How would your life be different if you could take your business to the next level? What is the next level for you and your business? Spending more time operating in your sweet spot is the answer. Tiger does it. Ali spent the majority of his career in it. da Vinci did it. Buffett does it (both of them). The good news is, you can too.
The challenge for most people is that they spend their entire career not knowing what their sweet spot is nor how to leverage it.
Professionals who become clear on what their sweet spot is, and spend the majority of their time performing in it, will achieve success and fulfillment beyond what they ever imagined possible.
If you can answer three questions you can identify your sweet spot. If you can leverage your environment and enable yourself to spend more time in your sweet spot, you can grow exponentially.
What are your passions?
To find your passions, make a list of the tasks and actions you really enjoy performing, both personally and professionally. Do not judge it for now. Just make your list as comprehensive as you can.
What is your purpose?
There are two angles for getting to this. First, make a list of the things that you could become one of the best at, in your industry, if time, energy and money was not an issue. The other angle to revealing this is to notice what comes naturally to you.
The trap, for many people, is that they tend to discount what they are gifted at because they believe that, since it is so easy for them, anybody can do it. Do not be disbelieve your unique gifts just because they come easy to you. Be sure to expand your list with not only the things at which you have developed in-depth skills, but also the items that are your second nature.
What are your most profitable activities?
The number one reason most people are stuck in mediocrity is that they are trying to do everything themselves. Some of those things, they may actually be brilliant at doing. However, their day is probably consumed doing the things they are less than adept.
Now, imagine placing each one of these lists you just created in its’ own separate bubble. Envision those bubbles overlapping where the common elements from each list appear. Where those elements overlap, as in a Venn diagram, is your sweetspot.
Your job now is to design a strategic plan to spend more of your time in that overlap. Formulate a way to start limiting, delegating or eliminating everything that is outside of your newly identified sweet spot.
Sinatra didn’t sell the tickets, set up the stage, or seat the people. He showed up and performed. Ali didn’t clean the gym, wrap his own hands, or set up the ring during fight night. He showed up and performed. Your job is to show up and perform the best you can for yourself and your clients. Know your sweet spot. Do what you do best and delegate, limit or eliminate the rest.
Bonus: Once you have identified your sweet spot, find a way to spend ten percent more time in that area this month than you did last month. Next month, find a way to spend ten percent more than this month. You will find this is a quick way to double your business with perhaps less effort than you are expending now.
Make it up. Make it fun. Make it happen.