Author: cbarney.45

“Our clarity becomes clouded and suddenly we find ourselves spread too thin. Ultimately our success becomes a catalyst to our failure. The only way out of this is through essentialism.” – Greg McKeown

If you don’t say no, the world will dictate your life and what becomes of it. Even though saying “yes” may have helped you get to where you are, at some point you have to say no. If you don’t, you’ll become less effective with what you aim to do and instead of helping others or yourself, you help no one. You must learn to say no to the trivial many so that you can say yes to the vital few. You have to decide.

This is true for not only saying no to others, but saying no to yourself too. You may have so many good ideas, but if you try to pursue all of them, you won’t gain traction on any of them. As Steve Jobs said, “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done.”

So what’s the lesson? Do not let yourself get spread too thin by not saying no. You can be good at a lot of things by saying yes to everything, but to become great, you have to say yes only to the important things.

“Numbers and goals don’t drive people. People with a purpose drive the numbers and achieve goals.” – Jon Gordon

The first key to success for any business is to have hard-working, motivated, and selfless employees who believe in the company’s vision. Having the right people on the bus (go-getters) will be a better driver of success than goals just written on a board or pushed out to the team.

The employees have to see what the leadership team sees. They want to know where we are going and that what they’re doing is part of a greater purpose. Pair that shared vision and greater purpose with a positive team culture and the numbers will follow accordingly.

“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.” – Vince Lombardi

How do you know your limits until you hit them? And when you hit them, how do you know that that’s the final answer? Can you change your actions to get the result you want?

Think about all that we have accomplished as a human race. We can fly (in airplanes, helicopters, and in spacecraft). We have small boxes in our pockets that can connect us to anyone in the world (smartphones). We can make buildings so tall that it looks like they’re touching the sky (skyscrapers). We can perform brain surgery or heart surgery to extend lives.

At one point in time, all of this was thought to be impossible. But someone had to take a chance to achieve the impossible. Why can’t it be you that achieves the next big breakthrough? Think bigger. Dream bigger. How can you 10X your goals?

“You cannot learn that which you think you already know.” – Epictetus

“Every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” – Proverbs 11:2

Remember to humble yourself. You don’t have all of the answers. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude. Listen to others’ ideas. You may be surprised at what they come up with (it may be something that you would have never thought).

“You have passed through life without an opponent. No one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.” – Seneca

Challenges are opportunities to learn and grow.

Challenges are the best ways to understand what you’re made of and what you’re able to overcome.

Challenges, when viewed properly, reframe your perspective from one of lackadaisical monotony to inspiration.

Do not run from challenges. Run towards them.