Selectivity Breeds Success

Photo: Wikimedia Creative Commons

Despite numerous attempts, I've learned that it is in fact impossible to be the best at everything and know everything.

Actually, it's almost impossible to be the best at anything.

However, it's not necessary to the best in order to be successful, whatever your definition of success is. You just need to be good enough. Good enough to do what you want and actually enjoy it.

And the only way to become good enough, is through hard work, dedication, and most importantly, through practice.

With a limited amount of time in the day, and in a lifetime, we have to be selective about what we're spending that time on if we want to be successful.

Every choice we make, everything we say "yes" to, is us also saying "no" to something else. It's what economists know as the Opportunity Cost, and it is a very real cost. For example, if you're working at Job A making $20/hr, you're not working at Job B where you would be making $21/hr. Every hour you work at Job A is costing you $1. Or vice versa.

So we have to be selective.

We can't join the Peace Corp and run for local office and develop a new smartphone app and raise a family and do the dozens of other things we want to do at the same time. And while some of you might try, 10 bucks says that even if you could do them all, you wouldn't be good at any of those paths. There are limits to what we can do.

We have to choose in order to be successful. When we say "yes" to something, we're effectively saying "no" to many other things. 

So next time you find an activity or an opportunity that is worthwhile to say "yes" to, remember, you're also saying "no".  Choose wisely.

- Ryan