If you find yourself constantly chasing after the next big thing, feeling overwhelmed, and struggling to finish anything, you might be suffering from Shiny Stuff Syndrome. This disease of distraction plagues many business owners. It’s like being a kid in a candy store, but instead of sweets, you’re surrounded by shiny new business strategies.
Think about a typical day: you’re scrolling through your social media feed when a new marketing strategy pops up, promising to revolutionise your business. Without a second thought, you dive in. Sometimes, it’s driven by seeing competitors or “worthy rivals” doing something new that you feel compelled to copy or reinvent. Before you know it, another new shiny opportunity catches your eye, and the cycle repeats itself.
So, how do we avoid this trap? Here are four key strategies:
1. Pause: Before diving headfirst into a new idea, take a moment to pause. Is this a “hell yes” that aligns with your goals? If not, step away.
2. Communicate: Talk to your trusted advisors, and your inner circle. Share your ideas and explain how they fit into your overall strategy. Their honest feedback can prevent hasty decisions.
3. Measure: Define success for every new venture. Track your progress and results. This data will tell you what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus your energy.
4. Quit (When Necessary): Don’t be afraid to cut your losses. Measuring success allows you to identify when to quit and refocus on your long-term goals.
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Transcript
Hello,
Speaker:and welcome to this
Speaker:week's episode of
Speaker:Unleashing Brilliance.
Speaker:Today, I want to
Speaker:dive into a topic
Speaker:that affects so many
Speaker:of us, particularly
Speaker:those that thrive
Speaker:on innovation and
Speaker:creativity and being
Speaker:ahead of the curve.
Speaker:What I'm talking
Speaker:about today are the
Speaker:three deadly S's, the
Speaker:shiny stuff syndrome.
Speaker:We've all been there,
Speaker:that magnetic pull
Speaker:towards new ideas,
Speaker:tools, and projects
Speaker:that can often leave
Speaker:us, wondering how
Speaker:on earth we're going
Speaker:to get something
Speaker:finished and why
Speaker:our actual goals
Speaker:are no longer close
Speaker:to being completed.
Speaker:In this episode, I want
Speaker:to dissect the three
Speaker:deadly S's of shiny
Speaker:stuff syndrome and
Speaker:offer some actionable
Speaker:strategies to help
Speaker:you overcome them.
Speaker:Now, some years ago,
Speaker:I met an incredible
Speaker:business owner and
Speaker:entrepreneur, a
Speaker:lady called Julia.
Speaker:Julia was a dynamo.
Speaker:She was known for
Speaker:her innovative ideas,
Speaker:her boundless energy.
Speaker:And one day she
Speaker:shared with me her
Speaker:lady's project.
Speaker:and her lady's project
Speaker:was actually an app
Speaker:that was all about how
Speaker:to help people manage
Speaker:their time better.
Speaker:I get the irony
Speaker:here, right?
Speaker:The concept was really
Speaker:solid, but every
Speaker:single time we met, she
Speaker:had this new feature
Speaker:or a new design or
Speaker:something new that she
Speaker:wanted to talk about.
Speaker:And the app was never
Speaker:close to actually
Speaker:being launched.
Speaker:There was always
Speaker:something else that
Speaker:she had to include or
Speaker:something else that
Speaker:she had to have a
Speaker:conversation about,
Speaker:or something else
Speaker:that she had to start.
Speaker:And this was all
Speaker:getting in the way of
Speaker:her, Actually making
Speaker:her magic happen of
Speaker:actually completing
Speaker:and launching this,
Speaker:incredible app.
Speaker:Julia was suffering
Speaker:from what I like
Speaker:to call shiny
Speaker:stuff syndrome.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:She'd caught a massive
Speaker:dose of the three
Speaker:deadly S's each new
Speaker:tech trend or tool
Speaker:that came her way.
