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10
SOAR TO SUCCESS
/
OCT. 2015
/
Core Business Strategies
The
Deadly
Mi s t a k e
most
Entrepreneuers
make
Every Day
By Joan Washburn
Every entrepreneur I have ever
known by their very nature, sees
opportunities all around them.
They notice ways to make
things better, meet a need, or fix
a problem.
However, this acute awareness
can become their greatest
weakness if not kept in check.
Often it’s not a lack of ideas
that keeps them from achieving
things, but having TOO MANY
ideas to choose from! There
are just so many shiny things to
distract us!
But not all that glitters is gold.
Shiny Object Syndrome is the
tendency to get distracted by
new thoughts and ideas, and
never focus on or complete
anything. It’s a state of constant
distraction where we continually
lose ourselves in imagination
and dreaming, instead of
seeing the bigger picture and
accomplishing our goals.
You’ve experienced it,
I am sure. It looks like this:
• In the middle of a challenging
project, you decide to check
your email, peruse a favorite
newsfeed, Facebook, Twitter
or check your text messages.
An hour later you go back
to the project and have to
reorient yourself as to where
you where before you can
continue.
• You are always ready to take
on a new project, even if your
workload is heavy, because
the allure of a new challenge
is just more than you can
resist. There’s such great
energy and excitement in
starting something new!
• You are constantly starting
new ideas only to move on
to the next one as soon as
implementing the first idea
gets difficult. For example,
you start a new workout
program, then drop it for the
latest craze, never reaching
your original fitness goal.
Basically, you constantly start
things, but often don’t finish
them before you are off on the
next Shiny Object.
Sound Familiar?
Don’t worry, it’s not fatal, but
it can cause you to fill up your
day with busyness, not focused
on or accomplishing anything
that moves you toward an
important goal. You waste
countless hours and dollars in
pursuit of a new shiny object
when you haven’t thought
through whether this new item,
technique, service or product is
“right” for your business or your
life.
When we are chasing after
shiny objects instead of taking
focused action toward what’s
important to us, we become
frustrated, disappointed in
ourselves, and downright weary.
At the end of the day we begin
to question our commitment
and even the goal or dream we
started out for in the beginning
Again, don’t worry - it’s not fatal!
Here are some very effective
steps you can take to avoid
being distracted by Shiny
Objects once and for all.
I call them the 3 C’s.