4 Distractions You Must Stop Stressing Over If You Want to Succeed You can't change the past but if you focus on the present you can change your future.
By Zech Newman Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The entrepreneur journey is one of the most rewarding experiences in life. However, anyone who tells you that following your passion and working four hours a week is all it takes, is selling something. Your business can be profitable and rewarding, but it can also take everything from you if you don't have a good grasp of boundaries, systems and focus.
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Knowing what to focus on will make you a decent income. But if you want to reach the next level of finances and work-life balance, you need to know what things to ignore. If you focus on the wrong things, you will waste time, sleep, focus and creative energy that could be used on building a team and a successful business. Raise your company to the next level, and avoid focusing on these four things that are outside of your control.
1. Mistakes you have made.
We are all human and make mistakes daily, yet when we screw up, we often beat ourselves up for days. We should learn from our mistakes, but many entrepreneurs obsess over them. You cannot redo the past. Learn from it. If you need to apologize, do it and move on. If you are focusing on your mistakes, you aren't dedicating the mental energy to your business.
2. Economic conditions.
Many of my fellow entrepreneur friends obsess over the economic environment, of which they have no control over. Policy and market forces do impact your business, and they should be paid attention to at the point of which you can pivot your company. Beyond your change in action, focusing on economic conditions produces fear and inaction -- and that's the last thing a business should do. Stop obsessing over the news, and make something happen for your company.
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3. Your competitors.
Know your competitors well enough to know how you are different. Beyond that, you are comparing, and no one wins the game of comparison. Major businesses saw what their competitors were doing and flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Instead of focusing on themselves, they focused on being the best version of what they wanted to create, not a second rate version of their competitors. Focus on your business, not someone else's company.
4. The future.
When we have one eye on the future and one eye on today, we waste today. It is impossible to be the best version of yourself when you aren't fully present today. It is easy to worry about what the next day holds or the next business. Unfortunately when we do this, we rob this moment and this business. There are so many opportunities today to make what you are doing better, stronger and more efficient.
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As you stop focusing on these things outside of your control, you will see your business take off to the next level. Obsess over what is within your control, and relinquish those things that are not contributing to your success. You may not see progress today, but eventually, controlling what you can and leaving alone what you cannot will lead your company to bigger profits and more freedom.
