Project Focus: Skill
Start your “Later List”.
Take out a blank sheet of paper.
Write “Later” at the top.
Every time you have a great idea to do start a new project, put it on this list.
Revisit the list quarterly.
Scratch off the ideas that no longer interest you, that you’ve determined won’t work; or want to delay further.
The reason most businesses don’t grow is simple: their owner.
The owner of the business doesn’t spend time doing things that grow the business; or, in some cases, they spend time doing things that actually harm the business.
Maybe the owner is spending too much time making the cookies and checking the receipts, and not enough time on marketing or partnerships. Or possibly the owner isn’t sure what to do. In most cases, the owner has too many ideas and not enough time, and they spend all day in a state of “busy” but don’t actually accomplish anything.
To grow the business, the owner must develop the skill of focus, both short-term and long-term.
Short-term: remove distractions, then do one thing to grow your business every day before you do anything else. End the day with a 5-minute reflection on what went right – this will fuel the next day and reinforce the skill of focus. It’s like hitting ‘save game’.
Long-term: write an annual plan. Break the plan into quarters. Act on the plan and stick to it. Remove distractions by putting new projects on a ‘later list’. Get them out of your head and into the (possible) future. Hire a mentor.
As my mentor, Dan Martell, told me back in 2017: “Most entrepreneurs start working on a second idea because, deep down, they’re not confident in their original idea.”
This project started on 041224. Start there.
Listen: Why You’re Not Growing
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