We live in a world in which success is measured by numbers.
- Your number of Twitter followers
- Your number of Facebook “likes”
- Your number of comments, page views, and site visits
- Your number of clients
- The number of people in the crowd
It may not be the most accurate measurement, but there’s no arguing that it’s the one often paid the most attention to.
I walked away from this weekend’s Quitter Conference (which I had the pleasure of speaking at) with plenty of insight – possibly the most resounding of which was the following:
Play to the size of your heart, not the size of the crowd.
What does it mean? It means that success isn’t based on the size of the audience in front of you – rather, it’s grounded in the effort you give. It means getting up and giving the same effort for 5 people or 500. It means running as hard as you can even if you’re only racing yourself. It means providing excellent service to every single client – whether you’re working with 1 or 100.
How do you get the opportunity to get in front of a bigger audience? How do you build your following? How do you create a brand that people will demand to work with and buy from?
As Jon Acuff says: “The size of the crowd doesn’t matter. The applause of the audience doesn’t matter. The money you make singing doesn’t matter.”
What matters is the effort. The hustle. Giving 110% – the same 110% to one, or a million. What you give when no one is watching.
I empower visionaries and hustlers to do the work they want to do and live the life they want to live. A self-made entrepreneur, brand-expert, writer, speaker, thinker, creator, doer, and Saved by the Bell aficionado, I examine life through a "less restricted" lens and frequently get nostalgic about the 90's. 
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Cheers to this post, Matt! My supervisor, a very wise supervisor, always said to me to NEVER pay attention to the numbers… pay attention to the quality! With the amount of presentations we give on career advice, we sometimes have large turnouts, other times, small turnouts… but each person that is there is learning something (we hope) so small, or large, we’re making an impact!
Matt!
You and your team did a wonderful job at the Quitter Conference! I’m a believer in the fact that quality wins. Pour your heart into it, focus on what you give, and the end result will be amazing!
Thanks again Matt!
All the best,
-Alex
Thank you for your post. At times through out my life I have felt unsuccessful because I am not so popular with the people that seem to have achieved alot more than I have and but reading your article helped to put things into perspective and guess what I do have a spirit of excellence and I do give my 100% and go the extra mile wether by myself or with others so Matt I am with you again thank you.
Thanks for a another great post Matt. Fiona
This is such a great reminder for me. I am a student, Young Life leader, blogger, and I server tables. I often fall into the trap of wanting a bigger platform or better results in all of these areas. For me this post means showing up at the high school whether I talk to 1 kid or 100, serving tables well whether I make $30 or $300, writing consistently whether I have 20 views or 200 views. Such a great reminder, thanks for continually writing.
So great: “Play to the size of your heart, not the size of the crowd.”
Yes! This is such a good reminder – no matter what field you work in.