I’ve got five brilliant ideas, all of which could make money, and my head is spinning. But I seem to be going in too many directions and not making progress anywhere. Then I read Karyn Greenstreet’s latest (August 07) Self-Employed Success Newsletter. (Karyn is a fabulous business coach. Her website is http://www.passionforbusiness.com.) She identified my culprit: The Bright Shiny Object Syndrome. She writes:

It seems to be a trend that’s growing: small business owners are getting distracted by too many ideas or the latest fad, going off in a million directions and never completing anything. This loss of focus is costing you hundreds of hours a year in lost productivity, lost hours, lost dollars.
It even has a name: SOS – Shiny Object Syndrome. It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the bigger picture and go off in tangents instead of remaining focused on the goal.

Here are Karyn Greenstreet’s tips for not getting caught up in the Shiny Object Syndrome. Ask yourself:

• Is this right for my business?
• Do my customers want this and are they willing to pay for it?
• Do I have the time, resources, energy, and money to put into this to make it successful?
• Do I have too many open projects sitting on my desk that need to be finished before I begin something new?
• Do I have the ability to finish this new project, plus implement and maintain it?
• What has to drop off my radar in order for me to start something new?

Well, now that I look at her questions, I’m in a different frame of mind. I think I’ll focus on only two things that I’ve got the time, resources and energy to do!