How To Stay Focused On One Thing As An Entrepreneur [Shield Yourself From A Noisy World]

How To Stay Focused On One Thing As An Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, you can easily find yourself bunny hopping from one business idea to another.

It's almost like throwing mud at a wall and hoping for something to stick.

For a long time, I found myself going from one 'golden' idea to another, hoping that something works out.

Without giving it enough time, I soon found myself, yet again, doing something brand new and leaving what could have been a massive success.

This is what we call 'shiny object syndrome' - constantly jumping from one trend or business idea to another without fully seeing them through.

While other people might call it 'serial entrepreneurship,' it's a trap a lot of people fall into when they let their ego get the best of them.

In today's world, it can be extremely difficult to avoid shiny object syndrome.

No matter where we find ourselves in this digital world, there are people sharing information that can have an influence on our actions.

At one point you might find the perfect clothing brand YouTube video which motivates you to start your own clothing brand.

A few days later, someone can be telling you about forex trading on Instagram.

Given the habits we all share, sticking to one business idea can be difficult, however, it's not impossible.

Here's how you can stay focused on one thing as an entrepreneur.

Stay off social media

Let's begin with the easiest way to help you stay focused on one thing.

It's simply getting off of social media.

This might sound very difficult because it seems that all our lives are heavily focused on having a social life too.

No matter who you are, you most likely have a social media account that you're glued to for a few hours out of your day.

This is the main reason you might be jumping from one thing to another.

Social media can be very toxic, and it's the easiest way to find yourself depressed or sad.

When I used to go on social media all the time, I found myself leaving my phone worse off than when I first picked it up.

This is because everything we see on social media is a facade - it gives people the opportunity to live lives that they can't in real life and so a lot of people use it as a gateway to show off a mask of perfection.

Whenever you visit Instagram or TikTok, you come across people who are 'living' the life that you want to live or doing something you want to do.

Social media is a very distracting place, and that's exactly why you want to stay off it.

Research shows that once you lose focus, it can take up to 23 minutes to regain it.

If you're someone who uses social media consistently, every day, it might sound daunting going from 3 hours+ per day to 10 minutes per day on social media, if not 0.

However, you don't need to make this massive leap immediately. 

A lot of people fail to build habits because they try to run before they can walk.

Start by slowly decreasing your social media usage.

You can download apps that monitor how long you spend on certain apps and trigger warnings when you reach a certain time.

Slowly decrease the time you spend on social media a day by increments of 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or whatever you can handle.

Within a few weeks, you'll notice a massive difference.

Write out a business plan and follow it

The reason a lot of people get distracted is that they're unaware they've even made progress.

When it feels like something is simply not working out, it can be tempting to go out and find something else.

This is where it's important to stop ourselves and realise we're about to make a massive mistake.

What many don't realise is that almost any business has the opportunity to become wildly successful.

Every business can reach $100,000 per year in revenue.

99% of businesses can reach $1,000,000 per year in revenue.

It's about sticking to it and seeing it through, no matter what happens along the way.

However, it can be difficult when we don't have a way of seeing the progress we're making.

I heard a very powerful quote today that explained how you can ease your overthinking.

It referred to a quote in a book called 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse.'

The boy and the horse were walking through a dark forest when the boy said 'I can't see a way out of this forest.'

The horse replied, 'can you see your next step?' to which the boy nodded his head.

The horse, once again, said 'so focus on that.'

The reason it might feel like we don't make progress in our businesses is because we try to jump the gun and then we feel like a failure when we miss.

This is why business plans are so important, no matter what business you're in.

Creating a short, one-page business plan can act as your light in the dark when things seem bleak.

When you feel like you're not making progress, look at your business plan because it will tell you exactly how much progress you've really made.

Invest in courses or coaches

For a long time, I was against investing in courses because I believed they had nothing to offer me.

Even after I finally swallowed my pride and decided to buy courses, I realised that everything taught in the course was already free knowledge that I could easily access elsewhere.

Nothing new came from the course and it was an annoying feeling knowing I had spent over $1000 on a course without learning much.

I always believed there's a 'secret' that courses had, however, I found out the hard way that this was not true by any means.

