One key difference between entrepreneurs that make it and those that don’t is focus. Putting all of their energy in as few directions as possible (ideally one) in order to go further.

 

Switching between projects doesn’t just cost your own brainspace. It costs your brainspace in other people’s heads. They don’t know how to help you. They don’t know how to promote or refer you. They don’t dig into the confusion they just shrug and move on.

 

Then there’s the cost of being pulled away from a main project in order to give attention to any number of side projects. The financial cost. The mental overhead. 

 

It takes so much energy to make a business fly. Why would anyone dilute their attention?

 

But they do. Time and time again, side projects are started, focus wanes and energy is diverted. I’ve been guilty of it myself. Adding tasks, buying domain names, setting up Shopify sites, thinking I’ll just see where this other thing goes or kidding myself that my main thing has hit a ceiling. 

 

I used to think it was admirable to have a lot of things going on. Fingers in a lot of pies, as the saying goes. I’ve changed my mind.

 

My new strategy is to go all in on one thing. Just one thing. Full focus, full attention, no side projects. After a long time of deciding which shot to take, I’m throwing the kitchen sink at one business.

 

I’m closing down other options to access more focus. Random websites, unfinished word documents, bookmarks saved just in case. It feels nice to declutter and minimise in this way.

 

Some questions for you: If you had to go all in on one project, one business or one cause, which would it be? What could you remove or close if you really had to? What would doing this free up? What could that space bring?