How do you guys focus on a single vision?

[LightningHelix]

So I'm rereading the Millionaire Fastlane . I feel I'm in a good place in my life to start experimenting with a fastlane business venture. However, I have this struggle that I can't seem to get over. I really have trouble focusing on one thing as a possible venture. This results in me researching everything at once and having trouble picking which one I feel the most strongly about or that could be a more successful venture.

- I have some skill in writing poetry and rapping in my spare time, maybe I could try working on this more and learn to make the instrumentals to make my own custom tracks on something like soundcloud.

- Part of me wants to start out on youtube or stream live content and market my channel. I'd like to interact with my followers (no matter how few) and grow my channel by uploading several times a week.

- I'm educated as a mechanical engineer and I do product development as the bulk of my career. I think I should use those skills and research industries to find products that can fill an unfufilled need or improve an existing product. I'm open to selling said product or licensing it. This of course opens a new dialog of which product should I settle on?

- Selling stuff on Amazon. I'm not particularily passionate about it however, but I can see a viable path that could work.

- Sometimes I think there's a venture I should be doing but I haven't thought of it yet.

I know I'd like to start out whatever it is on the side while working my job until it really takes off. Maybe it's fear, maybe I'm too high in openness and too little in conscientiousness (jk), but I find my self flip flopping on what I should get started on, I just want to start the process, but I tend to get frustrated by not finding focus. I land up reading more books and articles in hopes to find some sort of answer on how I can pin-point what that should be, but I think I'm just wasting time "feeling" like I'm accomplishing something by doing that, but in reality I'm probably just wasting time.

TL;DR - How do you guys find a focus on how to start your fastlane endeavors?

Cheers!

 

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[sparechange]

If you've never started before, just pick some product. Start building up ''experience'' points.

Even with the best product you still need to learn how to market it, how to sell it, how to ship it etc etc.

For me I picked up a good selling product on Amazon and just went for the gold, didn't really workout but I learned how much there is to it, its not as simple as buying product from over seas and magically selling it.

 

[Primeperiwinkle]

Print out a sheet of paper with these questions. Then have someone who really loves you and can call you out on your bs ask them. OR answer them in writing.. but I’ve found that a trusted friend (or dude from a forum that gets on your nerves but won’t shut up) works best. Answer every damn question as much as possible then go to the next, pretending that you don’t know the next question or if they will be repeated. The repetitions are actually necessary. It’s like a weird head trip. Good luck.

What do YOU want to do most?
WHAT do you want to do most?
What do you actually see yourself in a productive future doing?
Really?
Why?
Describe it to me like you’re there.
I need more details.
Give more details. Sight, sounds, scents.
Who are you helping by doing that?
Why?
Who else do you want to help?
Why?
But really what do you want to do, again?
Why?
That sounds vague, make it more specific. What types of ppl are you going to help?
Do you know anyone like that?
Have you been able to help that person?
Why?
Do thy all have to be that way?
Why?
Are they going to love you or the product?
Why?
Do you really need validation?
Why?
Sounds like a fantastic plan but..
How can you start today?

 

[alexkuzmov]

I`m not sure I understand your questions.
You get and stay focused through actions.

I have some skill in writing poetry

Then write a poem, and then another, and another, and another and so on.
Post them online, read them outloud to people, start doing.

Part of me wants to start out on youtube or stream live content

Then post a video, then another, and another, and another...

Are you seeing the pattern?
Stop thinking, and start doing.

Focusing on the RIGHT thing (the needs of others) will come in time + experience (failures)

 

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[LightningHelix]

So I thought about this more last night. I know I want to do something creative that does something good for people or helps them somehow.

I think that eliminates selling stuff on amazon right off the bat. While the mechanism is pretty direct on how to make money, I don't think it really interests me.

Also streaming dosen't seem all that fastlane, since the majority of your audience will only come in while you are live. (which will not uncouple your time with revenue.)

What it really comes down to is how do I figure out what is the best way to invest my time? I do work a 40/hr week job (not using it as an excuse, just saying it absorbs a big chunk of time.) The rest of my time will be devoted to the one thing that I choose to invest in.

Since I feel like doing soundcloud would take more time to get right and I would need to invest more time learning, I should probably not start with that.

This boils things down to 2 options for me right now.

- Youtube
- Inventing and selling/licensing a physical product.

