You are a human. We think that’s your greatest business asset. Through your humanity you experience and intuit and empathize and create. That’s business, baby.
Our humanity is a danger as well. We slip into vanity, insecurity, fear, isolation.
“Focus” is a word that gets thrown around in business circles a lot. Here’s a favorite quote of mine on the topic:
But early on, especially pre or early revenue, lack of focus is the death of so many companies. Sure, there’s a point where you are still thrashing around looking for “the thing.” You are using all the Lean Startup and Lean Launchpad techniques to find your product-market fit. You are iterating and pivoting…
But at some point you have to focus. What word do you own? Who is your customer? What are you selling them? How are you selling them it? Why are they buying it?
Focus is a bitch. I searched for years for it, trying to exercise it like a muscle, trying to put it on like clothing.
Then, after 10 years I finally found it… or it found me. (I tell that story in the video below)
Focus really changes everything. It supercharges your natural talents, your humanity.
Here’s a few things I’ve learned about focus:
- Focus is “this, not that.”
- Focus is like grit. Maybe grit is the momentum of focus.
- Clarity comes before focus… Clarity makes the blueprint. Focus orders the parts, manages the labor, builds the house.
- Focus is a battery… it’s an energy source, it powers you up. Fk’n cheezy sounding, I know. But it’s true.
- Focus comes from earnest digging… self awareness, a real desire to find something, the guts to move on when you know this thing is not what you’re looking for.
- Earnest digging doesn’t have a deadline… you commit to the work, the digging, the search, and to yourself as the digger. You can’t commit to finding focus. It comes to you when it trusts you, like Pressfield’s muse.
- There’s a deep connection between focus and faith… the digging convinces you about yourself; who you are, what you’re good at, why you’re here, where you’re valuable. Faith is not decision, you don’t just decide to focus on something; you’ll fizzle out. There has to be a deep belief that this is for you… that it’s possible for you. Faith is not deciding and then gritting your teeth and muscling your way through it. It’s more like this.
- Feedback leads to focus… From Father Apprentice to Ice to the Brim to Fizzle, The Fizzle Show and The Sparkline, hearing from multiple hundreds of people about what they like, what they struggle with, where they are and what they want has built a faith in me about what I’m good at, what I can make that’s valuable for other people.
- The best feedback comes from real work… make things, then connect with people about those things. You could talk to folks up front, but I always need to get my hands dirty to hear what they mean.
- Focus takes forever… It took me 10 years of trying pretty damn hard to get to any clarity or focus. I was the entrepreneur in the Feld quote above for those 10 years; thrashing, manic, depressed, way too confident, way too clueless… I was so over-confident about the wrong things and unaware of the good stuff I actually did have. This pressure didn’t help one bit. I wish I could have given myself a break and invested in the digging… which is a way of investing in myself.
““Clarity makes the blueprint. Focus orders the parts, manages the labor, builds the house.””
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More on Digging
Below a video that helps spread a bit more light on focus and digging. Also, go read the rest of Brad Feld’s article.
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The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »
You articulated your thoughts beautifully while remaining real and non-robotic. You should write a book one day about all this. It would be one of those, “laugh until you cry, cry until you laugh” types of books. People would read it.
Glad you found your thing.
This is the book. You just read it! How’d you like it? It’s self published. I’m an author now!
Short, sweet, and to the point. That’s the way all books should be!
Also, your shirt matches your drawing in the video. Way to be congruent!
Nice video. But now I have the strangest craving for KFC.
Great video. Classic Chase! Reminds of “The Power of Focus” by Canfield, Hansen, and Hewitt.
Focus Factor: Don’t Hate On The Digging… I want to read the whole book you need to write on this topic you really nailed today. Great list, it’s printed and on my wall now. Video is a little wierd, but I’ll give you that for your viral video possibilities. Thank you for a terrific message, for real.
Great message Chase.
I keep the attached photo in front of me daily to remind me of the digging. People can definitely get frustrated with themselves during the digging process but when you hit that sweet spot…..bamm.
Its that testing, invalidating/validating until you get there. Loved this video. ~ Mike
Hilarious! “don’t hate the digging” LOVE it!
For the last 12 years I’ve had a day job and had to work on my thing on the side, I thought once I got rid of the day job that I would have all this time. I’m now finally supported by my thing and over the last few weeks it seems I didn’t have enough time to do all the things I wanted to. This post is timely because I know my focus on off and wrong. I’ve been running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off instead of focusing on what I need to focus on.
Great Video Chase. I call my project search system the reverse shotgun effect. Starting scattered and slowly finding my way back to the center…That center is me.
Quick question Chase,
What camera do you use?
I want to start doing more videos…. Any recommendations for a set-up?
I totally feel like I’m going through exactly that early phase. Now I have some terminology and a diagram that I will probably never forget.
Was that wine? Niiiiice. Also, qoutable line “Don’t hate on the digging”
“You’re a human. That’s your greatest business asset.” Unbeatable:)
Thanks, my favorite take-away is that this should be a t-shirt graphic “Focus is a bitch”
Hi Chase,
I enjoyed your video and I’m happy to say that I’m finally finished with the digging and focusing on my thing. Nice to see that I did it “right”.
Just a quick tip for you. At the end of your video you tried to say good-bye in German. You wanted to say “Auf Wiedersehen” – and for those unable to dazzle with their German language skills: owf-vee-der-zay-in
I hope to hear an improvement in your next video. ;-)
Randall
Ha! That video was a trip! “Don’t hate on the desert” :) I signed up.
“Don’t hate the digging” – smart message Chase. I finally found my focus last year after years of (enjoyable) digging. Feels great!
Excellent read, Chase. Grit is what separates the successful folks from the pack. You have to *want* to discover 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb before finding the right one just like Thomas Edison did. You have to be willing to be frustrated and wrong because some pretty cool stuff comes out of that stance.
I am trying to focus myself for my projects these days.. So downloading your video to see if this helps…
Yes!: “Clarity comes before focus”. It’s a bit of a paradox, though, because there was a point when I was clear about how unclear I was. Rather than loosing myself in the empty pit of “what can I do?”, I started asking “what can I do right now?”
When we openly focus on what is in front of us to do, it teaches us what we need to do next. That’s where the fog clears and you discover yourself standing on the launchpad. :)
Thanks!
I’m feelin your emotions while reading focus. The video not so much. LOL Have a great day