On the ladder to success, it’s awfully tempting to take every great opportunity we’re given. It’s only natural to want to make the very best of them. All of them.
The problem with this kind of opportunism is that in a very short time, you can find yourself overloaded and spread too thin. I’m talking about literally overloaded, in terms of the shear amount of time devoted to different projects and priorities.
You might find that your mind is also overloaded. With too many parallel initiatives, it can be difficult to focus and think critically about them. They all suffer individually because of the mental weight of the collective.
But opportunism also has another, even higher, price. The opportunity cost of taking every great opportunity that comes along, is that you will soon be confronted with one you simply cannot take because you are overcommitted. And it may be the one opportunity that could have meant the most to your career or life goals.
So next time you are presented with an opportunity, think carefully about your other obligations before jumping in and saying “yes.” Although it’s difficult, sometimes the most valuable opportunities are the ones we said no to.
Thanks for the advice Brandon. It couldn’t come in a better day.
I have a really tangible example of this.
I decided that I might start my own speaker’s bureau. These typically make 20% of any speaker’s fee, so the game is to have a decent stable of speakers and book them a decent amount of times. I figured this made sense, as I’m always having to turn down speaking gigs due to conflicting schedules, or financial reasons.
I bought the URL, started working out the model, and then realized that I was building a stupid business. Well, stupid for me. It would be a very heavily human-centric business, with lots of coordination and phone calls and the like. Given that I’m already clocking around 70-80 hours any given workweek (down from 104 last year on average), I decided that a business where I’d be glued to a phone was a bad plan, and I said no.
That no is going to be worth about $4.7 million over the next few years, where that business had a revenue projection of $300K a year. Not bad money, but not obviously as big as the other number.
So, I’m with you on that.
Wow Chris… that’s a really profitable “no!” It’s hard for me to put a value on some of my commitments, because so many of them may or may not pay off “in the long run” so to speak. But I have other, tangible businesses that are growing (like our e-commerce business) and need my attention, too.
Great post, and a great reminder for everybody.
I put a high value on my time, especially time with family. It’s so easy to get caught up in being “needed” in business. I didn’t build this business to be away from my son all the time, I built it so I could be with him all the time.
You’re spot on, Brandon. I’ve long been an advocate for focusing on few projects and doing them very well. In fact, I don’t know anyone who has become successful from accepting every project, offer, or opportunity.
Steve Jobs on the success of Apple: “It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much.”
In a way it’s econ 101. Supply and demand, where the commodities are your time and thought. Both are in very limited supply and should always be treated as such. The more you spread yourself around the less you have to devote to the things that really matter.
Enjoyed this post and the comments!
Build a business around a lifestyle and not the other way around. To do that you have to say no a lot.
Learning to say no was a hard lesson for me to learn. As a freelancers saying “no” meant income in someone else’s pocket. The problem with not saying no is being too busy to give full attention to all projects. So saying no can be more profitable and reputable in the long run.