Diluted Focus .. Diluted Results

Let me tell you a story ...

I was scrolling Instagram over the weekend and one post in particular stopped me in my tracks.

Dr Gabrielle Lyon tells the story of how she saved her son from drowning. As a parent of three sons - it gave me goosebumps. The point of sharing was to highlight a poignant piece of advice …

Distractions are where dreams and life go to die.

While not always life and death, distractions can be killers for sure.

Distractions don’t just derail your day—they absolutely can and will derail your dreams if you aren’t as vigilant as a mother or father when their child is near water.

Whether you’re building business, starting a group or striving to improve your health and fitness, distractions are the silent killer. They don’t yell for attention; they subtly pull you in different directions, scattering your energy and leaving you with mediocre results.

A few years ago, I found myself overwhelmed with opportunities in real estate investing. Every property seemed like it had potential, every guru’s online pitch seemed like it was “The One” and every networking event felt like a must-attend.

I was chasing too many deals at once, buying too many guru courses, and trying to connect with every investor in the space.

At the same time, my fitness goals were suffering. Instead of committing to a consistent workout routine, I hopped from one program to the next, distracted by the latest trends and quick fixes.

In both areas, I was spreading myself too thin, and it showed.

I learned a simple, hard truth …

Diluted focus creates diluted results.

By trying to do everything, I was excelling at nothing.

Things shifted when I committed to going deep instead of wide.

Read that again ...

Things shifted when I committed to going deep instead of wide.

With my investing business, I narrowed my focus, learning to quickly pass on deals that didn’t fit my buy-box:

Townhouses and single-family homes under $500,000 with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

I built intentional relationships with a small circle of lenders, investors and collaborators instead of trying to connect with everyone.

In fitness, I’ve stopped chasing shortcuts and dialed in on consistency. A morning routine of simple and repeatable workouts, infrared sauna and my cold plunge. Exercise without incorporating a simplified disciplined diet is pointless, so I've modified my diet to be somewhere between Paleo and Carnivore.

By cutting out distractions, I am starting to see real progress in both areas.

In real estate and fitness - in any area of life really - distractions manifest as the allure of more ...

• more deals

• more markets

• more routines

• more relationships

• more options

• more .. more .. more.

But, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that success comes from doing less with more intention.

If you want to build a thriving real estate business - be it investing or retail - focus on understanding one market deeply and building meaningful relationships.

To that end, I co-founded GRID Gaithersburg. My partner Karen and I are building a community to show real estate agents, lenders and new/wannabe investors how to avoid the Shiny Object distractions and focus on consistently exercising a proven formula to achieve investing success.

To build on the community idea - we’ve created a private Facebook Group called Agent Investor Guild. If you’re interested .. respond to this message with “I want to join the Agent Investor Guild” and I’ll send you an invite.

If health and fitness are your priority, commit to a routine that aligns with your goals and eliminates the noise.

Depth beats width every time.

Prove me wrong.

As Paula's son said when he was about 10 ...

I sinister double-dog dare you