999michaelh
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- Mar 20, 2021
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Thanks for all the answers.
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Free registration at the forum removes this block.Damn. Since we're in the same boat you want to consider forming a mastermind, accountability group(or whatever else you want to call it)? I've heard it can help. No shame in trying eh?shit, that's me.
I have no idea how to get out of this, cos I'm in the same boat.
I also have severe procrastination issues.
That's awesome. +1 like-minded person can't hurti'm in one. lemme ask if you can join in
Damn. Still on C.38 thanks for letting me know.Chapter 44 in TMF covers this bro
Yeah it is called Shiny Object Syndrome and it is well documented and people have proposed solutions to it you should google itI'm very determined to succeed. I have a burning desire to make it.
But one really stupid problem that I have is I get really excited about an idea for a few weeks, then I want nothing to do with it afterwards.
I mean, the desire to succeed, win, thrive, be glorious, etc., is always there. But I just do NOT want to work on the same idea.
How does one(me) have a burning desire to succeed, yet have this weird tendency to not stick to an idea?
I used to have zero self-confidence, a mindset that everyone in the world was better than me and that I was incompetent, etc. I've managed to develop very good mental habits and way better character than before.
But this tendency to flit from one idea to the other is impeding me.
Boggles my mind. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks.
“So, what can you do to beat SOS?Yeah it is called Shiny Object Syndrome and it is well documented and people have proposed solutions to it you should google it
This pretty much sums it up. It also helps to learn all the available money-making opportunities out there so you are not caught off guard that it is new to you and tempted to try it right away“So, what can you do to beat SOS?
- Sit on ideas before launching them. Before you have your team begin work on that new project that’s going to “change everything,” take a moment. Do some more research on the idea and think about whether this is the best use of your company’s resources. Not every idea should be acted upon, and giving yourself this “buffer time” can spare you from an overly hasty decision.
- Communicate with your team. When you have a new idea, talk to your team members about it. Ask them what they think, and listen to their perspectives, concerns and needs. They’ll be able to help you realize when you’re moving too fast, and if you do decide to go through with your decision, they’ll be happier that you came to them first.
- Set both long- and short-term goals with each new project. Slow down when you start to shift gears. Set long-term goals for every project, including how long you anticipate the project will last. Set short-term goals to help you close that gap and keep the team focused.
- Abandon projects only when necessary. Once your long-term goals are in place, don’t abandon the project until you get there. The only exceptions would be if your project starts costing you far more money than anticipated, or the landscape has changed significantly enough to undermine the project's effectiveness entirely.”
Do You Have 'Shiny Object' Syndrome? What It Is and How to Beat It | Entrepreneur
Fortunately, it's not a diagnosable affliction, but it can make you take your business down the wrong path.www.entrepreneur.com
Seems pretty straightforward (make sure it’s a good idea before running with it and then set goals to track progress and stay on track), but like a lot of things the rub lies in actually doing it and doing it consistently.
Haha when stuff really hits the fan that is when you get down and serious to produce results or else. That was mine as well, having a baby on the way cured mineYup, shiny-object-syndrome 100% here. What cured mine was children. Realising, I suppose, that I had to stick with the thing that I knew had the potential to be profitable for their long term benefit.
Have you tried breaking down bigger tasks into smaller tasks?I'm very determined to succeed. I have a burning desire to make it.
But one really stupid problem that I have is I get really excited about an idea for a few weeks, then I want nothing to do with it afterwards.
I mean, the desire to succeed, win, thrive, be glorious, etc., is always there. But I just do NOT want to work on the same idea.
How does one(me) have a burning desire to succeed, yet have this weird tendency to not stick to an idea?
I used to have zero self-confidence, a mindset that everyone in the world was better than me and that I was incompetent, etc. I've managed to develop very good mental habits and way better character than before.
But this tendency to flit from one idea to the other is impeding me.
Boggles my mind. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks.
I first learned this "chunking" technique from my college professor who said to do tasks in chunks so the overall project does not sound so intimidating which is a reason for procrastinationHave you tried breaking down bigger tasks into smaller tasks?
One of the reasons why you want to switch to something new maybe because you are stuck on what you are currently doing, you dont know whats next, how to proceed. You may be paralyzed and lost your way.
A good way to get out of something like this is to spend time to break down tasks to their smallest actions.
Example: Tidy up at home.
You know what this means, what it entails, but its a compound task which requires various actions all of which take time to perform.
So you break it down like so:
1. Vacuum the living room.
2. Vacuum the bedroom.
3. Vacuum the kitchen.
4. Mop the floors in the living room.
....
16. Dust the countertops.
17. Clean the drain pipes in the bathroom.
....
