I have a friend, a successful businessperson, who describes himself as a ‘monomaniac on a mission’. He’s focused and passionate and lets nothing distract him from his goals.
Many people say something similar, but he actually does it.
He does it by eliminating most things that aren’t ‘it’.
Other businesses, people who drain his energy or distract him, things that require too much time.
As I say, he’s focused.
But he isn’t a workaholic.
He doesn’t get up early, put in impossibly long hours, and have no free time. He does his work, makes lots of time for his family, takes vacations, watches sports, exercises, and reads.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was well-rounded. But he’s not. He’s a monomaniac on a mission.
He’s focused on growing his business.
And yet he works fewer hours than most people. He’s more successful than most people because he gets more out of the hours he works.
How? He knows what he wants and how to get it and he just does the work.
Over and over.
He doesn’t get creative. He keeps turning the wheel. Many people would find what he does boring, but he’s long past that. He knows what works and he keeps his eye on the prize.
He doesn’t get bogged down with decisions or trying out new ideas. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and have to spend time fixing them.
He has a huge sense of urgency and doesn’t let anything (or anyone) get in his way.
Which means he works faster than others, and make more progress in an hour than some people make in a week.
Is this what it takes to make it big in business? In the beginning, when you’re trying to learn your business, meet people, and generate momentum, I’d say it is for many people. That’s what I did when I started practicing.
But when I got to a certain level of success, I took my foot off the accelerator a bit and did some other things.
Because I was not a monomaniac on a mission.
My friend has made many millions of dollars and reached the pinnacle of success in his industry. And while he’s branched out, too, he’s still very much focused on growing his business.
Just something to think about as you plan your week. And career.
