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So you want to Escape the Rat Race. But lack focus.

Once you've decided to escape the rat race, you'll be absolutely amazed at how many obstacles will spring up to deter you.

These "Dragons of Derailment" will hinder you at every turn.

Unless you recognize them.

And know how to slay them.

7 dragons of derailment

Persevere.

We can do anything we want to do.

If we stick to it long enough.

-- Helen Keller.

The 7 dragons of derailment are:


  1. The 3-Headed Dragon
  2. A Dragon called Doubt
  3. Sandstorm the Dragon
  4. The Novice Dragon
  5. Atlas the Dragon
  6. The Broke Dragon
  7. The Abyss Dragon


shiny new toy dragon 3 heads


Focus.

We are often too busy mopping the floor.

To turn off the faucet.

-- author unknown.

1 - The 3-Headed Dragon:

This dragon is typified by a severe lack of focus.

flying dragon For those who want to escape the rat race, new ideas and opportunities, new tools and gurus, appear on the horizon with regularity.

And they all look good to you.

In fact, if this dragon is doing its job right, all the offers you see will actually have some relevance to you. Even some immediate value!

So what's the problem, then?", you ask.

I'll tell you.

cute dragon

  1. Information Overload:
    You can only process so much information at once. If you're working on multiple projects at once, in your attempt to escape the rat race, none of them is getting the best of you. They all end up getting a mediocre effort from you.

  2. Opportunity Cost:
    While it may seem to make sense to jump on every shiny new thing that comes along, every time you divert your attention from your main thing, it suffers. It gets deferred. And the clock doesn't stop ticking. So yes - you're checking emails as soon as they come in. But in the meantime, your primary project is sitting on the back-burner. Collecting cobwebs.
    Like Lauryn Hill says: "You might gain some but you just lost ONE."

    Remember - the goal is to "Escape the Rat Race". Not "Escape the Rat Race by using the latest super-cool, totally complicated, not even proven yet system, which I need to keep searching for, because every month that title is passed to a new shiny thing.

  3. Lack of progress:
    When you're just starting out on your journey to escape the rat race... progress is a veeery precious thing. You see - ou need encouragement, early on. You need to know that this deviation from the rat race superhighway has a good chance of paying off.

    Imagine you had a magnifying glass, and were trying to burn a hole through a dead leaf. (Total metaphor - we're still talking about how you escape the rat race...)



    You could focus all of the sun's energy through that magnifying glass, onto a tiny point. And burn a hole through that leaf. All because of focus.

    That's progress. Those are results.

    Now - imagine yourself without the magnifying glass. It would seem that the sun would have all the more room to work. It could heat the entire leaf at once!

    Alas, no combustion. NO results.Spread yourself thin, and rest assured that the only satisfaction and encouragement you'll get, is that you've made the entire leaf kind of warm.

    Congratulations.



Avoiding overload.

The main thing
is keeping the main thing
the main thing.

-- German Proverb.

 This problem could manifest itself as:
  • Information overload.

  • Difficulty in picking a target market.

  • Difficulty in picking a niche for that target market.

  • Dabbling (Jill of all trades, master of none)

  • Overwhelm from all the Internet tools out there

  • Fear and anxiety that even as you focus on one thing, you are missing out on some other critical thing.




But there is hope. You don't have to spin your wheels. You can still escape the rat race.

How to slay the Shiny New Toy Dragon

1 - Say NO to Long To-Do Lists:

Green Dragon To-do lists are great for making sure you don't completely leave something off your radar.
But they are TERRIBLE for helping you to focus. Know why? Because they keep reminding you of how much you HAVEN'T DONE! Who needs that? It's like having someone sit on your desk all day, telling you how far behind you are.

So keep your long to-do list. Just don't work off of it. Make a list of 3 things that, if completed, would make this a remarkable day.

Just one thing in any given category. Don't load up any one category.

Now - do your darndest to knock those 3 things out before lunchtime.

