theParagon

How to Stay Focused

Something that everyone tells you when starting a business is to “Stay Focused” or better yet, “Understand who you are and where you’re going”. This is great advice but I don’t think people understand this until they’ve been in business for a few years, if at all.

I think I’m starting to figure out what this means and thought I’d provide my understanding of it in hope of possibly clarifying it for myself and others.

You see - “Staying Focused” is important but where people fail is understanding the different paths available in taking you there.

The best way I can explain this is through a personal example.

I have a few visions (still being clarified) on where I want to take Elevator Up. Part of this vision relies on working more for myself than for other people/clients. That said, you need money to do things that will get you there.

So how can you get money? Well, it’s tempting to do what I’ve done for years - create websites. There are a lot of people needing small $3,000-$5,000 websites and it’s quick money.

Herein lines the problem though - My goal/focus isn’t on developing small websites and they aren’t helping me in any way other than some extra cash to do something else.

That may sound ok to you but the reality is that it also distracts me from getting closer to my true goals. The quick money I make is nice but it wastes a few months of time that I should have been using to get closer to my goals.

So how do I get to my goals? “Stay Focused” or “Understand who I am and where I’m going” - If I remember this and keep moving forward - I’ll actually achieve something I want. Not something I don’t care about like a small website.

What’s the next step for me? To say “NO” to people. It’s an extremely hard thing to do because I see their need and I know how to solve their problems. However, if it’s not helping me, I’ll never be able to move forward.

So figure out what you’re trying to do in life and do your best to keep that focus and quit wasting your time on the other stuff - because it’s not where you want to be.

posted on October 13, 2006 | 5:33 PM EST