Clever Counsel #15 - You can’t ride two horses
This is going to be a short one.
But valuable for those who need to hear it.
I meet a lot of aspiring consultants who are trying really hard to do two things at once:
1. Search for a full-time job 2. Try to find consulting work
This seems like a smart play, doesn't it? Cover all your bases, leave no stone unturned, that kind of thing.
But in my experience, with my own decade-long consulting business and in guiding many other consultants to greater heights of success, I find the opposite to be true.
The most effective consultants and job-seekers are the ones who commit 110%.
Finding a full-time role is a full-time job in itself. Especially in this market.
Building a highly profitable consultancy is also a full-time job. Trust me on that.
Here’s my counsel:
Pick one.
Choose a lane.
Go full force.
Make a choice and decide you’re going to be laser-focused about pursuing one path and one path only - for a defined period of time, or until you reach a set threshold in your savings account.
Whichever path you choose, give it full-time hours for at least 90 days. Six months is even better.
During that time, do not allow yourself to become distracted. Do not allow doubt to creep in. Stick with the choice you made and give it your all.
And just see what happens.
When your time limit is up, or you hit your savings threshold, you can always choose the other path.
But achieving either one of these big things is well worth your full attention.
The old saying is crude but true:
You can't ride two horses with one ass.
