I’ve been in a stink lately with respect to my business goals. Ever since my book was published it’s become clear that I didn’t have a plan post-publishing my book.
One of the reasons I haven’t achieved my business goals is because I lacked clarity in what I wanted and my plan to get there. I haven’t been clear about my goals or my next steps. And I haven’t had something specific to work on daily that would produce the results I wanted.
All of this means I haven’t had much traction if any. So now I’m taking a few steps back to work on the basics.
And by basics I mean:
- Clarity of what I want at this stage.
- Identifying daily tasks.
- Identify what is my next big goal.
One thing I’ve been lacking is knowing what skill to develop on a daily or weekly basis which I’ve learned is critical.
In the process of building a business, one of the things I’ve noticed from my favorite people is the importance of having a limited list of specific skills to develop through small, but consistent actions.
I noticed from some of the successful entrepreneurs I’ve been studying that they’ve focused on mastering one or maybe two skills first and then adding other skills later.
They mastered ONE THING first. In the process, they developed multiple skills, but they’ve always had one core skill or foundational skill.
For example, Michael Hyatt spent years blogging which eventually led to writing books, paid speaking coaching, and also podcasting. But blogging is his main medium and skill.
John Maxwell started off as the lead pastor of a church for many years where he developed his leadership, thinking and storytelling skills. I’ve heard him say that speaking is his foundational skill or his area of “giftedness” as he likes to stay. Despite him having published close to a 100 books, speaking is his main thing. In fact, he uses someone else to write his books.
Eric Thomas, another Pastor, started by publishing one inspirational video per week to his youtube channel about ten years ago in addition to pastoral career. Today he’s described by some as the number one motivational speaker in the world. Since starting, he’s written multiple books, started a podcast, held live events, started multiple coaching businesses and other businesses as well. But speaking is his primary skill and video is his medium.
But focusing on specific skills isn’t just for entrepreneurs, it’s for regular careers as well. In fact, I just read about this in the book “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” by Cal Newport.
I highly recommend it.
Newport’s #1 rule is: Don’t follow your passion.
Instead of following your passion, Newport argues for what he calls the “craftsman mindset.” According to Newport, passion seekers ask themselves, “What can the world offer me?” But a craftsman asks
“What can I offer the world?”
And by “offer” he’s referring to a specific valuable skill that’s in demand. He views these skills as “career capital.”
My favorite entrepreneurs/role models have been working on a few laser focused skills consistently for years and over time have become experts in specific areas.
I want to decide on one skill to work on consistently and that’s where I’ve been stuck. The truth is I’ve been afraid of committing to one thing out of fear of missing out on all the other shiny objects around me.
But without clarity and focus there’s chaos and confusion the greatest tool for failure. If you can’t see your target how can you hit it?
I now realize we have the potential to be all over the place and in the process not stake a flag on any territory. With laser beam focus we waste less time to confusion, so we can get the right things done faster. We have a target.
Do you have one or two skills that you are working to master?
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