Succeeding by focusing on your 'not-to-do' list

An old man once asked me, “why are there so many books on how to succeed in many areas of life in the market yet we find so many unsuccessful fellows?”

“Because many people in our society don’t read those books,” I quickly replied to him.

“You are very wrong son. The reason is a simple secret known only to a few. The key to success is mostly knowing more of what NOT to do rather than what to do. The things that have the highest impact in your life are the things you don’t do; not the things you do. You need to know what to avoid just as you need to know what to embrace."

He reminded me that most of the 10 commandments and the mosaic laws that are central to the success of both Judaism and Christianity focus more on what not to do rather than what to do.

This got me to reflect on my entrepreneurial journey and peep at the lives on successful people I know or have read about. The old man is right.

We are often too busy thinking or strategising on the things we should do to improve our businesses, our careers and our relationships with our family and the people around us.

This is important to our success. But equally, if not more important are things we should not do.

Sometimes you work hard to create customers, to build good products, to make money and to establish relationships. However, failing to take care of customers, market your products well, and nurture relationships on regular basis prevent us from succeeding.

According to behavioral psychologists, our behaviors are mostly triggered by something.

Triggers are anything that moves us to complete a particular action. They tell us what to do next. So, if one wants to kick out a bad habit, the first step is to identify what triggers that behaviour.

The second step is to avoid those triggers rather than struggle to kick the behavior through conscious will or self-discipline.

Take some moment with a pen and paper and list some of the things you must not do in your business and you will be amazed by the results you get in the short and medium-term.

They may include not spending money that is not earned or budgeted, not to mix business and personal money, not to commit all the money you earn before saving some for your own personal good.

You could decide going forward you will not take shortcuts or invest in something you don’t understand such as make-quick money schemes.

You may decide to severe association with friends who discourage or drain energy from you by their negative attitude or spending habits.

You may decide to discontinue selling some products, dealing with some customers or closing some units in order to focus on others that are more profitable to you.

On your personal care, you may decide on things to avoid doing, what not to eat or drink in order to create more time, boost your wellness and energy levels.

Choose to be contrarian and start your day with a ‘not-to-do list’ rather than a ‘what-to-do list' and you will see the difference in terms of your fulfillment and productivity.

Mr Kiunga, Author of ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship: Strategies to Succeed in a Competitive Market’