The Success Trap

What is the biggest reason that stops successful and intelligent people from going to the next level?

Is it complacency? Ego? Luck?

Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism, has a very different answer:

Success.

Successful people often become successful by doing one thing right. But once they achieve success, something strange happens. They start believing they can do many things. They move from focusing on the essential to chasing the non-essential.

And I see this day in and day out with founders and CEOs.

I have been guilty of it myself. I once started a salon business along with a fitness club because I thought health and beauty were closely related. I already had the space, and with an additional 20% cost, I could potentially double my revenue. It looked brilliant on paper.

It wasn't. I lost focus. My positioning became diluted. I burnt a lot more money than expected. I lost a couple of crores and several years trying to do more than I should have.

I learnt the lesson the expensive way.

Since then, I have become a big proponent of doing one thing and doing it really well. More recently, when I decided to get into executive coaching, I quit my Instagram journey, where I had built a million followers and was making good money.

Why?

Be on one boat.

Success creates options. And options are dangerous.

Once you become successful at one thing, suddenly everyone has an idea for you. You see opportunities everywhere. You start thinking, “Why not this also?”

A new product. A new business. A new geography. A new acquisition. A new initiative.

Some of it is greed. Some of it is FOMO. And some of it is simply the intoxicating feeling of being successful.

But every new thing comes with a cost.

Focus is not just about deciding what to do. It is about deciding what not to do. And the more successful you become, the harder that becomes.

The Pareto principle in practice

That's why the Pareto principle is so powerful. We all know that 20% of our efforts can produce 80% of our results. But are you actually applying it?

Do you know which 20% of your products, customers, people or efforts are producing 80% of your results? And which 80% is producing almost nothing?

If not, perhaps your next growth strategy isn't to add something.

Perhaps it is to remove something.

Have you earned the right?

And if you are planning to launch a new product when your existing product hasn't found product-market fit, pause.

Ask yourself: “Am I solving a new problem, or am I running away from the old one?” And perhaps the most important question: “Have I earned the right to launch the next product?”

Because sometimes the biggest impediment to growth isn't a lack of opportunity. It's too many of them.