Let’s go back to that article in Business Week that I told you about earlier. Here’s a quote from the interview with Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and Pixar.
Q: How did Apple recapture its innovative spark?
A: I used to be the youngest guy in every meeting I was in, and now I’m usually the oldest. And the older I get, the more I’m convinced that motives make so much difference. HP’s primary goal was to make great products. And our primary goal here is to make the world’s best PCs — not to be the biggest or the richest.We have a second goal, which is to always make a profit — both to make some money but also so we can keep making those great products. For a time, those goals got flipped at Apple, and that subtle change made all the difference. When I got back, we had to make it a product company again.
There’s no doubt here that Apple is profitable again. It’s widely successful despite predictions that they were down for the count.
What made the difference?
Making a goal that spoke to how they would make their profits, a goal they could believe in.
My personal goal to start this business was this mantra: Never again will I be at the mercy of someone other than myself to determine my financial future.
.
That singular focus drove all my decisions that followed it.
My secondary goal was that I wasn’t going to stop at having the same income I had when I was working. It would have been nice to just make $39K or $60K a year. But then I’d be in the same cycle where my medical condition was concerned – enough to survive when I was well.
So my secondary goal was to be wildly successful at it, in a way I personally defined. Then when I reached that goal, I set another.
And can you be mildy successful focusing on more than one thing? Sure you can, though your definition of mild success may not be the same as what actually ends up happening in reality.
But to be wildly successful at something, you have to be willing to pick One prize, and keep your gaze firmly fixed to it. It needs to be the background music of your mind.
People always ask me – but what about this new program I heard about? If I don’t get in on it now, I could miss out later.
Sure. But that’s the risk you’re taking.
So to all the things that don’t relate to your primary goal, develop the discipline to just say “later” if you have trouble saying no. Bookmark it, email it to yourself, join now to promote later.
And get on with your success plan for today. Most of that stuff will be around later. If it isn’t, it wasn’t worth it in the first place, and if it is, you’ll be able to set a goal to pursue it when you have more time.
There are more quotables in that article – I would suggest you bookmark it or print it out. i have more suggestions regarding focus and learning when to say no, but I’m out of time for today.
Don’t forget to come back for Google Tuesdays tomorrow…