31. Take out the trash.
...
45. Put away the dishes in the drawers.
...
??. Finished
Offcourse each compound task must be part of a greater goal which is what is paralyzing you I think.
Your goal "determined to succeed" is way to vague to act upon.
If you transfor that to "determined to succeed, by making a business" its a liiiiitle closer.
Then "determined to succeed, by making a business selling autoparts" is closer. (again this is an example)
Keep drilling down your idea until you reach the lowest indivisble action that you need to take right now in order for that idea to become reality.
Until the goal "determined to succed" becomes something like "Call John to setup a meeting for monday before noon.", you keep going down.
Also dont think about how long that will take.
So long as you keep doing what you need to do, eventually you`ll reach the goal in one form or another..
Or you may find that you need to adjust the idea by learning new information, who knows.
Yes I always try to plan and break down my tasks into small, clear steps that I can assign a time to(e.g. do cold outreach -> write a script, find 100 contacts & mass email).Have you tried breaking down bigger tasks into smaller tasks?
One of the reasons why you want to switch to something new maybe because you are stuck on what you are currently doing, you dont know whats next, how to proceed. You may be paralyzed and lost your way.
A good way to get out of something like this is to spend time to break down tasks to their smallest actions.
Example: Tidy up at home.
You know what this means, what it entails, but its a compound task which requires various actions all of which take time to perform.
So you break it down like so:
1. Vacuum the living room.
2. Vacuum the bedroom.
3. Vacuum the kitchen.
4. Mop the floors in the living room.
....
16. Dust the countertops.
17. Clean the drain pipes in the bathroom.
....
31. Take out the trash.
...
45. Put away the dishes in the drawers.
...
??. Finished
Offcourse each compound task must be part of a greater goal which is what is paralyzing you I think.
Your goal "determined to succeed" is way to vague to act upon.
If you transfor that to "determined to succeed, by making a business" its a liiiiitle closer.
Then "determined to succeed, by making a business selling autoparts" is closer. (again this is an example)
Keep drilling down your idea until you reach the lowest indivisble action that you need to take right now in order for that idea to become reality.
Until the goal "determined to succed" becomes something like "Call John to setup a meeting for monday before noon.", you keep going down.
Also dont think about how long that will take.
So long as you keep doing what you need to do, eventually you`ll reach the goal in one form or another..
Or you may find that you need to adjust the idea by learning new information, who knows.
I've heard of that technique too. I don't really procrastinate though. I do all the work, but then at some point I lose faith in the idea and simultaneously get bored of working on it.I first learned this "chunking" technique from my college professor who said to do tasks in chunks so the overall project does not sound so intimidating which is a reason for procrastination
You're right. I started off really excited about the idea but then as the weeks passed I just lost faith in it.The only reason people idea-hop is because they lack confidence in their current course of action.
If you want to have results NOW, the ideas you choose and the actions you take are going to reflect that.
But if you have a PLAN and you're confident in that plan, then you're not going to hop from one thing to another. You're going to give everything you do its due time. Even if it takes years to get results, you'll stick with it because you are confident in what you are doing. You won't let FOMO or opportunity cost eat at you.
So how do you get confidence in your idea? Hate to say it but that bit is on you. Are you doing it for the right reason? Do you know WHY you're doing it? Without that WHY (yes, read Simon Sinek's "Start with WHY") you're going to continue idea hopping and you're gonna waste a lot of money and time.
What idea are you testing now or planning to test?I've heard of that technique too. I don't really procrastinate though. I do all the work, but then at some point I lose faith in the idea and simultaneously get bored of working on it.
My plan is to get to profitability ASAP with my next idea so I don't lose interest lol. If there's $ being made, there will be no doubt
Not sure. Hung out with fam yesterday and now I'm back to work. I'll do some research right now and pick a good idea that will make me profitable within 3 days maximum.What idea are you testing now or planning to test?
That should stop me from shiny object syndrome.
Hey Lex, thanks for taking the time to respond.It won't.
Whatever business you try to build is going to take a minimum of one year of committed action on your part. Maybe that is one year in 12 consecutive months or maybe it is one year broken into two six-month blocks or four three-month blocks or 12 one-month blocks and all of that may not happen within a single calendar year.
Even then, you will probably barely be at a full-time income. Some people do things faster. Grow bigger faster. But not most people.
I get bored with a lot of ideas so I start businesses that meet the following criteria:
You aren't going to change your physiology. You aren't going to stop getting bored. You need to learn how to capitalize on your strengths and make the most of your weaknesses. This is about becoming a resourceful person.
- Can be launched fast
- Can be profitable fast
- Will be semi-passive once it's up and running
- Can survive in the background while I work on other things
Pay attention to your cycles of interest.
