363: You Don’t Need More Tools—You Need More Focus

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Thrive Podcast, where we believe creators deserve more, more money, more freedom, and even more love for what they do. I'm Bree p, your coach for content creators. And I know the struggle, the long hours, the endless ideas, the feeling that success is just out of reach. But here's the truth.

[00:00:24] You've got what it takes. And this podcast, it's your shortcut to getting there from strategies that actually work to behind the scenes insights. We are unlocking your potential one episode at a time. So if you're ready to turn your creative hustle into a thriving business, let's get started.

[00:00:46] Spoiler alert, the tool isn't the strategy. If you are hopping from app to app or planner to planner, or tool to tool thinking that you just need this new thing and oh my gosh, so and so uses this and it's gonna make a difference and you're still not making progress. This episode is your wake up call.

[00:01:04] You don't need another tool. You just need a plan. Creators love tools. I am guilty raising my hands. It's me, but they are not magic wands. We love a good system. The aesthetic dashboards, the planners, the apps with all the features, but none of that matters if you don't know what you are building because tools are here to support the strategy.

[00:01:33] They don't create it. And this may be a hot take, I don't think it is. But if you are relying on chat GPT to set your strategy for you, I don't think you should be. I think that is not a good plan. You cannot let tools replace your brain. They are there to support you and to support your strategy, not create it for you.

[00:02:04] And if you are constantly switching tools, this is also often a sign that you're trying to escape clarity. So what is actually going to create momentum for you? I've got three things. Clarity, consistency, and alignment. So clarity, you have to know what you're working towards and this is why Tools and Chat, GBT cannot fix this for you and they cannot set this for you.

[00:02:35] You can ask Google Chat, GBT, different AI tools, all all of the things. What should I be working towards? But it's not going to align with what is inside of you at your core. You have to set the clarity. You have to be so crystal clear on what you are wanting from this business, that that is what drives you.

[00:02:59] When things get hard, that's when drives you, when you feel stuck or are burnt out and are spiraling or comparing yourself. You have to be clear on what it is that you're wanting from this business, then yes, you have to be consistent. You have to show up for that one thing on repeat. And I say that one thing, that one thing that is getting your focus, that is providing all of the clarity.

[00:03:27] How are you showing up consistently? To hit that mark, to move towards that mark to reach for that goal. How are you showing up consistently? And I talked about consistency a lot in last week's episode, so make sure you go back and listen to that. If you feel like I've been consistent and I'm not getting anywhere, last week's episode is for you.

[00:03:49] Don't skip it. So clarity, consistency, and then alignment. You have to make sure that your efforts match your goals, right? This is what wraps it all together. Because if you're not in alignment and you're just showing up consistently and you don't have the clarity, or maybe you're showing up consistently, but it's not in alignment with your clarity, it is not going to get you where you wanna go.

[00:04:16] And momentum is going to come from narrowing your focus, not by expanding your to-do list or adding more tools that you need to try. That's not gonna give you momentum. Momentum is going to come from narrowing your focus, not expanding your to-do list. So let's look at how iGuide creators choose one focus per season, so that way you can do it for yourself.

[00:04:42] Because you do not need a 12 step strategy or a 12 step funnel in three platforms and a digital product suite to grow, you need one intentional priority that everything flows from. We talk about burnout, we talk about overwhelm. We talk about all of these things that we're struggling with, and it's because we're spreading ourselves so thin, and these tools and these shiny objects are just that shiny objects that are pulling us away from the clarity and alignment that we had when we started our brand.

[00:05:21] So what I do is I help clients zoom in on one focus. So maybe that is visibility. Maybe you need to grow your audience and get in front of them more. Maybe your voice feels a little bit muffled and you're stuck in what to say. Maybe it's monetization. Maybe you're like, I, I have no problem showing up, but I don't know how to get it all to tie in to where my bank account is actually growing or its community.

[00:05:48] You're making some money. You have the visibility, but you still feel so disconnected from your community. You don't feel like people are showing up in your dms and you're having conversations or that you're making a huge impact. You feel like maybe I'm just schlepping affiliate links. The focus becomes the filter for every task, every post, and for the plan.

[00:06:12] When you pick one thing to focus on, because the truth is you cannot focus on all of the things at once. Unless you are working over 40 hours a week with a team, it is not possible for you to go after multiple goals at the same time and do them well or achieve them in a timely manner. Yes, we have long-term goals and we have things that we're always working towards, but I'm talking about what is the thing that is right in front of you that you're like, this is what we're trying to hit next.