Speaker:She felt compelled to
Speaker:actually include it
Speaker:in her app and she was
Speaker:lost in a market of
Speaker:endless possibilities.
Speaker:so many of us have
Speaker:been there, right?
Speaker:So what we had to do
Speaker:is we had to put a
Speaker:hard stop on the work
Speaker:that she was doing.
Speaker:We had to start with a
Speaker:real pause to reflect
Speaker:on what her key and
Speaker:core objectives were.
Speaker:She needed to remember
Speaker:her why, the very
Speaker:reason she'd started
Speaker:her own journey.
Speaker:And we worked on
Speaker:a strategy to help
Speaker:her prioritize and
Speaker:focus, treating every
Speaker:single new idea like
Speaker:window shopping.
Speaker:You look, you
Speaker:appreciate, but you
Speaker:don't immediately buy.
Speaker:You know, it's like
Speaker:when you find yourself
Speaker:on a diet, but you
Speaker:find yourself in a
Speaker:chocolate shop, every
Speaker:single thing looks
Speaker:tempting, but you've
Speaker:got to remember what
Speaker:your ultimate goal is.
Speaker:It may be that you
Speaker:want to fit into
Speaker:some fabulous suit
Speaker:or dress at your best
Speaker:friend's wedding.
Speaker:You don't necessarily
Speaker:need that extra
Speaker:chocolate.
Speaker:You've got to
Speaker:own the choice.
Speaker:You need a strategy
Speaker:to keep walking,
Speaker:keep on walking past
Speaker:that chocolate shop.
Speaker:So the question is,
Speaker:are you the one?
Speaker:A bit like Julia, are
Speaker:you constantly chasing
Speaker:after the next big
Speaker:thing only to find
Speaker:yourself overwhelmed
Speaker:and not really
Speaker:getting anywhere fast?
Speaker:Maybe your diary
Speaker:is filled up with
Speaker:jumping from one
Speaker:thing to the next.
Speaker:Maybe you've got loads
Speaker:of things that you've
Speaker:started, but you just
Speaker:can't seem to get
Speaker:anything finished.
Speaker:If that's you,
Speaker:you might also be
Speaker:suffering from these
Speaker:three deadly S's of
Speaker:shiny stuff syndrome.
Speaker:This disease of
Speaker:distraction that
Speaker:plagues so many of us
Speaker:as business owners.
Speaker:Think of it like
Speaker:being a kid in a
Speaker:candy store, but
Speaker:instead of the sweets,
Speaker:you're surrounded
Speaker:with shiny new
Speaker:business strategies.
Speaker:You know, maybe
Speaker:this is you, this
Speaker:is your typical day.
Speaker:You're, you're
Speaker:scrolling through
Speaker:social media feed.
Speaker:I know that's really
Speaker:hard, isn't it?
Speaker:Not to scroll, but
Speaker:you're scrolling
Speaker:through your
Speaker:social media feed.
Speaker:And then suddenly,
Speaker:bam, a new marketing
Speaker:strategy pops
Speaker:up promising to
Speaker:revolutionize
Speaker:your business.
Speaker:And without a second
Speaker:thought, you dive in.
Speaker:It may be that one of
Speaker:your worthy rivals,
Speaker:as Simon Sinek calls
Speaker:them, one of your
Speaker:competitors, you've
Speaker:seen them doing
Speaker:something on social
Speaker:media and again, before
Speaker:you know it, you're
Speaker:off copying them or
Speaker:trying to reinvent what
Speaker:they're actually doing.
Speaker:Before you know it,
Speaker:another new shiny
Speaker:opportunity catches
Speaker:your eye and that cycle
Speaker:repeats itself again.
Speaker:But the impact
Speaker:It can happen.
Speaker:Your business, shiny
Speaker:stuff, syndrome
Speaker:is very real.
Speaker:You know, here's some
Speaker:of the things that I
Speaker:find in my business.
