| What is the most limiting resource in your | | | | just stop completely (maybe for five minutes?) |
| universe? Your time... | | | | and drill down to one thing or area that you can |
| If you are ever going to be successful (in | | | | become an expert. |
| whatever measure you use for success) you | | | | Let's start with a personal area - say you want |
| need to be able to leverage this - the most | | | | to be a better spouse. You can try the haphazard |
| valuable resource. I'm not going to talk today | | | | approach of a card or flowers every now and |
| about outsourcing, delegating, goal setting or | | | | then along with a word of appreciation from time |
| prioritizing your daily activities - although these are | | | | to time when you think about it - or - knowing |
| all very important - instead, I want to talk about | | | | that everyone has a basic human need to feel |
| focus. Taking one area of your life or business, | | | | appreciated you can decide that every single day |
| narrow it down to the smallest niche and become | | | | you are going to find a new way to show your |
| an expert at it. | | | | spouse how much you appreciate them. Just the |
| We've all seen people who meander about in life | | | | creative process itself to figure this out will |
| from one project to another - one job to another | | | | expand your mind in ways that will stave off |
| - or maybe even one wife and family to another. | | | | Alzheimer's for another 50 years. |
| They never really figure out how to be really | | | | For a business example - there's no use trying to |
| great at anything. In so doing, they never really | | | | be another Wal-Mart. You can't beat them on |
| fulfill any of their personal, social, spiritual or | | | | selection or price. Instead, pick a niche (cooking is |
| financial goals or fine tune the skills necessary to | | | | hot right now). There are a million items in the |
| reach those goals. | | | | cooking niche so drill down to a single item - |
| By contrast, you often see athletes, community | | | | kitchen knives. Learn everything you can about |
| or business leaders who are laser targeted on | | | | balance, handles, types of steel, blade angles, |
| becoming the absolute best at one thing and after | | | | safety, etc. Publish articles, write a newspaper |
| they achieve that are also able to move that | | | | column, start a blog, write a book - anything to |
| focus into other areas of their life and realize | | | | get your name out there and be the one person |
| success there also. The reason this works is | | | | that if someone wants to know about knives |
| because our minds have an incredible capacity to | | | | they know your name. Either sell the perfect |
| expand and take the disciplines learned in | | | | knives or become an affiliate and make a referral |
| becoming great in one area and transfer that into | | | | commission on every customer you send to the |
| other areas of life. It also works because the | | | | perfect knife manufacturer. Once you own one |
| confidence and sense of achievement built by | | | | area start to expand into complementary |
| success in one area is immediately transferable to | | | | products (sharpeners, cutting boards, etc.) |
| other areas in our life. | | | | Customers already trust your opinion, know |
| You can't be all things to all people - you can't | | | | you're the expert and will follow you with credit |
| even be all things to one person. Instead of trying, | | | | card in hand. |