Addicted to new and different?

“I’ve got to have the new iPhone.” “Oh no, the Google phone is out and I’ve got to get one.”

Motivational speaker Michael Angier asks a question: Are you addicted to new and different?  I thought about this and sadly….. I nodded my head. I think I am one of those people who are addicted to new and different. Polite people call me an early adapter. Others call me a change junkie.

This is costing me more than I know. Maybe this is also costing you.

There is this new laptop that is so cute. It bears a respectable brand. Not only is it really small it’s tablet. I saw it, I bought it and now I can’t use it. The text is just too small for me the battery life is a joke and now I regret why I paid a fortune for it. It appealed to me simply because it is new and it is different. My motto in life should be: “Vini. Vidi. Visa.” Translated: “I came. I saw. I charged it to my credit card.” Maybe the same thing is happening to you. For many entrepreneurs, the temptation to always be innovating, creating and launching new things can be pretty addictive.

Michael says: It’s great to be constantly improving, but it’s also real easy to let go of the routine fundamentals that have built and support our business. New things are more interesting. They capture our attention and engage our entrepreneurial spirits. It’s exciting to be working on something new. We like to talk about how passionate we feel about our business. And a new project, venture or undertaking can fuel that desire. But the truth is, what is good business, what pays the bills and creates profits, is oftentimes not all that exciting. A good deal of business is routine. And some of it is downright boring-at least for entrepreneurs. We have to be serious and honest with ourselves and take a careful look at what we are doing and what we are not doing.

Just because everybody else is using this software program may not necessarily mean that it is the right one for us. Just because everybody is putting their money in this venture may not necessarily mean that this will benefit our current business.

Businessmen don’t have bosses. And most entrepreneurs don’t have a coach.

And that’s all the more reason to get honest with yourself and take a serious look at what you are doing and take a serious check at what and how you are feeling.

What did you do to get where you are that you are no longer doing?

What are you not doing as well as you used to do?

What are you not doing as often as you did before?

Go back a year, two years-maybe three years-and think about the activities, the processes and the systems you employed that have slid into extinction. If they NEEDED to be retired, OK. But if you’ve simply FORGOTTEN to do them, it may be time to go back to what worked.

New tools are great. Enhanced services certainly add value. But the core of our business is knowledge. What is important to us are not new tools but what matters. And what matters mostly is about getting clear, staying focused and consistently moving in the right direction.

What are the essentials of YOUR business?

What have you let slide?

What have you slacked of from?

Where have you lost your edge?

And how do you get it back?

For most of us, it’s getting back to basics. It’s letting go of our need for something new and different and concentrating on what already works.

A new great idea, the next cool project, may actually be poison to your current business.

We can still start new projects and create new things, but we can’t forget about or neglect the core of our business. If you need to constantly be working on the new and different, you’d better have people on your team who will continue to do the routine stuff. Otherwise, you’ll likely find yourself without the resources to fund your new ventures.

Never let go of the basics.

Same thing for business and same thing for life.

Love God love your family work hard and make yourself useful.

Now that is basic and the rest is just icing. 

(Attend the “Developing a Millionaire’s” Mindset seminar featuring Francis Kong and Chinkee Tan on Oct. 16 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. Call 996-4610 or 8897763 or email [email protected] for details.)