Speaker:when I find myself
Speaker:following shiny
Speaker:stuff, by the way,
Speaker:I'm a Gemini too.
Speaker:So it's like rabbits.
Speaker:I don't know if I go
Speaker:in a totally different
Speaker:direction, but the
Speaker:reality is the cost
Speaker:of shiny stuff.
Speaker:Syndrome is real.
Speaker:First up, We, um, seem
Speaker:to have an inability
Speaker:to actually finish
Speaker:projects where hopping
Speaker:from one project to
Speaker:the next, never really
Speaker:pausing to collect
Speaker:data or analyze what
Speaker:is truly working.
Speaker:The second thing I
Speaker:see happening is many
Speaker:of these ideas that
Speaker:we have, that we're
Speaker:trying to put into our
Speaker:business end up being.
Speaker:Poorly planned ideas
Speaker:without alignment
Speaker:to your true
Speaker:business goals, your
Speaker:strategies can become
Speaker:quite wishy washy.
Speaker:third thing I see with
Speaker:many of my clients
Speaker:that suffer from
Speaker:shiny stuff, stuff
Speaker:syndrome, gosh, try
Speaker:saying that quickly.
Speaker:Shiny stuff syndrome
Speaker:is that they end up
Speaker:burning through cash,
Speaker:following every single
Speaker:new idea, investing
Speaker:with every genius that
Speaker:promises to be able to
Speaker:turn your world around.
Speaker:And they burn through
Speaker:cash because they're
Speaker:not investing wisely.
Speaker:You might be scattering
Speaker:your resources
Speaker:broadly, hoping that
Speaker:something will stick.
Speaker:And finally, if
Speaker:we're not careful,
Speaker:we hit this point
Speaker:of stagnation.
Speaker:As you flip flop
Speaker:behind ideas or
Speaker:between ideas, your
Speaker:business stagnates.
Speaker:You might confuse your
Speaker:potential clients and
Speaker:leads start drying up.
Speaker:It's a bit like.
Speaker:Going into a
Speaker:gym, right?
Speaker:Every, every time you
Speaker:walked into a gym, you
Speaker:tried out a different
Speaker:workout routine without
Speaker:really sticking to
Speaker:any particular plan.
Speaker:You know, one day
Speaker:you might do yoga.
Speaker:The next day it's a
Speaker:heavy lifting session
Speaker:followed by some
Speaker:random dance class.
Speaker:Yes, you're
Speaker:doing stuff.
Speaker:You actually
Speaker:are at risk of
Speaker:confusing yourself.
Speaker:You might even pull
Speaker:a muscle or two and
Speaker:you never really see.
Speaker:Any real progress,
Speaker:the cost of shiny
Speaker:syndrome, shiny stuff
Speaker:syndrome is very real.
Speaker:And it's very real in
Speaker:this entrepreneurial
Speaker:world that we
Speaker:are operating in.
Speaker:There's lots and
Speaker:lots of stuff being
Speaker:done, lots and lots
Speaker:and lots of movement,
Speaker:but no real gains.
Speaker:So if this is you,
Speaker:if you are finding
Speaker:yourself struggling
Speaker:with the three deadly
Speaker:S's of shiny stuff
Speaker:syndrome, I want to
Speaker:give you a couple of
Speaker:ideas to focus on.
Speaker:it's time to
Speaker:really explore some
Speaker:strategies that To
Speaker:help you, ensure that
Speaker:you stay on track.
Speaker:Now, Brendan Bouchard
Speaker:wrote an amazing book
Speaker:about this called The
Speaker:Motivation Manifesto.
Speaker:I love this book.
Speaker:And he talks about
Speaker:the fact that
Speaker:every single person
Speaker:has some form of.
Speaker:The first spark of
Speaker:motivation, he says,
Speaker:is this ambition, the
Speaker:ambition, the belief
Speaker:that you're going
Speaker:to build a business,
Speaker:you're going to launch
Speaker:a product, you're
Speaker:going to hit seven
Speaker:figures, whatever it
Speaker:may be, we all have
Speaker:an ambition and he.
