AMY PORTERFIELD: “So talk about your goals often, because I think that becomes your North Star. Like, you know where you're going because it's just part of your conversation. It's just part of you. So speaking about my goals, not only, one, holds me accountable to myself and to others, but, two, it reminds me of my game plan.”
INTRO: I’m Amy Porterfield, ex-corporate girl turned CEO of a multi-seven-figure business. But it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the confidence, the budget, and the time to focus on growing my small-but-mighty business. Fast forward past many failed attempts and lessons learned, and you'll see the business I have today, one that changes lives and gives me more freedom than I ever thought possible, one that used to only exist as a daydream. I created the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast to give you simple, actionable, step-by-step strategies to help you do the same. If you're an ambitious entrepreneur, or one in the making, who's looking to create a business that makes an impact and a life you love, you're in the right place, friend. Let's get started.
AMY: My latest podcast obsession is My First Million. It's hosted by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri. They discuss how companies made their first million and brainstorm new business ideas based on the hottest trends. They recently released an episode with my friend Nathan Barry from ConvertKit. It was called “How to Become a Billion-Dollar Creator.” And I loved when Nathan talked about some of his biggest failures and what he'd do if he had to start over. You know, I'm a sucker for conversations like that. You can check out My First Million wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Hey, there. Welcome back to Online Marketing Made Easy. Let’s talk about how to avoid shiny-objects syndrome. And actually, this one is kind of fun because it was suggested by one of my community members in my free Facebook group, which is called Thrive, and it's for aspiring digital-course creators who are building their email lists. So if you want to join Thrive, it's totally free, and we have an amazing community over there, full of support and insight and guidance, and my team is always in the group to support you, so all the good things. I’ll link to it in my show notes.
So for me, avoiding shiny objects actually boils down to a physical thing. It's about six inches by nine inches, it's full of pages, and I seriously can't live without it. Guess what it is. Yes, it's a Full Focus Planner. So, I've definitely talked about this one before, but what I keep coming back to that really keeps me on track is the Weekly and Daily Big 3. So, you start your week identifying the three big things that are going to drive the business forward and move you closer to your goal for the week. So three things that you're getting done this week, no matter what. So, you're going to look at the goals you've set for the quarter or for the year and then look at the week and say, “What are three things I can do to get me closer to those goals?” Those are your three big things for the week. And then, you have your Daily Big 3, which will also help you move in that direction. So, what are the three things you're going to do today, no matter what?
Now, the reason I love this so much is that I have it right in front of me—what I'm working on today, right now—and that's huge in helping me avoid shiny-objects syndrome. So, head down, this is what I'm working on.
But the bigger picture with the Full Focus Planner is that you use it at the beginning of the year or beginning of the quarter and put in a little extra time to identify your big goals, both personally and professionally. I did that this year. The episode for February 2022, at the beginning of February 2022, is all about me setting goals and five of the goals I set, and I talked about that a little bit. So I do this every single year. I think it's really important.
Okay. So, setting those goals and making sure they speak to your soul is so dang important because once you've set them, right away, when those shiny objects come in, you've got to have the discipline to ask yourself, “Does this fit into the goals I've set for this year?” So it really comes down to one question. That's how I avoid the whole thing. Squirrel. Squirrel. Squirrel. That's how I avoid it because if something comes into my world and I ask myself, “Does this fit into the goals I've set this year?” if the answer is no, then I ask myself, “Do I really need or really want this? Is this something I've overlooked but is really important?” The answer is often no, and then I go back to the goals I’ve set, head down, do the work.
Now, once in a while, the answer is yes. And that's when I have to decide, “Okay. Am I going to sacrifice one thing for another?” because you know that every time you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else, energetically or something you might know you're saying no to or might not realize it in the moment but you are. So, if I say yes to something new, I might have to rearrange the goals I've already set so that this thing I'm saying yes to, that wasn't really part of my plan, it better be worth it, right?
So, if you spend some time on goal setting at the beginning of the year and place those goals somewhere where you will see them often, this is a simple and effective way to avoid shiny-objects syndrome because you're very clear on what you're working on.
