In all parts of our lives we need to focus on something.  If we don’t focus ourselves, our lives will be aimless, going on from one thing to another without any real effort to be the best we can be at any one thing.

Being the best that you can be is important for many reasons.  For one thing, it will make you feel really good, and thus even make it possible to improve on your best.  But, probably the most important thing when it comes to focusing is that it gives us purpose.  When we have something on which to focus our efforts, it gives us a purpose, it gives us more drive, and we tend to try harder when we know on what we are focusing.

Always chase your passion

For me, when it comes to my business, I have been working on focus lately.  I am an entrepreneur.  I like to start new businesses and get them up and running.  It is something that gives me joy when I see a new enterprise of mine start to take off and flourish.  Being an entrepreneur is good and enjoyable to me, but it is not always the best thing when it comes to putting money in your pocket.  Almost any entrepreneur would tell you that you have to come up with and try a lot of ideas before you get one that really pays off.  Oh, many will experience some success, but to really put serious bucks on the table, you need a really good idea, and you need to develop it properly.  Those kind of things don’t happen with every idea that comes to your mind.  Far from it.

I have businesses and activities in my life from a number of different areas or niches.  Most of my niches that I am involved with involve writing in one way or another.  Like this site, I write here, and I make a bit of money from it.  Well, it happens that many of my niches are relatively small niches that are not overly popular.  In today’s age of the Internet, though, even a very small niche can pay decent money, because the potential audience, although small in a percentage term, is still very large because you are drawing from a worldwide audience these days.  Gone are the days when your potential audience was either only near your base of operations, or was relatively expensive to reach because you had to use some kind of mass media marketing to reach a wider audience.  Now, with the Internet, you can reach people anywhere in the world for virtually nothing, if you know how to find them.

Two guys who are focusing on what they are good at - Bob Martin & Matt Mullenweg

Over the years, I have had people… mentors and friends, who have encouraged me to widen my niches into bigger areas with a larger audience by moving into other things than where I am really the best.  I mean, I could choose to write about topics that have millions of potential readers.  Instead, I choose to focus on niches that have a smaller number of readers, but those are areas where I have much more knowledge and am also more comfortable.  In short, I like to focus in areas where I have a passion.

Lately, one of my niches, probably the one that I am most passionate about has begun to pay off for me much better than it has in the past.  Because of this increase in fortunes, it has caused me to think.  Instead of following the advice of changing into bigger niches, I am now thinking that it is better for me to focus in on the things that I am best at, the things that have my true passion.  I have always been a big believer in two things:

1. When you do something that you are truly passionate about, the money will come.  There are other things you can substitute for money – fame, satisfaction, etc.
2. You should focus in on things that you have knowledge about.

I believe that these two things are important, and when done in conjunction with each other you can really be successful.

So, with the moves I am seeing relative to one of my niches beginning to gel and really “pay off,” I am only having my original thinking reinforced.  I am realizing that my thinking was right all along, and that I need to hone in even more in those areas where I have a true passion.

For all of you smart people out there reading this, I really encourage you to focus your energy in areas where you are good already.  Hone your skills and your knowledge.  Always get better.  Oh, it’s always good to spread your wings a bit and explore new things… but always keep your eyes where your passion is too.