I’m really good at losing focus!
Both in the little things and the big picture stuff.
And do you know what’s really incredible?… I’m so good at it, it doesn’t even look like I’m losing focus at all.
I’ll sit down at my desk in the morning, start with some studying, and then be reminded of an email I need to send. Half-way through that I get a good idea for a blog post … then an interesting aria idea that I should try.
I call it hyper productive time wasting.
I’m getting things done… Without really accomplishing anything.
*pause for applause*
It’s not that I mean to be a time waster, but it’s really easy to convince myself that I’m working hard while completely losing focus on what I’m working towards.
On the surface, it’s all good work, but is it the right work?
The undisciplined pursuit of more:
I grew up on a farm, where it was drilled into me that the best thing you could do was to work hard.
It seems like a solid life lesson and I’m not trying to argue against the merits of hard work… but if that’s your main goal you might find yourself working your ass off all in the disciplined pursuit of … “More”.
More.
That vague entity that seems like the solution to all of our problems
More money. More opportunities.
If I could only do more. Work more. Offer more. That would make things better.
Or, maybe not.
I stumbled across a great video featuring George McKeown who was talking about essentialism.
In it he shares the results from a study he did on why businesses fail.
His answer: success.
Success led to more opportunities and more options, which led to them splitting their focus in too many directions … And eventually, led them away from the thing that made them successful in the first place.
They were working hard… But they were sprinting in the wrong direction.
His solution…?
The disciplined pursuit of less:
There are so many things to get done. So many things that are being demanded of us…. and you cannot do them all.
You can’t even do most of them. And the more you try, the greater the chance you’ll end up nowhere (and feeling exhausted).
So instead of chasing down every opportunity that comes your way, what about passionately chasing down one or two things. The things that you’re really pumped about.
And that means saying NO to everything else….
Less in your business:
As an artist there’s a mentality that you should take every opportunity that’s offered. Exposure is considered a completely valid (and valuable) form of payment.
But I will tell you right now one of the greatest lessons of my life…
The worst case scenario is not NOT getting the job. It’s getting the wrong job. The job that you can’t do, or the one that shows you off badly. It ends up costing you a ton of effort and stress and doesn’t help your long term business goals.
So often artists enter the job market desperate for anyone to pay them… For anything.
I understand the need for cash, I really do, and there may be (will be) occasions when you’ll take a job for the money.
But you have to know that MORE work is not necessarily the answer to your business’ problems, or your long term financial needs. The answer to those problems is THE RIGHT work. That’s the work that leads to more work, that feeds you artistically and allows you to create at the highest levels.
The “right work” is what they’re talking about when they talk about your “niche”.
WONDERING HOW TO FIND YOUR NICHE? CHECK OUT “HOW TO MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN (FOR ARTISTS)“
In my business, opera, we’re working in a bloated market… Too many singers, not enough work. It doesn’t help to show up at your auditions with the same 5 arias that everyone else has, and prove that you can sing in 5 different languages, and multiple styles.
What if you didn’t show that you can do more than anyone else.
Instead you showed them that you do less.
Find the thing you do the best. And sell that. Specifically.
Yes, you will lose some opportunities. But you might find yourself first in line for other ones.
The right ones.
Less in your personal life:
Less doesn’t feel like what I want in my personal life, especially when we’re going to talk about money. That’s one area in which I honestly do need more.
But it’s all about finding the right focus.
When I think about money in a ‘more’ mentality, it makes me want a multi-million dollar net worth… a financial safety net that will make me bulletproof to anything that could go wrong.
That’s not a bad thing to want. But when is it enough? When am I finally at the place where I “don’t have to worry about money anymore”?
Enter one of my favourite quotes from the internet’s favourite Moustached Frugalitarian who, when accused of trying to tell people to spend like they were poor… wrote one of the BEST MONEY ARTICLES I’ve ever read. It includes this gem:
I want you to spend like you are the richest person in the world, a person who has so much happiness and balance in your life that you can’t imagine anything you could buy that would make you any happier.
What if the ultimate goal wasn’t more?
What if the ultimate goal wasn’t building your net worth, or your savings accounts?
What if it was building a life so full of “happiness and balance” that there would be nothing left to spend money on…
What if it was so much LESS than MORE.
Step away from the desk…
It feels good to work hard. It feels like you’re moving forward.
It feels scary to step back. Close the computer. Block out the noise and all the ‘this is what people my age do” and “this is what my parents want” and ask: What do I need to change in order to have a life so full that I couldn’t possibly want anything else…
And then maybe stop working on anything else…
And just focus on that.