I lose interest in things about 5-6 weeks in. Then I let those things sit on autopilot, sometimes for a whole year while I work on something else. Then, when my interest in the first thing picks up again, I get back to it.
Some things hold my interest a lot longer than others. But I know there's always a chance that they won't, so I am prepared to transition into another business at anytime that I was already working on.
I use the term "business" loosely because I think of all of the different ideas as semi-passive income streams that are all part of one big business, "my business" rather than a bunch of individual businesses.
Hey Lex, thanks for taking the time to respond.
My goal all along has been to build a business and then sell it for a few million so I'm not sure I'll be able to stop working on it for extended periods of time.
Isn't it possible to force yourself to work even when bored? I'd be willing to do so even if it feels miserable.
I'm probably naive, but I feel like a huge lump sum of cash would be more exciting than passive income.
But should my original plan fail, I'll keep in mind what you've said and cycle between several businesses. Interesting suggestions, thanks.
It is.Isn't it possible to force yourself to work even when bored?
I think... yes? Only time will tell, but I have faith in myself.It is.
Infact, how much boredom you can endure collerates directly to how much work you can do and how productive you can be in a unit of time.
Maybe you cant be bored for extended periods of time.
Everything gets boring after you do it enough times.
Question is, can you endure it until the profits start coming in?
Hey Lex, thanks for taking the time to respond.
My goal all along has been to build a business and then sell it for a few million so I'm not sure I'll be able to stop working on it for extended periods of time.
Isn't it possible to force yourself to work even when bored? I'd be willing to do so even if it feels miserable.
I'm probably naive, but I feel like a huge lump sum of cash would be more exciting than passive income.
But should my original plan fail, I'll keep in mind what you've said and cycle between several businesses. Interesting suggestions, thanks.
Hey mguerra,Hey brother,
Let me offer you a different perspective here.
I, just like you, had this tunnel vision on the "EXIT route" after reading TMF . After all, before reading the book I really didn't have any other clear vision on how to succeed and get rich.
But, after walking that path for 3 straight years, I've discovered that:
1. It isn't so simple
2. Theres LOTS of other variables
3. Maybe isn't the best way to get rich (considering the stage we are now as a global society)
What I've come to discover is that there is other ways to get rich that doesnt involve you "eat shit" for 3-5 straight years to have a 50/50 chance to "make the big bucks" in the end.
For a variety of reasons, I've discovered that this isn't the best way to go about getting rich for me.
I've come to prefer a path similar to @Lex DeVille , where I build several cash flow business that I can run, manage and delegate 80% of it - while it still injects net profit to my bottom line (bank account) every month/quarter/semester.
I prefer this model for a variety of reasons. The main one is that I get to deal with the effects (and challenges) of financial success in a more progressive and organic way (versus having nothing on my name and suddenly receiving some millions, if all goes right).
The mistakes I made on my last venture (due to lack of financial maturity and experience) was really PAINFULL, and I learned a lot from that. We basically lost half a MILLION (brazilian reais) in a megalomaniac office project that went down and it only made us burn a shitload of money and time - while distracting us from what really matters: PROFITS.
What caused that? Partnership problems, investors pressure, lack of experience, immaturity and being caught-up in the "startup" world.
F*ck that shit.
After this and other incidences, I've came to learn that what really matters is cash under your name. Period.
After realizing this (and seeing where the world was heading with the home office culture), I sold my company equity to my previous partner at a really discounted price and became free again.
Guess what?
It turned out to be one of the BEST decisions I've ever made.
With my time and capital free from "owning a company" obligations, I've been able to multiply my net worth by a GREAT margin. Not only that, but I improved my quality of life and lifestyle a TON and I'm currently running multiple other projects that doesn't consume my time/energy nearly as much as "owning" a startup and brings net, PURE PROFIT to my bottom line every month or so.
Let me be clear: I'm not saying that it's the only way or BEST way to go about it.
I'm just offering my 2 cents of experience to maybe open your mind and expand your vision to different paths you can go to achieve the so desired financial freedom.
Hope that helps.
Crush it!
Hey mguerra,
First of all, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed response
I think you assumed that I wanted to launch something like a VC-backed startup. My goal was to just bootstrap a business without needing many employees. Maybe a few freelancers but it would probably just be a solopreneur journey.
So the goal was to sell my business that I created myself, with no obligations imposed on me by co-founders or investors. My apologies if I made that unclear.
I don't even have one profitable business yet so ima work on it and see what I can do as a solopreneur(with a few freelancers). Maybe it'll be worth millions, maybe it'll just become one passive income stream
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