How To Overcome Distractions And Boost Your Opportunities
Opportunities Multiply As They Are Siezed
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The mind gives up before the body.
I first came across this quote two years ago.
It was at a period when I was taking my fitness very seriously.
One of the hardest things that you can subject your body to is exercise.
We have all made that mistake of pushing our body hard the first day and paying for it with more pain than normal.
Sometimes, it will require two extra days of rest before you can go back to the gym.
That is if you intend to continue.
Back to the quote.
The phrase "The mind gives up before the body" paints the picture that giving up mentally when under pressure gives the body a signal to follow suit.
Even when the body is strong enough to manage the pressure.
And this experience is not limited to exercise.
The first quarter of 2024 is rounding up this weekend.
There are goals that you set for this year that you have not even touched.
Self-doubt, fear, and lack of motivation are some reasons why.
But these are all mostly symptoms, not the main problem.
Symptoms of malaria include fever and headache.
If you have a malaria parasite in your system, and take paracetamol because you have a headache.
You will never fully recover because you are treating the wrong thing.
There are times when fear is the sole problem.
But before you conclude, I will urge you to give me a few minutes of your time.
I believe that by the time you read to the end.
You will gain so much insight into how to approach your goals.
This guide was designed for people building a brand that requires online content creation.
If you fall into that category, I suggest that you pay very close attention
Progress is deciding what to stop doing - Jack Butcher
A lot of articles and books have been written on distraction.
I have heard the phrase “Focus Is a Superpower” more times than I can count.
But with all this advice and teachings,
Why do we still fall prey to distractions?
And I am not just talking about social media distractions.
I am talking about that constant pull to work on several projects at once.
As you read this you probably have 2 -3 things on your plate.
It can be skills you want to learn,
Business ideas to work on, or a brand that you want to build.
To answer the question that I asked above.
The reason why you bite off more than we can chew is because not all distractions are bad.
Some sound so good that you can bet your life and time on them.
But this is not enough.
I will share my solution to this by talking about two key points.
Vision and Roadmap
This might sound like a repeat of last week’s article.
But come with me, I am going somewhere.
I have been writing about these two things all through this month.
But each time, I tackle it from a different angle.
So that you can get a more rounded understanding.
This topic is too important to leave things to chance.
Seeing and Owning The Future
Every skill or business can make you a multimillionaire.
Be it shoemaking or software development.
What matters is the vision that you have for it.
There are some things that you are trying out right now and it’s solely because of the testimonies of others.
And yes, testimonies are important and help us know what’s possible.
But you need to ask yourself why you are jumping on that business.
Are you doing so because you believe in it?
Or do you see it as a way to make money quicker?
There is no quick money anywhere.
Anywhere quick money exists, someone has already done the work.
There was a business that I started last year and within three months, I got amazing results.
But after I reviewed the process,
I realized that getting results that fast was possible, because I had spent years building a brand that people trust.
It will take someone who doesn’t have a solid brand way longer to make such progress.
The process of building a business takes work.
Anything that would have significance needs to be built - T.D Jakes
But if you are doing what you love, you will never work a day in your life.
The challenges will be more of stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks.
So develop a vision and keep your eyes on it.
The difference between Shoprite and that random store on your street that has been operating for years is vision.
Once you grab the right vision it serves as a magnet for the things that would push you higher.
It will also prevent you from shiny object syndrome.
Whenever you hear the testimony of people in a new business, there is always that pull to try it out.
But before you do.
Ask the person how long it took them to get a result.
And the systems and structures that move that market.
You will see that you are likely better off, building what you are currently building.
The shortcut to success is found in avoiding shortcuts.
If you change paths, you will need to start building afresh.
Know the difference between “An Opportunity” and “The Opportunity”
Maps and RoadMaps
There are three core stages that every roadmap should have.
But before I talk about them.
Let me give you an example of creators who are going through the stages.
Funke Akindele started as an Actress and has built a Media Empire worth Billions of Naira
Jen Rubio started as a social media creator and built a Travel Startup (AWAY) worth $1.4 Billion.
Mr Beast is the biggest Youtube creator and has gone on to launch food and software based products.
These people started small and followed the stages below:
Stage One: Build a personal brand using content.
Stage Two : Montize that brand by selling services of themselves or others.
Stage Three: Start a Company.
You need to have these things nailed out before you start.
Even if it is an idea of what you can build to serve the audience that you are building.
