From: alexhormozi
Every business needs to solve four fundamental problems to achieve growth and scale [00:00:00]. One of the most critical challenges entrepreneurs face is maintaining focus [00:19:57] and commitment [00:20:00] [00:20:00].
The Challenge of Focus
Entrepreneurs are often rewarded for taking initial leaps of faith and making something work from nothing [00:20:03]. This rewarding experience, moving from complete control to perceived freedom, reinforces a strong loop: when things get difficult, the instinct is to switch and try something new [00:20:31]. This leads to a cycle of jumping from one “honeymoon phase” to another, failing to address underlying problems [00:20:43].
The insidious nature of this problem lies in how new opportunities always look different and present strong arguments for why they should be pursued [00:21:03]. This is why “new opportunity” is such an effective sales pitch [00:21:14], as it is difficult to maintain the discipline to stick with a familiar venture for years [00:21:20].
Sticking with your current business allows you to leverage the immense knowledge gained over years [00:22:00]. While new opportunities may seem appealing on the surface, they come with unforeseen challenges and “booby traps” [00:22:12].
Defining Commitment and Focus
- Commitment: Defined as the elimination of alternatives [00:22:48]. To become more committed, one must actively eliminate other options [00:22:54]. The word “decision” originates from the Latin decidere, meaning “to literally cut off or to kill off” [00:24:00]. This implies actively turning down enticing opportunities [00:24:11].
- Focus: Can be measured by the number and quality of things one says “no” to [00:25:52]. Giving oneself a mental point for every “no” helps reinforce the habit of staying focused [00:26:04].
The principle is that the best diet is the one you follow, the best person to marry is the one you stay with, and the best business is the one you stick with [00:24:41]. The quality of the thing itself is less important than one’s commitment to it [00:24:52]. This aligns with what successful entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, and Sam Altman have emphasized: persistence and the willingness to stay the course despite many shiny objects [00:25:32].
The Benefits of Unwavering Focus
By saying “no” to everything else, entrepreneurs receive a “blank check from the universe” that guarantees success [00:26:37]. It is difficult to imagine an entrepreneur who commits to one business for 50 years, consistently has hard conversations, learns, and doesn’t repeat mistakes, failing to become unbelievably successful [00:26:22].
While it is possible to own multiple businesses, it is rare to be the CEO of two businesses simultaneously [00:27:03]. A litmus test for this is whether you own the business or the business owns you [00:27:26]. Until a business reaches around $10-20 million a year, it often “owns” the entrepreneur, which is a necessary phase on the path to building an asset [00:27:42].
The “fallacy of success” is believing that a chosen path is the only path to success [00:28:32]. Multiple avenues can lead to the same desired outcome [00:28:37]. However, straddling multiple opportunities almost guarantees failure [00:28:46].
Reframing Challenges for Continued Engagement
To sustain commitment and love for a business over a long time, entrepreneurs must learn disciplines that help them re-engage [00:32:42]. A powerful reframe involves shifting from blaming external factors to identifying personal skill deficiencies [00:33:04].
Instead of saying, “This business won’t work because the market doesn’t like my stuff,” say, “I don’t know how to market my stuff” [00:33:28]. Instead of, “This business won’t work because no one can sell like I can,” say, “I don’t know how to get someone else to sell like I can” [00:33:37]. This shift places accountability on the entrepreneur, making the problem solvable through skill development [00:33:52].
This perspective helps entrepreneurs stay engaged with the business by constantly learning and improving [00:34:01]. The problems evolve, making it feel like a different business every few months [00:36:11].
Ultimately, any business can be scaled to $100 million if the entrepreneur is committed to the business or space [00:36:23]. At the highest level, scaling any business leads to a similar day-to-day: managing a handful of intelligent people who work with leverage [00:36:40]. Therefore, switching businesses to avoid current challenges is often futile, as success in any venture will eventually lead to similar management structures [00:37:21].
The alternative to pushing through these challenges and undoing mistakes is to never fix them, leading to stagnation and a damaged reputation [00:37:47].