When resources are scarce, chasing several directions at once means getting results in none of them. On finding the one domino that knocks the rest over.
“Learn to let go of goals in time.”
I heard that line once and spent a long time thinking about it.
When someone is just starting out in their development — studying, reading, watching, consulting, experimenting — at some point they realise the world is full of an enormous number of opportunities.
Slowly it dawns on them that 99% of the obstacles that used to hold them back were only in their own head. Joy and inspiration show up.
On that emotional high, new goals and plans get set. A vision forms. The first steps begin.
Most people scatter their attention and limited resources across several attractive directions at once. They want to do something in crypto, and try a coffee shop, and launch their own course, and finally record that song they wrote years ago. They want everything, all at once.
There are two fundamentally different states: a deficit of resources, and a surplus of them.
When you’re only starting, it’s better to focus on one thing and succeed at it. Once you have plenty of resources — attention freed from routine, money and time, a capable team — then you can look around and “play Monopoly”. But when resources are scarce, spreading yourself thin means no result in any area at all.
So it’s crucial to focus on the main task and part ways with every secondary goal. The point is to identify the one domino whose fall will bring all the other changes and improvements with it. For me that first strategic domino was content.
Two years ago, when I started blogging seriously and said goodbye to marketing, I decided that creating educational content would be my task №1, №2 and №3. I focused on that alone and kept hitting the same spot. I put my online store, my web platform, corporate training and a pile of other projects I found interesting on pause.
For 27 months I’ve been spending 80% of my time on content, and that got me to a certain level of possibilities. Now there’s a team, resources, time and free attention.
Over the past few years thousands of students have studied at our school, and we’ve learned a great deal. It’s a proven system that delivers results.
Now, as I gradually build out our studio for podcasts and reels, I already have what it takes. When I bring new authors into the school, I’m no longer the bottleneck in every process.
Focus let me get a flywheel spinning and build an audience. Now each new project is easier to feed with the resources it needs so that it grows on its own, without my direct management.
That’s why at the start of the road you have to be able to say goodbye to goals — for a while — and focus.
Do you feel scattered in your own life? Are there areas where you sense yourself spinning your wheels?