Staying Focused on Your Business
Laser focusing is just what it sounds like. You finally make the decision to not just focus, but LASER focus on ONE thing. You put your blinders on to all of the glitter, sparkles and shine outside of what you are focusing on–and believe me, there will always be plenty of glitter, sparkles and shine out there. Laser focusing is having TRUE self-discipline and somewhat of a habit to develop.
Believe it or not, it took me over a YEAR into this wonderful industry to TRULY laser focus. Before, I was claiming to be laser focused but I would still take a glimpse at about 10% of the things that came across my desk. Oh..and not once did it ever end up being worth it.
Learn the critical mistakes that myself and others have made and spare yourself. :)
Here are some of the things that happen when you DO NOT laser focus:
1) Your partners and/or team question your leadership. Leaders are committed and not easily swayed. Leaders are also big on duplication and using a million “tools” and juggling a bunch of businesses is NOT duplicable. What kind of message are you sending out to them if you can’t even focus on your main opportunity? What kind of credibility do you have? Chase enough things and you’re going to start worrying people about your stability. Serious hustlers want to lock arms with those that are stable and consistent, not chasing the next best thing.
2) Your income doesn’t typically grow to epic proportions. In fact, nearly all of the individuals I’ve met attempting to juggle more than one opportunity are either broke or making barely enough to get by. This excludes heavy-hitters who HAVE already mastered something, which we will cover in the next bullet–#3. But if you’re not making an absolute minimum of $25,000 per month, chances are..you aren’t a TRUE master and shouldn’t be adding more to your plate. Personally, I’m surrounded by too many business partners making $100,000-$250,000+ per month (yes, per month) in their first 10-15 months into the game and that’s where I want to be before adding anything else to my portfolio.
Hint: Not a single one of them did this running after more than one thing–100% of them were laser focused and I don’t know about you, but I observe the actions of the people out there having the kind of success that I want and I take notes and move fast.
3) You NEVER master anything or become the expert of it because you’re chasing 2 rabbits at once. What happens? You don’t catch either of them. YES, heavy-hitters often have multiple streams of income and I don’t want to discourage that, but they generally MASTER their first business project and are at a point where the foundation of that income is rock solid and being leveraged through a system.
They’ve mastered the art of making money work for them and now have free time AND money to invest into additional (and usually complimentary) business projects.
Seriously..go read a few books on successful people and I promise you that almost ALL of them did ONE thing and became kick-ass at it before they moved onto the next.
4) You make yourself look poverty-minded and broke because it comes off as though you just can’t stand to lose a commission. You’re running on desperation. I’m not judging you. In my first month in this industry I was juggling THREE direct sales businesses. That lasted all of about 60 days and guess what? I WAS functioning on desperation because I was SUPER desperate to leave my analyst position in corporate media..and now I know better. Whatever ENERGY you’re putting out there, you’re going to receive more of until you chill out, get serious and commit to mastering ONE thing.
5). You look like a fearful scaredy cat. Let’s face it, there are a TON of awesome opportunities out there with GREAT marketing. The marketing is SO good it practically “scares” you into thinking you’re missing the “next big thing..” Throw in the word “NDA”, “worldwide pre-launch”, “epic game changer” and you’ve got a ton of reverse psychology in action.
Here’s the truth..it MAY be the next big thing, but if I could put a number on it..there’s a 99.9% chance it will not be…and I’m telling you from experience.
But Deanna, what if it IS the next big thing and I just missed out? Real talk, you will NEVER miss out if you understand that the “next big thing” is YOU. YOUR ambition, determination and consistency, when applied with passion, can help you reach all of your goals.
There are thousands of vehicles to make your millions, not just one. You cannot successfully drive multiple vehicles at one time, especially if the first one hasn’t been “mastered” and isn’t already on autopilot…and even the wealthiest people understand that.
You’re the driver. Pick your vehicle and stick with it because, ultimately, if you keep on driving and follow ONE course with dedication, you WILL reach your endpoint.
6) You overwhelm yourself and BURN OUT. I have done this before. Building a business is hard enough, so what did you seriously think was going to happen attempting to build more than one?…successfully, at that… ;-) Can you imagine if someone decided to go to school to become a lawyer, doctor and engineer all at once?
Building a business isn’t any different. It’s the School of Hardknocks. So pick the “major” that you like most, GRADUATE and then decide if you’d like to add another major, LATER.
If you don’t, prepare to be SO burnt that you practically immobilize yourself. I did this for a LARGE part of 2012 and I have as much energy and drive as you can imagine. I’m a self-admitting workaholic but the brain & body just won’t have it. You will blow a fuse and take just as long to get back up. NOBODY is the exception to this rule.