Another thing I've noticed is that when I talk about my goals often and out loud to others, it almost brings them to life, and they become more a part of me. It's almost like the idea of manifesting. And I'm totally not sure where it originated, but something about speaking into the universe what you desire and it will come to be, I believe in that. So talk about your goals often, because I think that becomes your North Star. Like, you know where you're going because it's just part of your conversation. It's just part of you. So speaking about my goals, not only, one, holds me accountable to myself and to others, but, two, it reminds me of my game plan. And when those shiny objects pop up—whether it be a really cool trip that I'm invited on for work; or whether it be something that I can promote for somebody else that might be really cool; or someone wants to do a bonus with me; or I could go and tape a TV show or something; whatever it is, it could be really cool stuff—but when those things come up, then I can decide, Do I want to do them and change around what I've already done?, which I have to sit down and do the work to do so. Or is this something that I can put on a wish list and come back to at a different time? Or is this an opportunity I'm willing to miss because I know that I'm really clear where I'm going and how I'm getting there?
Another thing that keeps me on track, and if you've been with me for a while, you've heard this before, but it's something called EOS, entrepreneur operating systems. So for years and years, especially as my business started to grow, I had an integrator, and I actually plan to go back to having an integrator. And I learned how to have an integrator in my business in the book Rocket Fuel. Highly recommend it. I’ll link to it in the show notes. So an integrator is someone who will keep the visionary, or CEO, which is me, on track. So when I have these bright ideas that aren't in alignment with the goals we’ve set, the integrator’s job is to say, “Okay. We can do that, but here's what we can't do if we do that. Here’s what has to take a backseat if this is added.”
So, if you're not strong enough to make those decisions because you're multi passionate and you love variety and you want to do all the things all the time, get yourself an integrator. And we learned—Chloe was my integrator for many years until she became the CMO, and then we didn't have an integrator, and we kind of tried to navigate through that, but it was easier when we had one, for the record—but when you have an integrator, if you know you like to have a lot of variety, change things up, you've got tons of ideas, have your integrator call the shots on, what doesn't get done if you do this? What does it look like? Paint the picture. The integrator’s not always going to say no to you. They're not the boss, you are, but they're going to keep you grounded.
And what I was saying earlier is the way we learned how to navigate as a visionary, me, and an integrator, at the time, Chloe, was through the book Rocket Fuel. Literally tells you how to do it, and they have an assessment you can take to see what role you're currently playing in the business. I took their assessment, and I was half visionary, half integrator. So when we decided to have an integrator in our business, I had to make sure that I wasn't trying to play both roles, and I could really settle into the visionary, which I really enjoyed over the last few years. So that's been really cool.
So, to sum this up, the way that you avoid this shiny-objects syndrome, or people like to say, “Squirrel. Squirrel,” you know what I'm talking about? the way you avoid that is, number one, you set your goals. You get clear on your goals. You talk about your goals often. They're front and center. You know where you are going.
And then, you ask that question. When something comes into your world that you're thinking you might want to do, but it was not part of the plan, is this something I really want or need and something I'm worth sacrificing other goals that I’ve set for, moving them around, putting them on the back burner or whatever you need to do? And if the answer is yes, then get to work to rearrange. Notice how often you do that. Hopefully, very, very few times do you do something like that, but it happens. I've definitely done it. Or you say no. You put it on a wish list, or you say, “You know what? I'm going to miss out on this because I know the reward of hitting these goals is going to be incredible.”
And then, in addition to that, if you really want to double down on not switching gears a hundred times this year, get yourself an integrator. I know, easier said than done, but at least look at it. Maybe make it your twelve-month goal. Then in twelve months, you’re getting an integrator on the team. It really is a game changer. And like I said, it's something I plan to go back to over the next few years because it was a game changer for us.
All right. So, there you have it, short-and-sweet episode about avoiding shiny objects and staying the course. So if you know somebody who's chasing those squirrels, please share this episode with them. It might be incredibly valuable, just what they need to hear to get back on track. And I would so very appreciate it. Just grab the link, text it to a friend, and, hopefully, they'll get a lot of insight from it as well.
Thanks for being here. I love doing these Shorty episodes for you. But I'll see you on Thursday, where I do my longer episodes of more entrepreneurial goodness, same time, same place. Bye for now.
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