Are You Oversubscribed? Avoid the Inspiration Trap
There are so many incredible, talented, wise, inspirational business mentors out there. When I log into LinkedIn, I usually see a few of my favorite mentors and am intrigued and captivated by what they have to say.
Though, I didn’t start out with a clear idea of who I wanted to pay attention to. And that quickly led to an overwhelming influx of ideas, thoughts, and trends to understand and implement. It also resulted in me feeling insecure about my capabilities as an entrepreneur because I was often confused in which direction I wanted to go.
What I learned was that I was listening to too many voices. Everyone I was listening to was successful in their own right so I thought they deserved space in my thoughts. That left no room for my own intuition and ingenuity. I was oversubscribed.
What does it mean to be oversubscribed?
I know ‘subscribed’ makes a lot of us think of our inboxes. We’ve all at some point signed up for a few too many email newsletters because we wanted a discount on our new headphones or wanted a free e-book diving into industry stats. Our overflowing inboxes are just a symptom of oversubscription.
Being oversubscribed is subscribing to too many peoples’ points of view. There are too many inspirational voices around you that are all leading you down separate thought paths. This dramatically clouds your strategy, leading to ineffective action.
I commonly see this with new entrepreneurs and coaches. It’s easy to see a trend and want to be part of it. Though, I have also witnessed this in seasoned business owners who are multi-passionate. CEO’s running multiple businesses can find themselves paying attention to thought leadership in every industry they are operating in. What they have yet to realize is that effective advice can often be applied to a variety of industries.
How do you find balance with your mentors?
The good news is that it’s easy to stop being oversubscribed. It starts with a simple decision. You have to decide that you know what’s best for you and for your business. From there, you can pair down your mentor and inspiration list to a few select individuals who best fit your need and values.
For instance, I greatly appreciate Amy Porterfield’s strategies around marketing and brand building. This doesn’t mean I discount other valuable advice if it comes from somewhere else, but it does mean that when I hear marketing-related advice, I ask myself, “Is this something Amy Porterfield would agree with?” and “Is this something that aligns with where I want my business to go?”
Applying this filter helps reduce duplicated or competing information and leaves me room to apply my own thought leadership and strategies.