I’m currently in Vegas with my family at the Wynn Hotel. The Wynn has sort of become a special place for us over the years and is definitely the landing spot for when we visit Vegas.
When I was thirteen, my family went to Vegas for the first time. That was around 1995. We stayed at the New York New York hotel, and I thought that this city was without a doubt the coolest place I had ever seen either on TV or in person. Then, as the years went on, Vegas became a family destination for us. I know that sounds funny to hear, but back then they made a huge push to make Vegas a “family-friendly” destination.
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There were arcades in every hotel so the kids could go put quarters into a machine just like the adults upstairs. You could win a giant stuffed teddy bear while your parents were winning a jackpot, or gambling away your college money either way.
Then around 2008, when my parents retired, they bought a house down here, and we started coming a few times a year, including during Thanksgiving. While you were eating a turkey, I was playing slots.
Since that first trip as a kid, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been here. It has to be somewhere in the range of fifty or sixty trips, if not more, and I’ve stayed at a dozen-plus hotels from one side of the strip to the other.
These days, though, my allegiance is to one hotel: the Wynn. It has a feel, a vibe, an energy, and a brand that I just love. The food, the pool, the people, everything is just great, and I feel special when I’m here. It’s arguably the best hotel on the strip.
I know how snobby that sounds. I’m ok with it.
I’m ok with it because when I’m here, it makes me want to work harder. It makes me want to achieve more. It makes me want to set bigger goals and work towards them. That may sound funny to you, but to me, the motivation to achieve comes from more than just saying you want to do something; it comes from surrounding yourself with the people who have achieved or are working on achieving, and then pointing the north star beyond them.
It might also come from watching my son order $38 sorbet for room service and thinking that’s normal.
If the goal feels completely comfortable, you probably set it too low.
There is nothing wrong with allowing the things around you to motivate you. People love to pretend that every goal has to come from some deep, meaningful place inside your soul. Sometimes you just want to sit by a nicer pool, fly in a better seat, order whatever you want off the menu, and not have a small panic attack when the bill arrives. That can be motivation too.
Your goals are allowed to be expensive. They are allowed to feel unreasonable. They are allowed to make other people roll their eyes when you say them out loud. The people rolling their eyes will not be the ones doing the work, taking the risk, or paying for the $38 sorbet, so their opinion probably shouldn’t carry much weight.
The people and places you surround yourself with quietly change what you believe is possible. Spend enough time around people building businesses, chasing promotions, writing books, or creating something of their own, and eventually their ambition starts rubbing off on you. Their success stops feeling like something reserved for other people and starts looking like a destination you might be able to reach too.
This is why I believe your goals should sit slightly beyond the life you can currently imagine. If the goal feels completely comfortable, you probably set it too low. A good goal should force you to become more disciplined, more resourceful, and occasionally a little delusional about what you can pull off. You may not reach every part of it, but chasing something bigger will take you much further than protecting yourself with something small.
The Wynn is not the goal. The feeling I get when I’m here is the reminder. It reminds me that there is another level to reach, more work to do, and a bigger life still available if I am willing to go earn it. Maybe your version is a house, a title, a business, a trip, or simply having enough money to stop worrying about money. Whatever it is, point your north star a little higher. You might surprise yourself with how far you are willing to travel once you find something worth chasing.