The Threshold Issue
Do you know what frequently stops you from doing what you want and should do? It is saying “yes” to things you should say “no” to. Warren Buffet says, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.”
Alternatively, you can frame the issue positively by asking, “Does the potential activity contribute to accomplishing my goals?” Today’s message is not about deciding which activities are inconsistent with your goals but deciding among activities that further your goals.
Given our finite time resources, every activity carries an opportunity cost. When we say “yes” to one thing, we necessarily say “no” to another. The issue does not lie in easy choices such as reading a personal development book versus watching The Bachelor. The challenge arises when choosing between seemingly worthwhile options.
Distractions Disguised as Opportunities
A business associate I respect once suggested my food business make meatballs for IKEA because “they give away a lot of them every Saturday.” I began investing time and emotional energy in strategizing how we could make, package, distribute, and sell furniture store meatballs.
I indulged in the recommendation for a brief period even though it distracted me from acting on one of five better-suited customer opportunities I previously identified. There was nothing patently unreasonable about my friend’s suggestion; it simply was not sufficiently worthwhile given our other prospects.
The “You Never Know” Option
We have all heard or been part of the story of finding a valuable connection or customer in unlikely circumstances. I once attended a culinary school competition and met a corporate chef from a potential customer. While my attendance yielded a potentially valuable connection, I likely would have accomplished more by investing three hours cultivating my professional network or attempting to contact a targeted prospect.
Using the example of an unexpected, fortuitous connection as justification, you could attend every Rotary, trade association, and Toastmasters meeting in your city. However, mere possibility is not the proper decision-making standard.
Despite the possibility of instant riches, you do not buy lottery tickets. Nor do you run to the casino entrance to pull the handle of the big slot machine because one lucky person wins a million dollars each year. You do not do so because you reasonably concluded you have higher probability options to obtain funds.
Rather than accepting every phone call or meeting request because “you never know,” proactively filter those opportunities and focus on the ones offering the greatest likelihood of success.
Are you worried about missing out on the “winning lottery ticket” connection at the random Chamber of Commerce event? By keeping an open eye and mind wherever you are, those serendipitous meetings will still occur.
Intentionality
Most importantly, you significantly increase the probability of successful connections or achieving your objectives by thoughtfully curating your highest value propositions and discarding the remainder. Once selected, maintain your conviction and avoid the intrusions of marginal opportunities and well-intentioned but less informed suggestions.
If you struggle with deciding which activities are worth pursuing, do not consider each opportunity in a vacuum but as a choice between competing activities. Ask yourself, “If I say “yes” to one, what am I saying “no” to?” Framing the decision as a binary choice between two options compels you to select the better one.
To ease the discomfort of neglecting a reasonable but lower-quality option, remind yourself:
Not everything of value is worth doing.