I will ask ask myself more questions and narrow this down.

This leads me to another question. When is it wise to back out of an endeavor? I understand you should try to learn and improve whatever endeavor you choose, but at some point you may want to dump something for an alternative possibility when it will not work out. Is there any indication when you should switch?

Yet another EDIT: Just came across HelpMyDecision.com - Get Help Making Tough Decisions in the fastlane Millionaire. This looks promising. Anyone tried this?

 

[BellaPippin]

Use the decision Matrix from TMF !

That said I'm the same, so I feel you. Ask everyone or read my posts. Lol



And one more thought that usually runs through my head:



Corny but insightful

 

[Tourmaline]

We are very good at forgetting, at getting distracted.

Make it the first thing you think about each day, and the last thing you think about each day.

Or something close to that.

In other words, remind yourself daily of your goal, of your purpose, of your mission.

If you take it a step further and visualize your life once you've arrived at the destination you set forth for yourself, it will be even more powerful.

 

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[amp0193]

Go with your gut and pick one. Then give it a try.

Stop reading about other things. Only read things related to making the first thing successful.

There is no one "right" path. There are lots of paths to success.

 

[Rabby]

At one time I felt like I spent all my time reading non-fiction and how-to information about business, investing, etc. While some of that paid off, there's a point at which you have to act. You're at the point where you say, "yeah, but act by doing what?"

Short answer, it might be impossible to say. After all, you need experience with new things to make good decisions about those things.

First you have to get unstuck from the habit of consuming information about productiveness. I made a note on my calendar to remind me once a month: "always produce more than you consume." (After all, how else do you end up with a surplus if you don't produce more than you consume?) Maybe the same sort of self-talk reminders will help you too.

Well if you spend 15 hours a week reading (which, as lovely as it is, is still consumption of information), and you force yourself to produce more than you consume, you'll have to find a way to start producing information. Might be writing, might be first hand data that you gather yourself, but you have to balance out that 15 hour consumption with production, and then some. Ultimately, you want to be producing things that other people will want to buy... right?

Keep in mind that we're all acting on imperfect information. It's not unusual that you don't know which thing is the best business idea. I don't know which thing is the best idea either. I usually have 2 or 3 on a back burner, at minimal cost, just cooking in case there's something to them. I've never known which thing was really good until I started showing it to people, or charging them for it, and getting their reactions.

You might ask, "isn't that expensive? Just making something without research to see if it's a good idea?" Nope, that's giant corporation thinking. Research is just as expensive as product/idea/company development if it's just you, and you're trying to get off the ground. If you spent a month researching business ideas, that's ok, but in that same month you could have produced a lot of CAD drawing and product drafts, right? Now go show your work to someone and ask them if it's useful, if they want to pay you for it. I would guess they're more likely to want the thing you designed in CAD than to want the results of your business research. But who knows? I'm just assuming you have more expertise and ability in CAD and product design than business analysis, at least at this point.

I should clarify another thing. In the first baby steps of your business or product or whatever it is, your money costs should be negligible. It should only cost you some time, unless you have lots of spare capital sitting around being useless. Maybe a few weeks, maybe 3 months, but you should try to have something that can be shown to a potential market soon so that you can find out if it's really a good idea. Reading other people's research about what was a good idea for them at the time (and in a place) can only tell you so much about what is now a good idea for you in the present time and place.

So don't worry too much about which thing you pick out to try. Just control your risk -- keep costs low until you can get some real, personal, first hand data about the feasibility of the project. Then you can start adding fuel. You'll still have uncertainty about the outcome of your venture. But by keeping costs low until you validate the idea with real consumers, you minimize the extent to which that uncertainty become risk. Tl;dr: don't buy all that equipment and stationery you think you need for "business."

So,

1. focus on production over consumption;
2. keep costs low when validating;
3. validate early, quickly, and often with first-hand data.

Around this time last year, I had several irons in the fire. At least 2 were nixed early because, as it turns out, nobody seemed to want them. They seemed like good ideas, but I couldn't find market fit or traction, so I killed them while the costs were in the zeros or hundreds of dollars and weeks of time. Now, I'll always have 2-3 extra things going on, but when the people I want to sell to say hey! Gimme that!... that's when I pay attention. One project that was a mere iron in the fire last year is now a significant Saas product, with a market of people asking to beta, buy, and invest in it. Why that one? Because I asked, and they told me they wanted it.

