Sometimes “getting shit done” means putting fun things aside… temporarily.
This isn’t a sales email. Actually, it’s kind of the opposite. Not in an ‘Unsubscribe now‘ kind of way, but rather an ‘I need to focus on my one thing‘ kind of way.
Many of you have been sharing your ‘one thing’ focus over the past few emails and I’ve been pushing you to clarify them as trackable goals you can work to fulfill.
In conversations with Courtney W. and Maxx H., a trend has emerged. It’s in regards to financial goals. You should have two: one that’s internal (things you make that people pay you for) and one that’s external (things people pay you to do for them).
For me, my internal is Ghost Influence. I consistently work to develop the offering to current and future members while marketing it to develop my income. My external focus is consulting where I bill based on day rate with a ten day minimum.
If someone doesn’t fit in either of those “buckets” — I refer them elsewhere.
This enables me to focus on the actions that will make the greatest progress towards my core goals while also helping other people reach theirs. Every time I turn down a client, like a hot girl refusing to give her number at a bar, I increase my value.
This morning I wrapped a client call, ending our agreement, and am working to finish some copy/creative for my retainer client as just yesterday we agreed to start phasing me out (something I’ve been working towards for a month). Both of these events give me more time to focus on the Ghost Influence redesign and marketing strategy once it’s live. Hint: you’re reading some of the content 😉
One of my secret weapons is the Pomodoro app which uses the simple, yet powerful, Pomodoro Technique. Essentially it’s a customizable timer. With my settings, I commit to a specific task (all notifications disabled) for 25 minutes and I do nothing except that task until the timer goes off. I then have a 5 minute break without any technology to pee, stretch, or get some sun before starting a new ‘Pomodoro’ cycle with a new (or revised) focus. My goal today is to do four of these effectively.
Do I have like ten exciting things to share with you? Yes. Can I do that effectively without draining focus from my ‘one thing’? No. That means that the fun thing (writing epic shit for you and responding to your emails) needs to wait for another day.
It’s not that I’m not doing it, I’m just not doing it now. Focus 😉
What are you working on right now? What’s the single biggest hurdle you face?
Be specific! My good friend Jock, of Digital Exits, brokers the sale of digital businesses and, when asked who he’d like to meet, said “people with e-commerce businesses who are generating 300-500K in net revenue annually.” Specific as fuck.
No matter what, when I hear “e-commerce” and “current revenue” in the same sentence, I start seeing if there’s an opportunity to introduce him. He told me that in November of 2014 and has held a piece of real estate in my head ever since.
P.S. I just realized I used the subject ‘Open any door’ on both 1/27 and 2/7.