Speaker:Suggests that the
Speaker:second big phase of
Speaker:work is expectancy.
Speaker:So we believe that
Speaker:we can, you know,
Speaker:New Year's Eve is
Speaker:a classic example
Speaker:of this, isn't it?
Speaker:I'm, I'm going to run
Speaker:a marathon this year.
Speaker:I'm going to
Speaker:not work at the
Speaker:weekends this year.
Speaker:We set the ambition
Speaker:and at a certain moment
Speaker:in time, we have an
Speaker:expectancy that we can.
Speaker:And Brendan Bouchard
Speaker:argues that the
Speaker:ambition and the
Speaker:expectancy Things
Speaker:that create that first
Speaker:spark of motivation.
Speaker:Now, I reckon that
Speaker:ambition and expectancy
Speaker:are also the things
Speaker:that create the
Speaker:first spark of shiny
Speaker:stuff syndrome.
Speaker:And there's a third
Speaker:piece that we have
Speaker:to think about and
Speaker:consider and be
Speaker:intentional about to
Speaker:ensure that we actually
Speaker:gain momentum towards
Speaker:our ultimate goals.
Speaker:And this third
Speaker:piece that will
Speaker:ensure sustained.
Speaker:and focused activity
Speaker:and delivery, leverage,
Speaker:and achievement of your
Speaker:goals is attention.
Speaker:Expectancy and
Speaker:ambition are awesome.
Speaker:They're the very
Speaker:things that kick off.
Speaker:the activity that's
Speaker:needed, but without
Speaker:attention, without
Speaker:focusing and being
Speaker:intentional about
Speaker:attention, I think
Speaker:this is what fuels
Speaker:shiny stuff syndrome.
Speaker:And so actually
Speaker:what we need to do
Speaker:is four key things.
Speaker:We've got to
Speaker:pause, we've got to
Speaker:communicate, we've
Speaker:got to measure,
Speaker:and then sometimes
Speaker:We've got to quit.
Speaker:So let me just
Speaker:talk through these
Speaker:four key things.
Speaker:So let's kick
Speaker:off with pause.
Speaker:If you find yourself
Speaker:at risk of following
Speaker:shiny stuff syndrome,
Speaker:the first thing I want
Speaker:you to do is pause.
Speaker:Give yourself that
Speaker:moment before you
Speaker:jump in and say yes.
Speaker:Pause, give yourself
Speaker:a moment to sit with
Speaker:any new ideas, any
Speaker:new shiny thing that's
Speaker:coming your way, give
Speaker:yourself a moment
Speaker:to sit and to pause.
Speaker:And I would suggest
Speaker:that if it's not a
Speaker:hell yes, this is
Speaker:the very thing that's
Speaker:going to help me
Speaker:achieve my goals,
Speaker:then it's probably.
Speaker:So first thing I want
Speaker:you to do is pause.
Speaker:The second thing
Speaker:before we take any
Speaker:action is communicate.
Speaker:And this is where I
Speaker:want you to tap into
Speaker:your inner circle,
Speaker:that trusted board
Speaker:of advisors that you
Speaker:have around you, that
Speaker:network that you have.
Speaker:Of trusted people whose
Speaker:opinions you value,
Speaker:the people who, you
Speaker:know, are not going
Speaker:to say yes, just to
Speaker:make you feel good.
Speaker:They're going to
Speaker:really challenge
Speaker:your thinking.
Speaker:And in this space,
Speaker:it's about talking
Speaker:through with those
Speaker:people, your ideas,
Speaker:talk it through, share
Speaker:with them what you're
Speaker:thinking, explain to
Speaker:them why this idea is
Speaker:aligned to achieving
Speaker:your overarching
Speaker:goal, and then listen.