[00:06:43] When you have one thing that has your focus, you're going to point everything towards it. You're gonna point your energy, you're going to point your tasks, you're gonna be so hyperfocused on it that that is where all of your strategy goes, and you're going to see forward movement. It's like if you are a kid.

[00:07:05] And you are wanting to try all of the different sports, right? And I feel like my, my kid's only two. But I imagine, and trying to think back, when you're younger, you want to try all the things right? And you wanna explore and you wanna try, let's say sports and you wanna try soccer, and you wanna try basketball and baseball and all of these different things, right?

[00:07:29] And you wanna see what lights you up and what gives you that spark. But as you get older, you find, okay, middle school things are getting a little bit harder. There's more things vying for your attention. Maybe school is taking a little bit longer, maybe there's more homework. And so you're kind of having to cut down where you spend your attention on extracurriculars or on sports.

[00:07:50] And then you get to high school and you really gotta narrow in. If you're going to go and be on the swim team and do debate and do soccer. It's a lot pulling at you, and you're probably not going to be the best at all three of those things. But if you go in and you hyperfocus on one and your parents are usually the ones to kind of help you focus on one and help you pick one.

[00:08:20] Help you go for it and push through even when it gets hard, even when you wanna quit. That's what I do as a coach, is I help you stay focused on that goal that you set, that you were so excited about, and we keep going and we keep pushing, and I help you when times get hard and you want to quit. That's what a coach is for.

[00:08:40] That is what our parents were for, right? It's the same type of thing. It's the same intentionality that when we zoom in on one thing. We then filter all of our strategy to that so we can see success. And oftentimes it can feel like focus is boring, like niching down is boring, or just spending time on one thing, like I wanna do all of these different types of things.

[00:09:07] It's not boring though. It actually is going to create freedom for you because you know it's actually exhausting decision fatigue. A never ending to-do list being pulled in 20 different directions. And when you cut the clutter, you're finally gonna have the space to breathe and create focus is going to give you room to do less but better and see more results because it's not about hustle.

[00:09:38] I hate that word now. I used to love it. Yeah, I'm hustling. I'm just over here cranking it out, getting things done. I wanna work less and see more traction. That's what I want in my own life. That's what I want in every single person's life that's listening to this. That's the goal. The goal is that we have more balance, more control, more freedom, more flexibility.

[00:10:01] But are seeing more traction and more growth while it's happening. And I feel like, you know, the internet doesn't talk about that probably because then people wouldn't, you know, buy all of these random tools and different things. This is gonna make you successful. This is gonna, this is gonna solve the problem, this, this, this, so this.

[00:10:20] They're not gonna make as much money. Right. Kinda what I talked about last week was like, you know, where follow the money, where's the money coming from? What's telling you that? It's a hundred percent possible to see growth, to hit the financial numbers that you have set for yourself and the goals that you have for yourself, for your audience, for your brand, for your bank account.

[00:10:43] It's a hundred percent possible to hit all of those things without running yourself into the ground. And that's not what is popular on the internet right now because that's not gonna make all of these tools money. So I want you to audit your current tech stack. What is actually helping you versus what is just causing clutter?

[00:11:04] Ask yourself, what do I actually use weekly? Is this tool saving me time or is it making me feel behind and like I can't catch up and am I using this because it helps or because somebody on TikTok or an Instagram ad told me to. Buy this and try it. I get sucked in by those Instagram ads all the time.

[00:11:25] Some of these people are getting so good they are crushing these ads, but what I do is whenever I encounter a new tool or something, I really, really try not to do an impulse purchase. And it is something that is hard because these are geared towards impulse purchases, but make sure. This is something that is really in alignment and that is actually going to help you.

[00:11:53] So I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring inside bold fluence. We're not pushing one tool or workflow. We're gonna help you build the system that works for you. So you're gonna think of this more so like your tool box, okay? 'cause we're gonna help you pick the right tools for your goals and get rid of all the clutter.

[00:12:13] So if you're craving clarity, strategy, support, you want to see your consistency actually pay off and not be overwhelmed, then Bold points is probably the right next step for you. So head to the link in the show notes to join us, or just comment bold on any of our posts over on Instagram. And I'm always around to answer your questions, but let me tell you what, if you have liked this episode or last week's episode, I am fired up and I am loving these last two episodes, last three episodes, really, because I'm so dialed into what's happening inside of Bold Fluence that the excess is just coming out in these episodes.

[00:12:52] So if you're liking these, you're probably gonna like what's on the inside too.

[00:13:02] If this episode helped you, help us grow, leave a review, share it with a friend, and tag us on social media. We can't wait to cheer you on.