Overcoming Shiny Stuff Syndrome

Hello,

and welcome to this

week's episode of

Unleashing Brilliance.

Today, I want to

dive into a topic

that affects so many

of us, particularly

those that thrive

on innovation and

creativity and being

ahead of the curve.

What I'm talking

about today are the

three deadly S's, the

shiny stuff syndrome.

We've all been there,

that magnetic pull

towards new ideas,

tools, and projects

that can often leave

us, wondering how

on earth we're going

to get something

finished and why

our actual goals

are no longer close

to being completed.

In this episode, I want

to dissect the three

deadly S's of shiny

stuff syndrome and

offer some actionable

strategies to help

you overcome them.

Now, some years ago,

I met an incredible

business owner and

entrepreneur, a

lady called Julia.

Julia was a dynamo.

She was known for

her innovative ideas,

her boundless energy.

And one day she

shared with me her

lady's project.

and her lady's project

was actually an app

that was all about how

to help people manage

their time better.

I get the irony

here, right?

The concept was really

solid, but every

single time we met, she

had this new feature

or a new design or

something new that she

wanted to talk about.

And the app was never

close to actually

being launched.

There was always

something else that

she had to include or

something else that

she had to have a

conversation about,

or something else

that she had to start.

And this was all

getting in the way of

her, Actually making

her magic happen of

actually completing

and launching this,

incredible app.

Julia was suffering

from what I like

to call shiny

stuff syndrome.

Yes.

She'd caught a massive

dose of the three

deadly S's each new

tech trend or tool

that came her way.

She felt compelled to

actually include it

in her app and she was

lost in a market of

endless possibilities.

so many of us have

been there, right?

So what we had to do

is we had to put a

hard stop on the work

that she was doing.

We had to start with a

real pause to reflect

on what her key and

core objectives were.

She needed to remember

her why, the very

reason she'd started

her own journey.

And we worked on

a strategy to help

her prioritize and

focus, treating every

single new idea like

window shopping.

You look, you

appreciate, but you

don't immediately buy.

You know, it's like

when you find yourself

on a diet, but you

find yourself in a

chocolate shop, every

single thing looks

tempting, but you've

got to remember what

your ultimate goal is.

It may be that you

want to fit into

some fabulous suit

or dress at your best

friend's wedding.

You don't necessarily

need that extra

chocolate.

You've got to

own the choice.

You need a strategy

to keep walking,

keep on walking past

that chocolate shop.

So the question is,

are you the one?

A bit like Julia, are

you constantly chasing

after the next big

thing only to find

yourself overwhelmed

and not really

getting anywhere fast?

Maybe your diary

is filled up with

jumping from one

thing to the next.

Maybe you've got loads

of things that you've

started, but you just

can't seem to get

anything finished.

If that's you,

you might also be

suffering from these

three deadly S's of

shiny stuff syndrome.

This disease of

distraction that

plagues so many of us

as business owners.

Think of it like

being a kid in a

candy store, but

instead of the sweets,

you're surrounded

with shiny new

business strategies.

You know, maybe

this is you, this

is your typical day.

You're, you're

scrolling through

social media feed.

I know that's really

hard, isn't it?

Not to scroll, but

you're scrolling

through your

social media feed.

And then suddenly,

bam, a new marketing

strategy pops

up promising to

revolutionize

your business.

And without a second

thought, you dive in.

It may be that one of

your worthy rivals,

as Simon Sinek calls

them, one of your

competitors, you've

seen them doing

something on social

media and again, before

you know it, you're

off copying them or

trying to reinvent what

they're actually doing.

Before you know it,

another new shiny

opportunity catches

your eye and that cycle

repeats itself again.

But the impact

It can happen.

Your business, shiny

stuff, syndrome

is very real.

You know, here's some

of the things that I

find in my business.

when I find myself

following shiny

stuff, by the way,

I'm a Gemini too.

So it's like rabbits.

I don't know if I go

in a totally different

direction, but the

reality is the cost

of shiny stuff.

Syndrome is real.

First up, We, um, seem

to have an inability

to actually finish

projects where hopping

from one project to

the next, never really

pausing to collect

data or analyze what

is truly working.

The second thing I

see happening is many

of these ideas that

we have, that we're

trying to put into our

business end up being.

Poorly planned ideas

without alignment

to your true

business goals, your

strategies can become

quite wishy washy.

third thing I see with

many of my clients

that suffer from

shiny stuff, stuff

syndrome, gosh, try

saying that quickly.

Shiny stuff syndrome

is that they end up

burning through cash,

following every single

new idea, investing

with every genius that

promises to be able to

turn your world around.

And they burn through

cash because they're

not investing wisely.

You might be scattering

your resources

broadly, hoping that

something will stick.

And finally, if

we're not careful,

we hit this point

of stagnation.

As you flip flop

behind ideas or

between ideas, your

business stagnates.

You might confuse your

potential clients and

leads start drying up.

It's a bit like.

Going into a

gym, right?

Every, every time you

walked into a gym, you

tried out a different

workout routine without

really sticking to

any particular plan.

You know, one day

you might do yoga.

The next day it's a

heavy lifting session

followed by some

random dance class.

Yes, you're

doing stuff.

You actually

are at risk of

confusing yourself.

