Traditional thinking has us believe that grit is the quickest way to success. Almost as if your success is positively correlated with how much mental and physical pain you can endure. After all, if building a successful business were easy, everyone would do it, right?
Recent research, however, suggests this traditional outlook is likely flawed. A book called “The Quick Fix” suggests there are other attributes that are likely more closely associated with success.
So, beyond grit, attributes we may want to pay closer attention to and try to foster more include intelligence, study skills, and conscientiousness. And logically this probably makes sense to most of us if we think about it. What is grit, really? You probably think of it as the ability to endure, right? But you don’t endure building a business. If that’s the most important characteristic you can have when it comes to building a business, it feels like you may not get far. Sure, you might be able to work long hours with little reward (which is often required when building a successful business), but without these other skills, your effort will likely be for nothing. What’s the point of being able to exert immense effort and endure grueling stretches of work, if that effort and work is not effective?
The research suggests that we should be focusing on things like intelligence and study skills. Intelligence is definitely a skill by the way. You can work to become smarter. (Perhaps we’ll do an article on growth mindset in the future).
So, all that to say, if you want to build a business that provides you financial independence and ultimately frees up your time, don’t focus on grit – but rather, focus on making smart decisions. One of the smartest decisions you can make when it comes to building a successful business is delegating what you can. Farm out whatever you can. (And of course, when you farm out your work, make sure you are covered with the necessary legal agreements, such as independent contractor agreements).
One of the best ways I like to delegate is through Fiverr. They’ve got great, low-cost options to help you scale nearly anything you need. Need assistance with SEO? What about design? Software development? You name it, there’s probably someone on Fiverr who can assist you.
And at the end of the day, won’t you feel good knowing that you’re freeing up time for yourself, providing a work opportunity to someone else, while simultaneously putting the latest productivity research into action? That deserves a big slothy round of applause!
Stay slothy,
LS