I think one of the hardest things to do as entrepreneurs is to maintain a narrow focus amidst all the things that are competing for our time and attention. Do you all agree with that?
What should I be working on? What’s the most important thing? Where do I commit my time? How do I stay motivated? How do I measure it all. All those questions, right?
I remember starting out, I was all over the place. Now I think I can say that a part of that season in my life served me because there was a LOT that I had to learn. There was also a LOT that I had to try and fail to get myself going down the right path. Does that make sense?
Because think about, there has to be seasons of struggle. You have to experience failure. Otherwise, if everything I had given my time and attention to had experienced any level of success, how would I know what things to let go, and which things to narrow in on?
I remember some aspects of my business early on that I thought were going to be the core of my future prosperity, and I was so off base. I really went all in on a lot of things.
What’s funny is that I remember going to a network marketing conference in my first year and had the opportunity to take part in a small group Q&A with a 7-figure earner in the company.
I remember being super eager and excited to tell them ALL THE THINGS that I was doing, and get their feedback about how I could succeed at it all. Their advice was sobering, and I actually wrote it down.
This is a snippet of my notes from that session in 2016 titled “Thoughts from Tracy”
“It sounds like you’re a little all over the place, and not focused on any one thing that will produce results for you. I’d pick a single thing that satisfies your short-term objectives and make a plan to spend an intense 3-6 months on it, and then execute on it a minimum of 3 hours per day (ideally the first 3 hours of the day). Since you need money, it should pay you in the short-term. You’ve got several different skillsets that could get you paid, but you need to commit to one of them for 3-6 months to build a good reputation, get money coming in the door, and gain lessons from that area. Then pick another project after that, once you’ve got some regular income flowing. Too much of everything results in too little of anything, and that’s the #1 reason why startups fail.”
Sobering right!? This was the best advice I could have ever received! It was exactly what I needed to hear and two weeks later was when my mom challenged me to start live streaming. I found my focus point, and for 6 months that was my one thing. And it changed my life.
The bottom line is that I stopped trying to do so many different things at once and I shifted my focus to something that I knew I could develop into a very lucrative skill. I knew it was my best shot and clearest path to creating income, building a tribe and gaining valuable experience along the way.
There’s a great Oprah Winfrey quote that says “You can have it all. Just not all at once.”
So with that in mind, here are 3 of the best tips I can give you to help you narrow your focus and do your single most important thing.
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