Good luck!

 

[LightningHelix]

At one time I felt like I spent all my time reading non-fiction and how-to information about business, investing, etc. While some of that paid off, there's a point at which you have to act. You're at the point where you say, "yeah, but act by doing what?"

Short answer, it might be impossible to say. After all, you need experience with new things to make good decisions about those things.

First you have to get unstuck from the habit of consuming information about productiveness. I made a note on my calendar to remind me once a month: "always produce more than you consume." (After all, how else do you end up with a surplus if you don't produce more than you consume?) Maybe the same sort of self-talk reminders will help you too.

Well if you spend 15 hours a week reading (which, as lovely as it is, is still consumption of information), and you force yourself to produce more than you consume, you'll have to find a way to start producing information. Might be writing, might be first hand data that you gather yourself, but you have to balance out that 15 hour consumption with production, and then some. Ultimately, you want to be producing things that other people will want to buy... right?

Keep in mind that we're all acting on imperfect information. It's not unusual that you don't know which thing is the best business idea. I don't know which thing is the best idea either. I usually have 2 or 3 on a back burner, at minimal cost, just cooking in case there's something to them. I've never known which thing was really good until I started showing it to people, or charging them for it, and getting their reactions.

You might ask, "isn't that expensive? Just making something without research to see if it's a good idea?" Nope, that's giant corporation thinking. Research is just as expensive as product/idea/company development if it's just you, and you're trying to get off the ground. If you spent a month researching business ideas, that's ok, but in that same month you could have produced a lot of CAD drawing and product drafts, right? Now go show your work to someone and ask them if it's useful, if they want to pay you for it. I would guess they're more likely to want the thing you designed in CAD than to want the results of your business research. But who knows? I'm just assuming you have more expertise and ability in CAD and product design than business analysis, at least at this point.

I should clarify another thing. In the first baby steps of your business or product or whatever it is, your money costs should be negligible. It should only cost you some time, unless you have lots of spare capital sitting around being useless. Maybe a few weeks, maybe 3 months, but you should try to have something that can be shown to a potential market soon so that you can find out if it's really a good idea. Reading other people's research about what was a good idea for them at the time (and in a place) can only tell you so much about what is now a good idea for you in the present time and place.

So don't worry too much about which thing you pick out to try. Just control your risk -- keep costs low until you can get some real, personal, first hand data about the feasibility of the project. Then you can start adding fuel. You'll still have uncertainty about the outcome of your venture. But by keeping costs low until you validate the idea with real consumers, you minimize the extent to which that uncertainty become risk.

So,

1. focus on production over consumption;
2. keep costs low when validating;
3. validate early, quickly, and often with first-hand data.

Around this time last year, I had several irons in the fire. At least 2 were nixed early because, as it turns out, nobody seemed to want them. They seemed like good ideas, but I couldn't find market fit or traction, so I killed them while the costs were in the zeros or hundreds of dollars and weeks of time. Now, I'll always have 2-3 extra things going on, but when the people I want to sell to say hey! Gimme that!... that's when I pay attention. One project that was a mere iron in the fire last year is now a significant Saas product, with a market of people asking to beta, buy, and invest in it. Why that one? Because I asked, and they told me they wanted it.

Good luck!

This post holds a lot of weight for me. "Make sure you produce more than you consume." I never thought of it like that but you are absolutely right. I'm probably overthinking things. I'm afraid of wasting my time, ironically enough, I'm wasting a lot of time researching, reading and learning all over the place.

Thank you for taking the time to write such profound advice. I really appreciate it!

EDIT: I find myself reading your post over and over again, this is really what I needed to hear.

 

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[LightningHelix]

Sorry for the double post. But I think I have a plan now, so this post is separate enough from my previous.
I need to devote my spare time to tinkering in CAD and writing content for a Youtube channel.

Tinkering in CAD is something I can do right away. I'll spend sometime brainstorming some ideas first and not worry as much if people will want them, at least not initially.

If I get a bit tired of tinkering, I can start writing some ideas for what kind of content I want to focus on in Youtube.

Switch back and forth and see if something sticks. When it does, focus my attention more on that. Now that I have narrowed it down a bit more, I might be able to manage two things simultaneously.

I'll be back if I run into any roadblocks.

Thanks for the replys by everyone on this thread, I know you are all busy people, so I appreciate the help.