I say idea, because the final form will not fully match that, but you need to start with a seed.
As you building and interact with your audience, you will be become better at guaging what they need.
Vision is very important to maintaining consistency.
Below is a screenshot of a case study that I used in a webinar with my students.
I Illustrated how someone creating skincare-related content can grow and scale their brand.
There is no small brand.
What matters is the vision that you have.
Stage One: Build a personal brand using content.
At this stage, the biggest distraction that you can face is choosing a niche.
There are a lot of niches out there, and even if you are to create content on more than one thing.
You still need to start with something.
I started with writing about personal branding in 2017 and have added more topics since then.
And another thing that will distract you here is multiple platforms.
When starting out, pick one platform and stick to it.
Build a sizable audience there before you start pushing them to others.
If you write, Twitter is the best option to start with.
If you are making videos, TikTok is best to build traction fast.
You need to build your community with care, and drive engagement as much as you can.
The best topics to create on are those that resonate the most with your audience.
Stage Two : Montize that brand
One of the easiest ways to monetize brands these days is digital content.
It can be books or courses.
When you create content around a particular topic over time.
You become an authority in that topic,
And if you create a course that solves a major problem people face, they will buy.
You can also serve as an affiliate for the product of others
You can make a lot of money doing this.
But you need to know that this is not the final busstop.
There are still a lot of potentials to your brand at this stage.
Stage Three: Start a Company.
You can build a team or partner with someone to start a company.
And depending on the size of your audience,
You may even create more than one company.
However, you need to know that these stages doesn’t happen on their own.
There are a lot of intentionality involved.
You will need to upskill and build solid networks over time.
Many people stop at stage two because that’s all they understand.
You need to go out of your way and study people who are operating at stage three and learn all you can from them.
Once you have a vision and these three stages in place.
It becomes harder to jump from idea to idea.
There are some new ideas that you get can also be added to your roadmap.
I shared how to make that work in the episode on managing ideas.
Give it a read if you are yet to.
It will help act on your ideas better.
The more time you spend building the things that matters.
The more valuable those opportunities become for you.
Let’s Talk
I don’t want to make this episode so long.
I prefer to share insights as needed.
So hit this chat icon below and drop a comment around any of the following points.
what you learnt from this article
the topics that you are creating content around
the platforms where you are active on
Anything that you need more clarity on.
I promise to answer all questions.
Thank you so much for this article sir. It seemed as if you were talking to me directly.
I learnt that building a brand over time is more profitable than jumping on the next available opportunity.
I also learnt that there’s no free money anywhere, there is work to be done.
I am currently creating content around “effective content marketing strategies for business owners”.
I am mostly active on Whatsapp and that’s the only platform where I post my content.
I’ll like to get more clarity on how to know what people’s problems are and the solutions they’ll actually pay money for.
I’m looking forward to your reply, thank you sir.
This piece is another banger.
I haven't recovered from the last piece. I am still implementing and working on what you shared
Then this one dropped
I read this like thrice. The third time, I got a notebook to jot down salient points and come up with possible actions to take.
I learned that not all distractions are bad. Every opportunity is good but not every opportunity is what I am looking for. Honestly I had to ask myself if I have an idea of the opportunity I wanted.
Truth is when you don't know the kind of opportunity you want, you will most likely accept any opportunity.
I also learned about the shiny object syndrome
From this edition, I had to think about the big Marketing brands and people I follow like Neil Patel, Seth Godin, etc
They all started as personal brands. Not just that, with every trend that we have witnessed, AI, Web Development, Tech skill bla bla, they have remained with their central message. Overtime, they have adapted to changing technologies to remain relevant but the core message remains the same.
I am creating content around Entrepreneurs, Blockchain and content marketing
I use substack (for stories of Entrepreneurs) Twitter, and LinkedIn. I am planning to add Tiktok because I want to start making videos.
You mentioned starting with one platform.
I think that's where it's one of the places I need clarity
Honestly I hope I am doing the right thing by using all the platforms I mentioned. It's actually the same content but repurposed in different ways.
For the video content, my plan is to turn my written content into videos.
Turn my blog posts on Blockchain into tweets and vice versa
The second place I need clarity is on Industry. This moment I am convinced that focusing on the Blockchain industry as a content marketer is highly beneficial for the long run. The next moment, I want to generalize and be for every industry.
I am sorry that this comment is long. The last issue I commented on touched me but this one touched me 🥲 and connected a lot of dots.