You don't need any new ideas.

If you want to be successful, you need to do less, not more.?

You need to F.O.C.U.S.

This applies to almost any situation, and is one of the major reasons most people never achieve their goals.

Because, like Confucius said “The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a big believer that you can have it all.?

And I passionately rail against the tyranny of Or.

However, until you can develop the mental fortitude to

F.O.C.U.S = Follow. One. Course. Until. Successful.?

You will be forever spinning your wheels getting nowhere.?

Take this example:

Let’s say you have a goal to grow a business to $10m in annual revenue in 5 years.

And let’s say, you’re starting from zero.

So, you come up with a business idea, and launch it to market, and you manage to grow that business to $83k a month in revenue.

Congratulations, you now have a business doing about $1m in revenue.

But now, things start getting harder…

You have to start thinking differently and learning new skills in order to try and grow beyond that number…?

It starts to feel uncomfortable.?

So, instead of staying focussed, and developing the skills you need to get to the next level, you decide that “diversification” is the way to get to your goal.

So, you start dreaming up all kinds of new businesses or products that you can launch to try and accrete more value out of the business you have already built.

Eg; Think a gym owner who launches a supplement line etc

You try to justify it to yourself by thinking of “all of the efficiencies” you’ll create, and “how much money you’re leaving on the table”.

In reality, you’re lying to yourself and keeping yourself small.?

And business owners who follow this path usually end up with several small businesses that never achieve critical mass of sustainability.

And they get stuck.

Even if all of these good ideas became $1m revenue companies, you would still need 10 of them to get to your revenue goal.

And a $1m company is not big enough for you to be able to afford to build the team that will successfully operate the business without you…?

Which means you’ll need to be running around 10 different businesses, putting out fires and never sleeping at night.?

And by the way, because of the lack of focus, all of those businesses will suck, and will never be best in class at anything, which means you’ll develop a reputation for mediocrity.

Sounds like hell.?

In most cases, the single thing you need to do to get to your goal, is to do more of the thing that is already working.?

I’ll say that again, but differently.

If you have something that is working, where you have proven traction, the mostly likely path to success is to do more of that exact same thing.?

No additional business ideas.?

No additional product lines.?

Nada.?

And this doesn’t just apply to business, it applies in all areas of life.?

However, if you are a business owner, wondering how and when you get to play with new ideas, or when you should consider diversifying, ask yourself these questions:?

• Is the current business you have able to not only run without you, but grow without you?
• Have you reached, or can you see in the near distance, the limits of your market potential?

If the answer is yes to either of those, then you may be in a position to start playing with shiny new ideas.

If the answer is no to both of those, and you have a business that is already making money, then you have three options:

• FOCUS on getting the company to a yes on either of the above questions.
• Shut the company down, or sell it if you can, and go do something else.
• Keep spinning your wheels and wondering why you’re not moving closer to your goal.

Of course, it depends on what success looks like to you.?

The choice is yours.?

Choose wisely.