One of the most common, and tragic, mistakes of the struggling entrepreneur is the mistaken belief that “more” is the answer to their problems.

Starting more businesses. Creating more offers. More products. More services. Trying to do everything. Trying to be everywhere. All the time.

It’s an easy trap to fall into. And a logical one. After all, if one is good, then surely two (or twenty) must be better.

But all it takes is a closer look at what the most successful people did during their rise to power and profits (do what they did, not what they do) to realize that the answer is not more, it’s less. A lot less.

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

And this is what the “Rule of One” is all about. A clear and simple path to a 7-figure business.

1. One customer
2. One offer
3. One traffic source
4. One lead magnet
5. One conversion mechanism

Here’s a link to a video that provides a deeper dive on the topic: How To Get Ahead Of 99% Of Entrepreneurs

And for even more tactics and strategies I’ve put together a short list of books below I highly recommend reading (ideally in order from top to bottom):

• The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field
• The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
• The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less
• 10x Is Easier than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less 

The odds are good that no matter what goal you have or what you want to achieve someone (likely millions of someone’s) have done it before.

This means they’ve already paved the path. Made all the mistakes. And can provide clues and often outright specifics for how to achieve the exact same thing.

The problem occurs though when you base your actions on what they’re currently doing now, rather than what they did to get there. Two very different things.

Trying to copy and model what they’re doing now is a recipe for overwhelm, frustration, and failure. It ignores the principles and fundamentals and focuses too much on the flashy tactics and polish.

Reverse engineering their early days however allows you to see, and then emulate, the easy and repeatable basics. The practice. The (often slow) accumulation of skills and experiences.

The kinds of things anyone can do. And then you can get started with right now.

There are many different paths to success but they all have one thing in common. They are all started with a single step.

And it’s this first step that’s arguably the hardest one to take of all.

To go from zero to one. From not moving to moving. Changing your identity from a dreamer to a doer.

Good news bad news time. Bad news first.

Bad news: stepping into the unknown is scary. Normal. But scary.

Good news: the first step doesn’t need to be big. It just needs to happen. And ideally, it needs to happen now.

Maybe your small step is writing your first social media post (and actually posting it). Maybe it’s making that call with a friend or mentor to ask for help. Maybe it’s signing up for that course or reading that book.

Whatever it is. The key to everything you want is on the other side of you getting started.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb

Most of the positive results you will experience in your life, work, or business come as the result of mastery and compounding.

Mastery, and the dedication to becoming really good at something.

And compounding as a result of weeks, months, years spent focusing on improving your craft.

Then after you’ve taken that first step take a second to high-five yourself. Pat yourself on the back. Congratulate yourself for being in the tiny percentage of people who actually do what needs to be done.

Then, take another step tomorrow.

Growing up I was always told to be patient.

Makes sense I guess. Patience is a virtue after all. And as the old saying goes:

“Good things come to those who wait”

But there’s a problem with this approach. A BIG one.

As patience only applies to situations where the hard work has already been done

…and now you’re just waiting on the rewards.

Being patient and waiting for a pot of water to boil won’t work if you haven’t first taken out a pot, filled it with water, and put it on the stove.

Being patient waiting for a garden to grow won’t work if you haven’t first planted seeds in the right place, at the right time of year, and then made sure to water and care for them.

And being patient waiting for your business to grow won’t work if you haven’t first identified a target market, dialed in your offer, and are consistently creating valuable content to share with them.

The simple passing of time does not guarantee results.

BUT…

Smart, strategic action + the passing of time… does.

And for those who have already put in the smart, strategic action and are still looking for a way to speed up the natural order of things a little bit I have a solution.

Advertising.

Where you pay a network like Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc for them to put your message (your ad) in front of the audience (or whatever segment you want to reach) that they’ve built up on their platform.

If you have a proven offer and just need a way to get it in front of more potential customers as quickly as possible, advertising is the fastest, most controllable, and most scalable way to do it.

Of course, like all things, there is a right way and a wrong way to advertise your business.

The right way will make you a fortune.

The wrong way will bankrupt you.

So here’s a short (10:47 minute) video to help make sure you do it the right way:  I Found the BEST Way to Run Facebook Ads in 2023