How to Focus As An Entrepreneur: Five Expert Quotes

One of the burdens carried by an entrepreneur is that there can be a lot of distractions, both from outside of the business and from within. This is because the buck stops with you and that no matter how many times you delegate tasks, the final accountability still falls on you. So how are you supposed to stay focused? Impossible right?. If you’re having trouble focusing, here’s 5 quotes to help.

1. “Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

As an entrepreneur, you have a lot of responsibilities and tasks. Most of these are things that only you can do, but you also have the authority to take on tasks that should be delegated to other people. Don’t get caught up in it so much that you start taking on obligations and responsibilities that only serve as distractions. Streamline and focus your energies on the necessary things.

2. “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” – Henry Ford

It’s a given that a business’ main purpose is to generate revenue. You wouldn’t be a great entrepreneur if you don’t have money in mind when starting a business. However, there is no way a business will be successful if every decision you make prioritizes money.

As Henry Ford implies in his quote, for a business to generate money, you also need to take into account all the other factors involved in making your business run as smoothly as possible. This includes taking care of your employees’ welfare, your operations, and even your own health. An entrepreneur needs to focus on profits, but if you want those profits to be for the long term, you have to pay attention to the other factors as well.

3. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ~ Winston Churchill

No business venture guarantees success every step of the way. It doesn’t matter how much planning you do and how many contingency measures you have in place, you’re bound to make missteps. For many entrepreneurs, it’s easy to lose morale from these missteps, especially if they happen with regularity. If you want to remain focused on your success, listen to old Winston Churchill’s advice. Slog through your failures with as much enthusiasm as you had during your successes.

4. “Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” ~ Frederick B Wilcox

What this quote teaches entrepreneurs is to focus on moving forward. There is a tendency for many businessmen to be so enmeshed in strategizing that they start second-guessing every move, which could lead to missed opportunities and delays in progress. It is important for entrepreneurs to keep pushing forward once they’ve built momentum, and to avoid being too cautious and paranoid about everything. There is a risk of stumbling along the way, but then again risks are always part of running a successful venture.

5. “Concentration is the secret of strengths in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all management of human affairs.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote hammers home the point that an entrepreneur should know how to focus. Despite all the distractions and the freedom to pursue multiple goals at the same time, it is still imperative to maintain a clear direction and a definite goal, because this is what leads to a solid foundation and a smooth-sailing business.

All of the above quotes point out that an entrepreneur should have the ability to focus on what really matters in a business, but do not take it to mean that running a business successfully only requires a person to do one thing. What the quotes reveal is that there is a need to prioritize and to maintain focus on the most important tasks and issues at hand, while keeping the others at the periphery to be handled after the critical matters are addressed.

What other quotes do you have for remaining focused? How do you keep focused?