Speaker:Listen to their
Speaker:perspectives, listen
Speaker:to their questions,
Speaker:listen to their
Speaker:challenging because
Speaker:you're in a circle are
Speaker:the very people that
Speaker:can provide you with
Speaker:invaluable insight and
Speaker:prevent you from making
Speaker:any hasty decisions.
Speaker:So step one, pause.
Speaker:Step two, communicate
Speaker:the third one.
Speaker:Then if you are going
Speaker:to do the very thing
Speaker:that you've decided to
Speaker:do is to measure, it's
Speaker:so important that you
Speaker:decide and you define
Speaker:what success looks like
Speaker:for every single new
Speaker:venture that you're
Speaker:going to undertake
Speaker:this measure criteria.
Speaker:This definition of
Speaker:success, and this
Speaker:is where this paying
Speaker:attention is so key,
Speaker:pay attention with
Speaker:every single result
Speaker:that you are getting as
Speaker:a result of the thing
Speaker:that you are doing.
Speaker:This will help you
Speaker:stay focused and
Speaker:measure your progress.
Speaker:Effectively in my
Speaker:elevator in the inner
Speaker:circle community, we
Speaker:do this every single
Speaker:day, every single
Speaker:week and every single
Speaker:quarter, every single
Speaker:quarter, we decide
Speaker:what our measures
Speaker:of success are.
Speaker:We then plug them
Speaker:into an accountability
Speaker:dashboard so that
Speaker:every single week
Speaker:my clients can
Speaker:measure whether the.
Speaker:Effort that they're
Speaker:putting in the work
Speaker:that they are doing
Speaker:is delivering the
Speaker:results that they want.
Speaker:Measuring your activity
Speaker:is key because it's,
Speaker:this is the very thing
Speaker:that can show you
Speaker:either what to stop,
Speaker:what to start and what
Speaker:to keep doing to ensure
Speaker:that you are moving
Speaker:towards your goals.
Speaker:Now, the final
Speaker:step here of.
Speaker:Avoiding shiny
Speaker:stuff syndrome is
Speaker:quit knowing when
Speaker:cut your losses.
Speaker:Now I'm not saying
Speaker:that every single
Speaker:experiment, every
Speaker:single thing that
Speaker:you do, you quit.
Speaker:That's not what
Speaker:I'm saying.
Speaker:But what I am saying
Speaker:is that through the
Speaker:last step of measure,
Speaker:making a decision as
Speaker:to what success look
Speaker:like, and when to quit.
Speaker:is key.
Speaker:Knowing when to
Speaker:cut your losses.
Speaker:It's about sticking
Speaker:to your long term
Speaker:goals and adjusting
Speaker:strategies as necessary
Speaker:to remain aligned with
Speaker:your ultimate vision.
Speaker:So four things, pause,
Speaker:communicate, measure,
Speaker:and if necessary, quit.
Speaker:These three deadly
Speaker:S's, shiny stuff
Speaker:syndrome, isn't just
Speaker:about distraction.
Speaker:It's a mindset that
Speaker:can be mastered
Speaker:with awareness
Speaker:and discipline and
Speaker:intentionality.
Speaker:By staying focused
Speaker:on your objectives
Speaker:and resisting that
Speaker:wonderful allure
Speaker:of every new shiny
Speaker:distraction, you
Speaker:can actually forge
Speaker:a path to a more
Speaker:sustainable and
Speaker:successful business.
Speaker:Remember
Speaker:staying focused.
Speaker:Isn't about
Speaker:avoiding new ideas.
Speaker:It's not about avoiding
Speaker:new ideas, but it is
Speaker:about mastering the art
Speaker:of selective attention.
Speaker:Keep your eyes on your
Speaker:prize and let the rest
Speaker:of the noise fade away.
Speaker:So until next time,
Speaker:keep being brilliant
Speaker:and don't let the
Speaker:shiny stuff get in
Speaker:your way this week.