"At first, I thought this was insane. Why would you say no to good opportunities? But then I remembered something Buffett once said: "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything." That quote hit different after my second startup crashed and burned. We tried to do everything. We said yes to every feature request, every partnership opportunity, every speaking gig."
"The thing is, most of us are terrible at saying no. We're wired to please people, to grab opportunities, to hedge our bets. But here's what I've learned: saying yes to everything is actually saying no to excellence. Why saying no is your secret weapon Think about your typical day. How many things do you say yes to that don't actually move the needle? That meeting that could've been an email."
Write down many goals, identify the top five, and deliberately avoid the remaining ones to protect focus and time. Saying yes to every opportunity imposes hidden costs because each yes excludes other options and diverts energy from high-impact work. Tracking commitments often reveals most time goes to low-value activities while a few priorities drive the most progress. Protecting time and declining distractions flips the Pareto imbalance, enabling deeper work and better outcomes. Treating time as a scarce asset requires active, disciplined refusal of nonessential requests.
Read at Silicon Canals
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