know he is at least human), him and I also connect very well by both being afflicted by something Darren’s wife has labelled, “Squirrel Disease.” You see we’re both guilty of being idea factories. We talk for 30 minutes and have no less than 3, million dollar ideas, we run constantly in many different directions constantly wishing we had an army of clones to realize them all, then laugh about it and start all over again. Though Darren is definitely the winner when it comes to radical, stretch the limits of your belief ideas, his vision has had us discussing buying private jets, chartering cruise ships (both which I might add can realistically come to fruition) and now buying an NHL franchise.

None the less, all of this history of crazy ideas between us and when I received that text message I still was like, “whatever Darren, what kind of silly joke is this? Yes I know Calgary is not likely going to make the playoffs.” I didn’t even know the Maple Leafs were for sale. Reluctantly I logged on to Facebook to click “like” on the Own the Leafs Fanpage thinking, ok whatever this silly idea is it will fizzle and die in just a couple of days.

A week later I received more text messages, Darren had now been picked up nationally, this small Leduc businessman was spanning the sports page to the front page of just about every major newspaper from coast to coast, and he’s had dozens of radio interviews, TV interviews and is now in contact with “major players” coast to coast on a pretty much daily basis. There is so much more I’ve been told in confidence that I wish I could share but let’s just say the Ontario Teacher’s Association, the current majority shareholder of the Toronto Maple Leafs is taking Darren a lot more seriously than I initially did. With little more than a crazy idea and the true belief that you can do anything he’s effectively on the road to (here’s the best part) EASILY raising over a billion dollars to allow you, me and all of Canada to own a share of our true national pastime and one of its most coveted original franchises; the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now in case your are drawing any assumptions here it’s fair to clarify that this isn’t happening because Darren is one of the wealthy who’s who that does this sort of thing because he feels like it, he didn’t have a rolodex of top contacts that would allow him to easily organize and pull this off with nothing more than a few phone calls, in fact none of this has anything to do with the operations of his normal successful business. His primary tool in this escapade was simply to recognize an emotional connection within himself and to shout at the top of his lungs to see if there was an audience that shared a similar belief. Additionally, and more importantly, he is completely free of the limiting beliefs that we all place on ourselves that lets the world, our peers or more often just our inner selves dictate what is or isn’t possible.

“If you think you can or you think you can’t you are probably right,” my favourite quote by Henry Ford.

I am so thankful to be surrounded by someone as obnoxiously happy as Darren, someone who doesn’t step forward as the macho kid on the block but when you really know him you learn that he is truly fearless and believes anything is possible. If you bring even a fraction of that to your business you will accomplish anything you wish.

I am delighted to say that Darren should be in attendance this weekend with Bedros and I at the Profitable Personal Trainer Workshop and we will work to ensure he has a few minutes to share his belief stretching fearlessness with you all.