And then, get to your to-do list. Already knowing that you KILLED the dragon for the day.

Getting Things Done.

Don't just take orders.

Make sandwiches.

-- Merlin Mann, 43folders.com. on "Inbox Zero".

2 - Say NO to E-Mail:

Red Fire Dragon Don't let email control your daily agenda.

The worst thing you can do is to start your day off with email. I know it is entertaining. It even builds self-esteem to see that people are wanting stuff from you. But it is suicide for your own personal agenda.

Instead, have your prioritized to-do list from the day before. Work off of that for an hour, before getting into email.

I can just hear some of you now: "What? That's ridiculous. If I don't get on email first ting in the morning, the sky will fall."

It won't.

If need be, log on an hour before your manager expects you to be online. Use that time to do productive work - to knock one major thing off your to-do list. Then, get to your email.

But don't live off your email at that point, either. Do you know that email inhibits productivity even more than Marijuana does?

For realz.

Inbox Zero.

Delete.
Delegate.Defer.
Respond.
or Do.

-- Merlin Mann, 43folders.com. on "Inbox Zero".

3 - Say NO to Switching Lanes:

switching lanes If you haven't settled on a game plan that will see you to success yet, then by all means -
Experiment.
Switch lanes.
Cook in multiple pots at once.
Have an "open" dating relationship with your current object of focus. :)

But when you do find a sturdy income vehicle... once you've kicked the tires, and done a quick test drive...
FOCUS. Don't switch lanes.

I KNOW you've been in rush-hour traffic before... seen the other land moving faster than yours... switched... only to see cars that were BEHIND YOU in your original lane slowly chug by you!

This is exactly what I'm talking about in your attempt to escape the Rat Race.

Give the income vehicle you're currently driving a fair amount of time to work. The impression of other lanes moving faster than yours is an illusion. Even if they are, for now, you have no idea whether that will continue to be the case.

So choose your lane well. Then stay in it for a fixed amount of time. Maybe you give it a month. Or 3 months. Before re-evaluating against other lanes.

Failure to do this will keep you switching lanes infinitely, while virtually everyone in every lane that you're not in finds a way to escape the Rat Race.

4 - Say NO to Ocean-Boiling:

boil water My wife and I play this game with our 2-year old.

Whenever we want him to eat his food, or put on his socks, or pick something up... we say: "That's MY food!" or "Those are MY socks!"

He instinctively objects loudly, and claims the aforementioned item. Like clockwork.

How come we adults do the same thing, when asked to pick a niche? We seem to be afraid that if we leave any niche unclaimed as we try to escape the Rat Race, someone else will take it! And make the money we're supposed to be making! (Horrors!)

It's like the guy who doesn't want to get married, because of the 3 billion women in the world he suddenly won't be able to date anymore.

Listen to me.

Stop it. Get over yourself. Get a life.

boil the ocean

You can't do it all. And even if you could, you would suck at it.

If you're worried that your niche will be too small for you to profit... don't be. Time and time again, it is proven that having a microscopic, laser-like focus (on a niche where there is a need) will result in more profits, and particularly more defensible profits, than taking a huge market.

  • Would you rather that your target market was all women?
  • Or all women who work outside the house?
  • Or all women who work outside the house and have kids?
  • Or all women who work outside the house, have kids, and struggle to find time to cook wholesome meals for their kids every day?
  • Or all women who work outside the house, have kids, struggle to find time to cook wholesome meals for their kids every day, and are actively looking for a solution?


Stop trying to boil the ocean.

No one is noticing.

Instead, get a single pot of water. Put that on the stove. And heat the heck out of it.

You can escape the rat race, by target what you know and love. With a maniacal focus. The 7 dragons of derailment:

  1. The 3-Headed Dragon
  2. A Dragon called Doubt
  3. Sandstorm the Dragon
  4. The Novice Dragon
  5. Atlas the Dragon
  6. The Broke Dragon
  7. The Abyss Dragon


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