How To Avoid Shiny Object Syndrome And Stay On The Fast Track To Success

woman sitting on mountain with blue arrows

A lot of people have the shiny-object syndrome. They jump from whatever looks cool and interesting at the moment to whatever comes along next, without really seeing the first thing through.

I had the same problem for 12 years, and think that half of the people reading this, if not more, have this same problem, but what can you do about it?

Two words focus and commitment.

I spent 12 years doing whatever I could possibly do to be successful. I had 14 different jobs and 12 different businesses in 12 years. Do you think that’s focused? No. What was my result? Broke. Make a little. Broke. Make a lot. Broke.

I got so damn sick of being broke and jumping from one opportunity to the next that I realized I wasn’t following through 100% because the next thing was coming into view, and I thought that the next thing was going to be faster, smarter, better. Why should I stick with this thing that’s really hard?

It was habitual. Why did I choose the thing that was really hard? It wasn’t hard when I chose it. It was beautiful, but then I made it hard. The shiny object is shiny until you get there. Then it becomes dull and ugly.

What I learned is a huge lesson. It’s not the outside circumstances or vehicle that’s going to make or break you. I spent 12 years looking for the right vehicle. Do you know what I found out? There’s no right vehicle. There’s only the right you within the vehicle that you love.

When I was going through that continuous cycle of being broke, one of my close friends on the West Coast called me up and said, “You have to get into this business. I’m killing it. You’ve been looking for a business; this is the one to get into.”

I said, “Oh my god. Thanks for letting me know.” My dream was coming true. Someone I know is actually killing it, and he’s making $20,000 to $30,000 a week. I’m thinking it’s going to be amazing.

Six months later, I was broke again, and he was already a millionaire and doing even better. I said, “How on earth could you be doing so great and I’m doing so bad?”

I finally looked in the mirror and said, “Do you know what? It’s not the business. It’s me.”

I felt like crying. I felt like I stabbed myself in the heart. That’s how I started putting two and two together and working on me. I said, “If I work on me and just do something I really enjoy, let me try that.” I then became a millionaire in two and a half years after that. I hope you relate to this yourself someday.

I committed to staying focused on one thing until I got rich. You don’t have to do that, but I say this: Commit to something for a minimum of three years. Why three years? That’s how long it takes to systemize something so it can work without you.

Don’t even think of leaving it. It’s like the Army. You’re in for three years, period. There’s no going away. You commit to it.

I study Zen and Buddhist stuff a lot. It’s not that I’m Buddhist, but I think their philosophy is helpful. There’s a saying … “Thinking about a better tomorrow is what prevents me from having a better today.”

Here’s the mantra for you:

“Thinking about having a better business is what prevents me from succeeding in this business.”

“Thinking about a better job is what prevents me from succeeding in this job.”

Why is that? It’s because you’re taking your mind off of the present moment. The only time you can be happy and successful is right now. You can’t be successful tomorrow because it doesn’t exist. You can’t be successful in the past because that’s gone. Your shiny object is blinding you and taking your mind off of what is necessary to get done today.

You gain focus by experimenting. You say, “I’m going to do an experiment on myself. I’m going to commit to something for three years, and I’m not getting off of it. Even if I go broke, I’m not getting off of it.”

I’ll tell you what. You won’t go broke. You’ll do well because you’ll focus on it. There won’t be any thought about getting off of the expressway.

This was one of my biggest lessons. It changed my life. I hope the same happens for you.

Tell us what you think. Give us your stories of lessons in focus and commitment, and what that meant to your success or challenges that you learned from.

“Focus” is 1 of the 6 principles I teach on my Zero To MultiMillionaire web class.

Want to learn my 5 other principles that make the biggest difference between getting rich and staying middle class or broke?

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