Forsaking all others…

Did you hear the story about the Oscar winner who simultaneously won a Nobel Prize? No, of course you didn’t. Because you nearly always find that people who rise to the very top of their game are intensely, passionately focussed on doing one thing, and doing it exceptionally well.

Even if you haven’t set your sights on one of the world’s most prestigious awards, it’s probably true for your life too. When you’re struggling to make your career take off, it’s tempting to hedge your bets: stick a few irons in a number of fires or, to put it more clearly, pursue a wide variety of business ventures (or sales opportunities, or hot contacts, or short-term projects) in the hope that one of them comes home, or at least provides a bit of income.

Tempting… but ultimately, misguided.

More likely, you’ll be so distracted and stressed and tired trying to service so many ideas that you wouldn’t spot a good opportunity if it bit you on the nose; never mind be in a position to invest the time it takes to make it into a reliable stream of income.

There comes a point when, if you’re serious about running your own business, you need to focus in on the idea that’s working best for you and put all of your energy and effort into making that into a success. You need to keep your eyes open for what’s working well: the friend who is always sending clients in your direction, the type of client who always leaves happy, the work that makes you feel alive, the thing that people ask you to do again, and again. Fanning the flames of these small successes, repeating the process, refining it, re-running it, making it more exciting, more efficient, more valuable… these are the beginnings of a business. They become the sales channel, the process, the thing that you want to do for ever, the service that people want from you, and you alone.

At first the signs may be difficult to see, especially if you’re not paying attention. Spend too long running around in a flap chasing every opportunity that comes your way and you’ll miss them. You have to look closely to see what’s working – and you also have to stop undermining yourself at every turn, telling yourself that nothing’s working. Something always is.

It’s easy to think that success, when it comes, is gift-wrapped surprise in a shiny box that plays a tune when you open it. In reality, it’s more likely to creep up on you in a slow, satisfying curve that results from your decision to focus on the thing you do best and refuse to give up, forsaking all others.

Please do something you love with your life

Why is it that we most admire people who do something amazing with their lives – but find it so hard to believe we can do something special with ours?

I wish I had £1 for everyone who has told me that they don’t really like the work they do but they really don’t think they could be successful at anything else. The reasons all sound good: too old, too experienced in one thing, not enough experience in anything, too poor to start, too rich to fail, too comfortable, too busy, too tired, too stressed, too scared. When you cut through the surface arguments, for most of there are 3 key problems:

- finding the self-confidence to believe our dream can really happen.

- carving out the time to pursue it.

- fear of financial failure.

Work is so much more exciting and rewarding when we connect to our underlying motivations. If you can identify the things that are really important to you and find a way to express them in your work you will be working at a completely different level. When that happens you’ll find that other elements of your life will be transformed. Your relationships, your sleep, your health, your whole outlook!

Research shows that when we work at a higher level we’re far more likely to be successful in our chosen venture. Think about it… Bring to mind someone you know who is really successful. How can you tell? Is it the car they drive? The size of their house? The way their partner looks? Or the way they smile? What, for you, equals success?

In fact, the research shows that being happy is a precursor to success – not the other way round. So people who prioritise happiness are more likely to have the trappings of success: the promotion, the great relationships, the happy kids, the Jimmy Choos…

I was listening to a podcast this week with Karen Capello – an inspirational life coach – as she described how she overcame one of her most debilitating beliefs around money. She had grown up in a lower-middle class family in Chicago where it was widely agreed that hard work and perseverance were the key to success; a belief that was common among people of that generation, my parents included. A couple of years ago she suddenly realised she was still carrying this belief – even though it’s no longer true. She lives in an age where you can work smarter rather than harder to get what you want. The evidence is all around.

You also live in an age where doing what you love is more likely to lead to success than banging your head against the same old brick wall. But you may find that your beliefs haven’t caught up with reality yet.

Our deepest fear is not t…