THE JEM DIGEST

In association with StudioBook

I’ve mentioned before that I suffer from something called “Shiny-Object Syndrome”. This basically means that I have a tendency to jump from idea to idea in businesses as newer things come up. This doesn’t only extend to my own ideas though.

Look, people know I’m the entrepreneur guy at this point in my life, whether they think that in a positive or negative way. This also means that a lot of people come to me when they have ideas and they need someone to help them work it out in the beginning. Now, earlier in my life, I would have always been on board. I can not tell you how many free calls I’ve sat on helping people work out ideas or even been roped into working on projects for weeks or months. I do this, because I enjoy challenges, staying busy, but also just change in general. On top of this, I was always working on my own main projects and crazy side projects.

This being said, over the years, this is a tendency I’ve had to curtail and I recommend to everyone who is trying to build something for themselves to learn and master this one art form; Master the art of saying no, respectfully of course.

I see this all the time. People with talent who can’t ever seem to manage their time well, because they are being pulled in so many directions and spreading themselves so thin, that by the time they get to their own projects, they are too exhausted and/or overwhelmed to even work on them. People who are just starting out, generally have a hard time quantifying value. Value of their talent and value of their time. I found that when I learned how to limit my tendencies to work on every cool idea that came by way, I was able to focus my powers on actually building the cool ideas I had right in front of me.

Slow and steady is sometimes not very exciting, but to get from point A to point B, you have to go along for the ride. While on that ride, there are going to be plenty of opportunities for detours that can seem more sexy in the moment. Being able to avoid those and stay on the path is how things actually get done.

Remember, success can be around the corner at any time.

Make sure you don’t miss it.