Best. Quote. Ever

DemGen.com is a leading provider of virtual business, marketing, sales and support services for small businesses and entrepreneurs. They send out a daily motivational quote that is often quite thought-provoking.

Today's quote, which was contributed by DemGen's chief  growth ffficer, Gary Evans, sent a shiver down my spine.

"The obstacle is the path."

For me, this Zen proverb perfectly captures the route to success in a crowded marketplace. You will stand out and succeed to the extent that you confront your customers' biggest problems.

By choosing to go where the obstacles are, you will stake out a unique value proposition and make a name for yourself. Like Timothy Eaton with his fixed-price department store in the 19th century, or Apple with its "computer for the rest of us" (or iTunes, for that matter), or FedEx for conquering overnight package delivery.

The mantra for entrepreneurs is to look for problems no one else has solved - and solve them.

The obstacle is the path.