You might even pull

a muscle or two and

you never really see.

Any real progress,

the cost of shiny

syndrome, shiny stuff

syndrome is very real.

And it's very real in

this entrepreneurial

world that we

are operating in.

There's lots and

lots of stuff being

done, lots and lots

and lots of movement,

but no real gains.

So if this is you,

if you are finding

yourself struggling

with the three deadly

S's of shiny stuff

syndrome, I want to

give you a couple of

ideas to focus on.

it's time to

really explore some

strategies that To

help you, ensure that

you stay on track.

Now, Brendan Bouchard

wrote an amazing book

about this called The

Motivation Manifesto.

I love this book.

And he talks about

the fact that

every single person

has some form of.

The first spark of

motivation, he says,

is this ambition, the

ambition, the belief

that you're going

to build a business,

you're going to launch

a product, you're

going to hit seven

figures, whatever it

may be, we all have

an ambition and he.

Suggests that the

second big phase of

work is expectancy.

So we believe that

we can, you know,

New Year's Eve is

a classic example

of this, isn't it?

I'm, I'm going to run

a marathon this year.

I'm going to

not work at the

weekends this year.

We set the ambition

and at a certain moment

in time, we have an

expectancy that we can.

And Brendan Bouchard

argues that the

ambition and the

expectancy Things

that create that first

spark of motivation.

Now, I reckon that

ambition and expectancy

are also the things

that create the

first spark of shiny

stuff syndrome.

And there's a third

piece that we have

to think about and

consider and be

intentional about to

ensure that we actually

gain momentum towards

our ultimate goals.

And this third

piece that will

ensure sustained.

and focused activity

and delivery, leverage,

and achievement of your

goals is attention.

Expectancy and

ambition are awesome.

They're the very

things that kick off.

the activity that's

needed, but without

attention, without

focusing and being

intentional about

attention, I think

this is what fuels

shiny stuff syndrome.

And so actually

what we need to do

is four key things.

We've got to

pause, we've got to

communicate, we've

got to measure,

and then sometimes

We've got to quit.

So let me just

talk through these

four key things.

So let's kick

off with pause.

If you find yourself

at risk of following

shiny stuff syndrome,

the first thing I want

you to do is pause.

Give yourself that

moment before you

jump in and say yes.

Pause, give yourself

a moment to sit with

any new ideas, any

new shiny thing that's

coming your way, give

yourself a moment

to sit and to pause.

And I would suggest

that if it's not a

hell yes, this is

the very thing that's

going to help me

achieve my goals,

then it's probably.

So first thing I want

you to do is pause.

The second thing

before we take any

action is communicate.

And this is where I

want you to tap into

your inner circle,

that trusted board

of advisors that you

have around you, that

network that you have.

Of trusted people whose

opinions you value,

the people who, you

know, are not going

to say yes, just to

make you feel good.

They're going to

really challenge

your thinking.

And in this space,

it's about talking

through with those

people, your ideas,

talk it through, share

with them what you're

thinking, explain to

them why this idea is

aligned to achieving

your overarching

goal, and then listen.

Listen to their

perspectives, listen

to their questions,

listen to their

challenging because

you're in a circle are

the very people that

can provide you with

invaluable insight and

prevent you from making

any hasty decisions.

So step one, pause.

Step two, communicate

the third one.

Then if you are going

to do the very thing

that you've decided to

do is to measure, it's

so important that you

decide and you define

what success looks like

for every single new

venture that you're

going to undertake

this measure criteria.

This definition of

success, and this

is where this paying

attention is so key,

pay attention with

every single result

that you are getting as

a result of the thing

that you are doing.

This will help you

stay focused and

measure your progress.

Effectively in my

elevator in the inner

circle community, we

do this every single

day, every single

week and every single

quarter, every single

quarter, we decide

what our measures

of success are.

We then plug them

into an accountability

dashboard so that

every single week

my clients can

measure whether the.

Effort that they're

putting in the work

that they are doing

is delivering the

results that they want.

Measuring your activity

is key because it's,

this is the very thing

that can show you

either what to stop,

what to start and what

to keep doing to ensure

that you are moving

towards your goals.

Now, the final

step here of.

Avoiding shiny

stuff syndrome is

quit knowing when

cut your losses.

Now I'm not saying

that every single

experiment, every

single thing that

you do, you quit.

That's not what

I'm saying.

But what I am saying

is that through the

last step of measure,

making a decision as

to what success look

like, and when to quit.

is key.

Knowing when to

cut your losses.

It's about sticking

to your long term

goals and adjusting

strategies as necessary

to remain aligned with

your ultimate vision.

So four things, pause,

communicate, measure,

and if necessary, quit.

These three deadly

S's, shiny stuff

syndrome, isn't just

about distraction.

It's a mindset that

can be mastered

with awareness

and discipline and

intentionality.

By staying focused

on your objectives

and resisting that

wonderful allure

of every new shiny

distraction, you

can actually forge

a path to a more

sustainable and

successful business.

Remember

staying focused.

Isn't about

avoiding new ideas.

It's not about avoiding

new ideas, but it is

about mastering the art

of selective attention.

Keep your eyes on your

prize and let the rest

of the noise fade away.

So until next time,

keep being brilliant

and don't let the

shiny stuff get in

your way this week.