Stuck vs. Scale… Which Entrepreneur are you?

Growing and scaling a business is not easy.  If it was, every business owner would have a 7 to 8-figure business, right? 

So what determines if one Entrepreneur can create the business they sought out to create and scale it vs. the other– Who is just “stuck” and struggles to break through that invisible ceiling? 

One huge barrier to success is something most of us are guilty of doing every single day and don’t even realize it.  

Yes, I even catch myself doing it at times even though I’m constantly mindful it exists.  

Ever find yourself in the middle of a meeting and you see your phone sitting there, and the overwhelming temptation to grab it beats out the voice in your head that’s telling you to “Pay attention”? 

You rationalize it by telling yourself you’re just checking the score of the game last night… Before you know it, you’re in the black hole social media abyss. 

Or how about this one…

You’re trying to focus on a very important project and all of a sudden you start craving something sweet, so you get up, and go to the kitchen to get something to satiate that craving. Or you click to open a new browser to mindlessly surf the web for a few minutes… 

Listen, we all do it. 

We do it because most of us are addicted to the short-term dopamine surge it provides. 

Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that provides pleasure. It’s the chemical that makes you feel good, for a while, however it quickly fades, leaving us wanting more. 

Unfortunately in today’s radically stimulating society, most people’s dopamine levels are whacked out, so we are continually and unconsciously “searching” for activities that result in these short-term dopamine surges. 

Short-term distractions from what we actually should be doing trigger the release of dopamine. When we are working on something or focusing on something that becomes hard, or we become bored, what do we do? 

Rather than sitting there struggling, we actively seek out a distraction.

We crave that surge of dopamine, and after a while our brains then become dependent on it. Some would even describe it as a mental addiction.  

The result? 

We are no closer to the outcome we initially sought out to accomplish OR we didn’t do it well. 

We lose the mindset of being present. 

As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge…

We also purposely do things on a conscious level that deter us from accomplishing what it is we set out to do…

As human beings we are driven by outcomes. 

The challenge for most people is that while they are trying to focus on one outcome, they are also seeking other outcomes. 

Imagine you’re spending time with your family at a baseball game, but you also check to see what’s happening on Instagram. You’re now dividing your attention on two outcomes. 

Right now I’m writing this blog article. My one outcome is to finish this blog article. If I eliminate all distractions and keep myself in this “flow” state, I will stay focused on this ONE outcome until it’s complete.

When you focus on one thing at a time (and only one outcome), you give whatever it is, your best effort.  

When you do this over and over again, you accomplish so much MORE.

When we accomplish things, we feel good. We move forward, faster. We feel productive. 

And by the way, never mistake busyness for being productive.  It’s all about quality vs. quantity. 

Productivity = Doing and accomplishing more

Busyness = Doing and accomplishing less

It’s about being purposeful about what we are doing. 

Struggling Entrepreneurs stay busy. Successful Entrepreneurs are productive. They focus on what matters and finish what they start… 

What is the biggest thing you should be pursuing?

What would happen if you completely focused on it, and stopped splitting your attention on those lesser goals?

Trust me, you’ll move a heck of a lot faster towards reaching that outcome if you take 15 steps in that 1 direction, instead of taking 1 step in 15 directions. 

To your success, 

David