“Your story is where you take it to, not where you start.”―Tony Robbins

Let’s be honest and get a few things out on the table:

Your starting point does not define you.

Your starting point is a neutral data point.

What matters is where you want to go rather than where you are right now.

Your starting place is just that—where you start. Nothing more and nothing less. It’s neutral.

Jeff Bezos started Amazon in a garage. Steve Jobs started Apple in a garage. Many people think a garage is a pretty terrible place to start a business. However, both visionaries built incredibly successful companies that have since changed the world and our view of what’s possible.

Iyanla Vanzant, an author and self-help guru, went through a divorce, lost her daughter to cancer, and lost her home. She is now a NY Times bestselling author and will soon have a self-empowerment show on Oprah’s network (OWN). Although, we tend to classify our starting place in an extreme way, it’s just a starting place. No need to be dramatic.

“We can think, speak, and bring the best possible outcome into existence by focusing on where we are going, not on where we think we are.”—Iyanla Vanzant

Do yourself and everyone around you a favor, please stop being so tough on yourself because your starting place is difficult.

Your starting place may be that you don’t have enough money, education, contacts, or knowledge to start your business. Or, your starting place could be that you have all the money in the world and a successful business but you’re not fulfilled.

I had a solid starting place when I was in New York City working on Wall Street for a top-tier investment bank, making good money, living in a nice apartment, and having a great lifestyle. Most people would not have given up the lifestyle I had, but it wasn’t what I wanted so I had to start again. Later, when I wrote my first book, Living in Your Top 1%, I started from scratch—no prior writing experience, no contacts in the business, and no knowledge of the industry. It’s amazing what you can learn when you really want something and are determined to make it happen.

Your starting place is irrelevant. Yes, I know this sounds crazy.

What matters is your clarity, choices, and commitment to take action and create what you want.

TOP 1% BOTTOM LINE: It’s not about where you start but rather where you want to go. Big difference. People are frustrated by what they have AND don’t have. Your starting place is a point of reference when you look back to see how far you’ve come.


Alissa is a Professional Business/Life Coach, motivational speaker, and author of  Living in Your Top 1%. She works with individuals and organizations to help them think bigger, redefine what’s possible, and get results.  Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has appeared on national radio stations such as CBS and Clear Channel Radio and has worked with the Milken Institute, LA Business Journal, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and NBC Universal. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and Facebook page.