Overcome Distraction
As an entrepreneur or small business owner, there might not be anything more important to your ultimate success than knowing how to overcome distraction and get things DONE! After all, you can have million-dollar ideas, read countless best-selling books, attend dozens of motivational seminars, and buy all the home study courses in the world. But if you don’t put swift action behind intent, then you will never achieve results in your business.
In fact, speed is the No. 1 requirement of fast wealth. If you look at those who are successful in business, they all share an affinity for not only getting things done, but getting those things done quickly. And they don’t make excuses. When you think about it, everyone has the same amount of time: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The difference is that the mega-successful understand how to stay focused in order to make the most of that time.
On Monday, May 3, Toni and I are going to reveal some surprising truths about how you can learn to be more focused in your business – and it has nothing to do with organization or time management techniques (not that those things aren’t important). But these strategies are sure to surprise you.
I’ll give you more details on that in a minute. But right now, we want to share with you our three D’s of what it takes to get things done.
1.) DECIDE. As an entrepreneur you need to be making decisions All. The. Time. And you need to make decisions fast. If you are starting one project and then another (and then another) without ever finishing something. If you have one foot in one business idea and the other foot in another idea. If you have emails piling up that you aren’t sure what to do with. Then you have not made a decision. By becoming aware of these types of “open decision loops” you’ll soon learn how to nix the dead-end, low-value and invisible things that are sapping your time and your energy.
So be courageous. Know what it is you are working to create, and then make decisions that are in alignment with that vision at the exclusion of everything else.
2.) DELEGATE. If you don’t have a team – GET ONE. Like, right now! smiley Or, if you do have a team, but you’re not growing at the pace you desire, then consider expanding it.
Keep in mind that you need to hire people for the level of growth you want to be at – not the place you are now. BELIEVE that you will have success, and put in place the systems and the people that will allow for you to achieve it.
Think about what you can outsource right now, as well as what can you outsource in the near future. Build the list “on paper” so that you can see it. Then determine the types of people you need to hire to help you tackle it. It might include any combination of the following:
* Virtual assistant
* In-house assistant
* Intern
* Web master
* Graphic designer
* Client service manager
* Bookkeeper
* CPA or tax accountant
* Joint venture manager
* Family – your spouse, your mom, your kids, your sister…
And don’t forget about hiring people to help around the house if you need it.
Thinking like the CEO of your business means learning to use your valuable time wisely. My support team consists of a nanny, a housekeeper, a grocery delivery service, a dog walker, a lawn care service and a pool “guy,” not to mention an amazing husband and family members that help out with our kids when we need it. Next on my list is a personal assistant to help out with running errands. Why? Because my time is way better spent working with clients or enjoying quality time with my sons than standing in line to make returns at Target!
3.) DO. At the end of the day, you need to actually DO the things that you’ve decided must be done and that you aren’t going to delegate to someone else. Most importantly however, those things on your to-do list need to be the right things.
Experts say you should spend your time on revenue-generating activities. That’s true. But to take that one step further, you need to also look at what efforts are producing the majority of your results and then do more of them.
You may have heard of the 80/20 rule, or what’s called The Pareto Principle. This principle dates back to 1906 when Italian aristocrat, economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto spotted a recurring pattern in his studies. Essentially what the Pareto Principle says is that 80% of our results come from 20% of our activity. Applying this formula to everything you do in your business will help you save time, effort, and resources-plus make you money as well.
So how do you know what things in your business are producing 80% of your results? Simple: Measure. Measure. Measure. Ask your bookkeeper to keep you updated on which clients are spending the most money with you. Use your shopping cart reports to see which affiliates are generating the most sales. Look at your Google analytics report to see where the majority of your web traffic is coming from. Once you have the hard facts, you can put more effort into the things that are working and stop doing the things that aren’t. (Hint: Notice I said “stop” and not “reduce.”) J
We’ll be sharing more information related to this topic on our upcoming FREE live call, “Keeping Your Focus to the Finish Line: 5 Secrets to Sustaining Your Momentum.” The call, which is part of the Becoming Considerably Huge Telesummit, will be LIVE on May 3rd at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific.
If staying focused is something you struggle with, then you don’t want to miss this call. So be sure to grab your spot now!
by Angelique Rewers, ABC, APR
Richer. Smarter. Happier.
Source by Angelique L Rewers
