I Wish I Knew How to Focus Sooner

Experts often emphasize the importance of focus, suggesting that individuals can achieve greatness by eliminating distractions and committing to one thing. This advice holds across various fields, from art and sports to entrepreneurship and science.

However, determining what to focus on amidst numerous options can be challenging. How does one know where to direct their energy and attention? How do they identify the one thing worth committing to? While I don't have all the answers, I've learned valuable insights I'd like to share.

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"Persist Until Success Comes Naturally..."

Consulting over Ideas

 Like many entrepreneurs, my first year of building a business was filled with struggles and setbacks. I launched my initial product without a clear target audience, resulting in no sales. I made mistakes, mismanaged expectations, and damaged potential relationships with people I admired. I attempted to teach myself coding, only to undo months of work with one misguided change to my website.

Simply put, I was lost and didn't know what I was doing. However, I received valuable advice during this challenging time: "Try things until something comes easily." Taking this to heart, I experimented with four or five different business ideas over the next 18 months, interspersed with freelance work to make ends meet. Eventually, I stumbled upon something that clicked, and I focused on building one successful business instead of constantly searching for the right idea.

This experience taught me a crucial lesson: sometimes, to find your focus, you must explore various paths before discovering what comes naturally to you. By experimenting with different ventures, you can identify what works best and set yourself up for success. After all, it's much easier to concentrate on something already promising than to persist with a flawed concept.

Making a Decision on What to Concentrate On

Never stop Experimenting

If you're open to experimenting and trying different approaches, the next step is determining what comes more naturally to you. Observing and measuring your progress is the best way to figure this out. For entrepreneurs, it might involve tracking marketing and promotional efforts. For those aiming to build muscle, it could mean monitoring workout sessions. Similarly, keeping track of practice sessions is essential if you're learning a musical instrument. Despite measuring progress, there comes a time when you must decide on what to prioritize. This moment of decision-making is a significant aspect of entrepreneurship.

Do you continue exploring new ideas or focus on refining one strategy? Do you strive for innovation or commit to mastering one skill? Everyone wants to know the ideal time to simplify and concentrate on one thing, but a definitive answer remains. This ambiguity is what makes success in entrepreneurship challenging. Unlike baking a cake following a recipe, there's no guidebook for entrepreneurship. At this stage, the best approach is to make a decision. You can't try everything; sometimes, you don't need more information; you must choose a path forward.

Dedicating Yourself to Hard Work

Finding What Works Best For You

Now, we've reached the stage where deciding what to focus on becomes a real possibility. After experimenting with various ideas, you've identified one or two options that yield better results. You've overcome the hesitation of wanting more information and the fear of committing to something, and now you've made a choice. Whether taking a job, starting a business, or signing up for a class, you're ready to dive in.

Welcome to the grind. It's time to put in the work consistently, not just once or twice when it's easy, but a steady and repeated effort. You have to embrace the monotony and stick with it. You'll grasp the fundamentals of your task through this sheer number of repetitions. You might have an idea of greatness, but you will only understand how to achieve it once you've put in the hard work yourself. In the words of Ira Glass,

"Your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you."

By consistently putting in the effort, you'll bridge the gap between what you know is good and what you can produce yourself.

This principle applies to many aspects of life. If you want to dress well and develop a killer style, try on many clothes before simplifying the essentials. You might have to buy many clothes before discovering your day-to-day style. While excessive shopping isn't encouraged, mastering this skill often requires experimentation and effort.

Similarly, becoming a great cook involves making numerous bad meals before consistently creating simple but tasty dinners. It takes hundreds, if not thousands, of attempts to develop a deep understanding of cooking fundamentals. Likewise, writing a fantastic book requires relentless writing and editing. You must write hundreds or millions of words to find your voice and refine your ideas.

Through countless repetitions, you will only grasp which aspects of the task are essential for success.

The Key is Simplicity 

You Don't Have to Re-invent the Wheel

After experimenting with various options, identifying what to concentrate on, and putting in sufficient practice, you can start simplifying. You can eliminate unnecessary elements because you understand what is essential. This process is akin to what the French philosopher Blaise Pascal expressed in his Provincial Letters:

"If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter."

Mastering the basics is often the most challenging and time-consuming part of any endeavor.

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