If no one laughs at your goals, you are not thinking big enough

At a 2026 Family Office Club event, Richard said that big goals tend to get laughed at. In his view, a lot of billionaires do things others think are ridiculous. He gave three examples.

Giannis and the MVP goal

Richard told the story of Giannis Antetokounmpo arriving in the U.S. barely speaking English. A journalist asked his goal. He said MVP, and they laughed. Richard points out that nobody knows the names of those journalists, and Giannis went on to win MVP twice.

Richard's own Taylor Swift moment

After landing the Tony Robbins interview, Richard started naming billionaires he planned to interview at conferences. When he said Taylor Swift, about 10 people laughed out loud. He decided he would get it done anyway.

Told you are dead wrong

Richard says billionaires often hear worse than laughter. They are told they do not understand the industry. His example is Elon Musk asking his team whether they could catch a rocket. As Richard tells it, all but one said no. Musk put that one person in charge of a new team, and they landed it.

In Richard's words

"Like, but if you're not doing anything that people laugh at, you're probably not thinking big enough." (Richard C. Wilson, 2026 Family Office Club event)

"But a lot of billionaires do things that other people think are ridiculous." (2026 Family Office Club event)

How to use this

Write down one goal big enough that saying it out loud feels awkward.
Notice who laughs, and do not let it change the goal.
When most people on a team say no, find the one who says maybe and back them.
Keep a record of goals people doubted. It builds nerve for the next one.

Questions and answers

What does Richard mean by thinking big enough?

If nobody laughs at anything you are doing, your goals are probably too small.

What is the Giannis story?

As Richard tells it, journalists laughed when Giannis said his goal was MVP. He later won it twice.

What happened with the Taylor Swift goal?

Richard says about 10 people laughed when he named her as an interview goal at a conference, and he chose to keep going.

What is the rocket example?

Richard says Elon Musk built a new team around the one engineer who thought landing a rocket might be possible.