Despite all of this, there was one thing that kept me going.

The feeling of spending $1000+ without making a return pushed me every day to get up and get to work.

Instead of bringing me down, it helped me up on my feet because I had another reason to keep going.

$1000 is a lot of money for many people. Some people get paid $1000 per month, and it means a lot to them.

Therefore, investing $1000 into a course might not seem like such a smart investment, especially given everything I just mentioned.

Knowledge is abundant. The secrets that the rich used to withhold from the lower class are no longer a secret, and everyone has the same or similar opportunities today.

Therefore, purchasing a course isn't only about the knowledge that comes from it - it's also about you and your mindset.

If $1000 is a lot of money to you (which it should be), investing this to keep you motivated in times of hardship is important.

Not only that, but courses also come with mentors.

A lot of people who start courses want to differentiate themselves by increasing the value of their courses.

Therefore, they might include weekly 1-1 coaching calls as part of their offering which essentially means you're getting a mentor with the course.

This is crucial because you'll be able to get direct access to people who have done what you want to do and can help you get there faster.

Wealth is built on the relationships you have because you never know where one connection can take you, or what doors they can open for you.

Join groups of like-minded people

When I was working on my startup, Condensr, I had the chance to speak to a great person who taught me quite a lot.

She was at a similar stage to me with her business, yet she was quite well ahead too.

As part of my market research for Condensr, I was able to ask her how and why she carries on educating herself and got a pretty good answer.

She said that she had a group of people who were in the same or similar shoes as her.

She said that the point she's currently at now is difficult, it can get lonely, however, having people who understand where you are and push you to keep going is important.

I had a similar experience, ironically, when I bought my first course.

It turns out that the motivation to make back what you lost isn't the only benefit of buying courses.

It's the access to the like-minded community that you unlock which makes up for the price tag.

As soon as I made the purchase, I felt my heart drop as I physically felt the $1000+ being ripped out of my bank account.

Following this painful feeling, there was a moment of fulfillment. A sense of relief engulfed me.

I knew that I had made the right choice and that I now have access to a bunch of others in the same situation as myself.

A few days after joining the group, I managed to find someone who I still speak to today.

We were at the exact same place with our marketing agencies and it was amazing to have someone push me when I was down, someone to talk to when things didn't work out.

A lot of the time, you're going to face dark times that no one will understand unless they've been where you are or are going through it too.

The only way to find these people is through these communities of like-minded people.

Start with Facebook groups. You're sure to find people there!

Celebrate small wins

There's a direct correlation between this final point and the point about writing a business plan.

See, it's easy to feel like you're not making progress when you're so fixated on a single goal.

You might be so focused on reaching $10,000 per month that you completely forget the fact that you went through $1000, $2000, and maybe even $3000 per month.

As soon as something goes wrong and you trip over yourself, you start to throw blame and talk negatively about yourself as though you've made no progress at all.

However, when we change our mindset to see the smaller things, we're able to realise how big of an achievement $1K per month is, or $3K per month.

Depending on where you are, you're now earning enough money from home to never have to work again in your life.

However, in the grand scheme of things, $1K per month might seem like nothing when your ultimate goal is $1 million per month.

No matter what your goal is, you should celebrate small wins.

Small wins are a sign of progress - progress, no matter what shape or form it takes, is progress nonetheless.

Not long ago, you weren't where you are now.

When I first decided to get into business, I took a massive leap, making a decision that changed the entire trajectory of my life.

At the time, it didn't seem like a win in my books unless I succeeded with what I came here to do - make a ton of money.

However, that should have been a cause for celebration.

Let's think even smaller. Making your first dollar online is a cause for celebration.

Watching the first video about becoming financially free is a cause for celebration.

Reading a business book is a cause for celebration.

Picking out your business name, your logo design, are all causes for celebration.

You're one step closer to where you need to be.

When we look at it this way, it's much easier to stay motivated and focused on one thing.

We start to see that we're actually moving ever closer to our goals instead of watching them get further and further away.

That's how to stay focused on one thing as an entrepreneur. That's how you shield yourself from a noisy world.

Did you find this article helpful? 

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Till next time,

Mohamad