---
title: The Value of Inspiration
description: "From 100-mile mountain bike races to coaching $100M companies: why stop putting success on a pedestal and start taking bold action in your business."
image: https://jensnielsen.us/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-19%20191701.png
---

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 October 20, 2026

# The Value of Inspiration

[By Jens Nielsen](https://jensnielsen.us/blog/author/by-jens-nielsen)

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I live in a small city (~90,000 people) in a sparsely populated state. I love the quality of life here, and after having lived in cities ranging from more than 8 million (London) to Durango (20,000), I would not choose anywhere else. However, it is not the hotbed for fast-growing companies.

At the same time, as I expand my consulting and coaching business, I find it hard to connect with rapidly growing businesses, and larger companies. I sometimes question what value I can offer them.

I volunteer as a mentor for the Santa Fe Business Incubator, and I run a local entrepreneur Meetup. These are all great ways of getting exposed to people with new ideas, but early-stage companies are a long way from $1M, $10M or $100M in revenue.

So, when my coach challenged me to find an event that would inspire and help me think bigger, I signed up to attend the annual [Inc. 5000](https://jensnielsen.us/e3t/Ctc/T9+113/cLv-x04/VVn0k55sDHHKW4n3gR01ZX1z8V5XFwB5Wmm3pMwF3S-3lYM-W6N1vHY6lZ3nfW6p-NC47WGYD7W51GS-C5mSx4bV_6Vp18KWnF9N7-G3p8HFMG3W820Rtx8_C-mDW3pH_s_6vtRXQW5NxKxL6nD5fBW1n-_l27bnbgfW8X0yrx740Bx3W6t4WFm75Vwg7W6s9Z9_2RYn8BW1bZMz13gS_hZW8-g5Dq6KyGT6W66tJ156SdXRQW99sLv08klmMhW7Pkw__2W8G0ZW2qh0x_74yyCgMnmqkdG7cNRV5p3zf9j9VxlW3TQxv45f0gPlW2MgzmC7tsN4tW8T6-vp4J5nFRf1xNt6004) conference in Dallas.

I’m not one of the 5000 fastest-growing companies in the US, but being there I realized the people there are my tribe. I met a person who started a beverage company because they wanted to reduce microplastics in their lives. They had to overcome their limiting beliefs about competing with giants like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, but the realization was that many people want a brand they can relate to. That’s how they found their success.

The common thread was that they have an idea, take action and pursue it relentlessly. Being around those business owners made me realize that there is a lot of energy and opportunity in small businesses, and with the right mentors and coaches those businesses will continue to be successful.

![Screenshot 2026-10-19 191701](https://jensnielsen.us/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-19%20191701.png?width=516&height=293&name=Screenshot%202026-10-19%20191701.png)

Back to the email’s subject: “The value of inspiration.”

I don’t actually believe that inspiration alone leads to much action. A lot of people are inspired, but few take action.

Perhaps a better title would be “The value of seeing what is possible and realizing that the people reaching success are not special.” However, that title would be a bit too long.

But what I mean by that is that most humans need to see what is possible before they believe they can do it themselves. For example, in the early years of my mountain bike racing career (1999), I had never raced my bike more than 20-30 miles.

When the first 100-mile race in Virginia was announced, I had no idea if I could complete the event. But I wanted to try.

I approached that challenge in two ways:

- 1\. I found proof it was possible, because other people were racing 100-mile races around the country.
- 2\. I enlisted a friend to coach, challenge and ride with me, so I had support.

That first ride was hard, but I finished well in 7th place after 8 hours and 39 minutes. After that, I never doubted that I could complete a 100-mile race. But the more important lesson was that I learned to trust myself and not put others on a pedestal just because they had accomplished something I had yet to achieve.

That brings me back to the Inc. 5000 conference. These companies are run by people who see how others have success, act on an idea, get support, and stay in the game long enough to get the results.

Given my profession, I was curious about business coaches who work with companies in the $50M to $100M range. The fact that individual coaches work with these larger companies really challenged my thinking. I used to think that only large consulting firms work with companies of this size.

But what I learned from those coaches is that those relationships start with a conversation about the challenges their businesses have, and what support they need. Regardless of size.

Just because a company has grown to $100M does not mean that the owner is untouchable. They have the same challenges and insecurities as the rest of us, and they need support to maximize their potential. That made me realize that I need to focus on connecting with a wider range of companies, even if it makes me nervous and I risk rejection. The first step has been to connect with everyone I met on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

Who have you put on a pedestal that you could just call?

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