Why Distraction is Your Biggest Enemy.

Nothing will bankrupt your dreams for the future faster than distraction.

Not lack of experience.  Not bad luck.  Not even the worst economic disaster in 80 years.

It’s you being distracted and it’s guaranteed to rob you of everything you ever wanted for yourself.

Take being a business owner for example.  I hate to tell you, but the odds aren’t good to start with.

According to the best estimates, only one third of all businesses will ever make a profit.  Another third barely break even. And the rest never even get close.  According to a study by the U.S. Small Business Association only two thirds of businesses make it past the first two years and fewer than half make it to four.

It’s highly likely that even with the best degree, a hot product, and a massive opportunity market that your business dreams just won’t turn out to be the huge success that you imagine them to be.

Yes.  It’s hard to think about.  Frankly, it’s a little intimidating.

But here’s what’s exciting.

On top of all the facts and figures and premonitions of doom, you’ve figured out your single biggest enemy. And it’s something you hadn’t even considered before.

It’s s you being distracted.

And if you can solve your biggest problem, your odds for success just got a whole lot better.

So let’s talk about it.  Here are a two reasons why distraction is your biggest enemy:

1.  You can easily overlook the danger until it’s too late.

Activity doesn’t equal progress.  A lot of effort doesn’t mean that at the end of the day you’ve done anything other than run frantically in circles.  Distraction only amplifies that.

When you are really, really busy, it’s easy to imagine that everything you are doing will “somehow” make you successful.

It’s like you putting in massive effort is the magic fairy dust of karmic destiny creation.  And that’s just silly.  (And a little sad)

Doing things that don’t matter gets you the exact same results — results that doesn’t really matter.

And we do this in a lot of ways:

We talk about version three when the first prototype hasn’t even rolled off the assembly line yet.  Focus on getting something produced. We talk about customer service and client retention philosophy when we haven’t even sold the first product.  Focus on finding customers. We talk about company culture and corporate legacy without trying to improve our own attitudes and intentions.  Focus on being a better you before demanding it of anyone else.

It’s easy to overlook the danger of distraction until the day the CFO walks into your office with that look and quiet pause as he hands you a spreadsheet with a bunch of red columns.  You’re dead meat and it’s too late to fix it.

Distraction killed your dream.

2.  You can always (seem to) justify your actions.

Just because you can argue your way around an explanation doesn’t mean that you are right.  It doesn’t mean that winning the debate justifies you doing the wrong things.  And frankly, since we are on the subject, don’t buy into the notion that being that guy that never gets proven wrong gets you anywhere closer to your goal of outrageous success.

That’s a massive distraction all by itself.

If you need to justify your actions, you might not be doing the right thing in the first place.  It’s a huge warning sign.

You have to be brutally honest with yourself.  Too much cake is just as bad as not enough vitamins.  Both together make an bigger mess.  And you trying to justify your way around distracting bad habits and guilt pleasures only makes you ever less likely to realize your dreams.

You can argue away your distractions.  And for a moment you may even convince yourself that your actions are helping.  But really you’re just leaving yourself less prepared than ever to actually realize your dreams coming true.

So don’t be distracted.

Apply a relentless focus on the key issues that get you to the future you want for yourself.

Get serious about it.  Be prepared for your biggest enemy ahead of time.

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