I gotta’ admit, I’m a project Junkie.
I love thinking up new ideas. I love starting things. I seem to be wired to follow each new opportunity like a magpie spotting a sparkly new thing and each time it happens, I am filled with renewed energy and excitement.
Being a project junkie is addictive; that’s why it contains the word, “Junkie”.
New projects are fun. New projects are cool. New projects make me shiver inside and I am drawn to explore and learn. New projects bring out my passion!
New projects can be distractions and keep you from ever finishing your current project, but they can also lead to really great opportunities.
How can you tell which new project will end well and which will never end?
Here’s a story:
My partner and I started a business about one-and-a-half years ago. We had lots of ideas; we had lots of opportunities. To many.
We flitted around from idea to idea, many of which had no common core. We were business coaches. We wrote ebooks. We created web sites. We coached individuals.
Our partnership was great because we drove each other to get projects done; but none of those projects led to anything. Most were abandoned before they were given a chance to thrive. Many were not even completed because our drive for success was predicated upon speed, a real rush for project junkies – got to move on to the next thing soon!
We were project junkies and we had it bad.
Last June, we decided to change what we were doing. He was going to focus on his projects and me on mine. We are still friends and partners, but we realized that, before we can be successful together, we needed to learn the one thing that project junkies avoid like the plague.
We needed to focus.
And focus we did. Each of us rededicated our energy to our own sites and businesses. We defined for ourselves and the world what it was that we do; one focused and clear project. Mine?
I want to help people get things done online because it’s better than doing those things offline.
Wow. One thing. One project.
But as I focused and focused on that one thing, a really cool thing started to happen.
Lots of little projects started coming my way – guest postings and speaking at conferences and courses to create.
Yes, lots of projects and THEY ALL FOCUSED ON THE SAME THING:
Helping people get things done online because it’s better than doing those things offline.
My project junkie is happy because I get to do many projects and take advantages of new opportunities. My business-side is happy because all of those projects fall under my main project and contribute to building my brand – what people know I stand for and what they can find when they look for me.
Yes, focus was the answer and I did not have to cut out my passion to make it work.
Matt Mansfield blogs at www.leverage-the-web.com
At his core, he loves teaching both individuals and businesses how to get things done online.
Visit Matt on his Site: www.leverage-the-web.com
Follow Matt on Twitter: @LeverageTheWeb
or find him on LinkedIn
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