“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”

– Jim Rohn

 

One of the greatest enemies to business success is Shiny Object Syndrome.

I’m not talking about the one where you are really attracted to shiny things – although that could prove to be really distracting as well. I’m talking about whenever you hear of a new tech tool, or see a new gadget or business course, you pull out your credit card cause you have to try it!

I am a prime example of someone who has shiny object syndrome all.the.time.

And being fully transparent, I have just recently gotten my obsession with “the next new thing” under control. For real.

As an entrepreneur, you are probably highly creative, intuitive and optimistic by nature, and it’s likely common for you to have a mind full of new ideas at any given moment.

You see opportunity where many others don’t and the trouble arises when you want to bring all of the ideas to life at the same time. It may also be difficult for you to say ‘no’ to pursuing a new idea or opportunity when it’s presented because you love ‘new’ and ‘exciting’!

Some days you may feel you’re chasing after many ideas at the same time while accomplishing no real progress on any one of them.

 

How do you beat shiny object syndrome?

 

In order to beat Shiny Object Syndrome it’s important to pick ONE idea and focus your undivided attention on it. Of all the ideas you have in your head right now, write them down and decide which one to work on first using this criteria:

• Which one has the potential to make you the most money (your signature course)?
• Which one is the easiest to implement (an ebook)?
• Which one do you already have the necessary equipment for (starting a YouTube channel)?

It’s up to you which of these methods you want to choose, and this should be the one idea you want to focus your complete attention, energy and resources on.

Many other great ideas and opportunities will come your way as you work on bringing your best idea to life, but until that happens, keep a running “Great Idea/Opportunity” list where you can keep a record of these items for future attention.

All of those great ideas and opportunities are useless to you if you can’t bring them to full completion within an effective time frame. What typically happens is we start one project, get a couple days into it, then start another, bounce back and forth between the two, maybe start another and before you know it, you have 3 unfinished projects going in the same timeframe that you could have had 1 finished one.

 

Take Action

 

With your best idea at the forefront, decide on how to implement a structured plan. Map your plan into bite-size, manageable pieces and once done, focus your attention on completing the first step. Only once you have completed that step, move on to the next.

Work in 2-week sprints and decide how many sprints it will take to complete the entire project.

Keep in mind, throughout the process distractions will surround you. When presented with an opportunity, albeit a good one, learn to say no if it takes you away from your primary goal. Add it to your list and revisit it later.

It’s often hard for entrepreneurs to say no but chasing many ideas simultaneously will only put you further and further behind.

So, where do you start today?

Here’s a brief guideline to help you along:

1. Make a list of all the ideas and opportunities on your ‘to do’ list right now.
2. Pick the one that best moves you toward your goals and develop a manageable plan to complete it.
3. When distractions arise, ask yourself, “Will this bring me closer to my goal or take me further away from it?”
4. If they take you away from your primary goal, learn to say no.

So, do you think you can get your shiny object syndrome under control?