At a recent presentation, I gave a piece of advice I often share – “Put all of your eggs in one basket, and then work that basket!” During the Q&A session, a gentleman asked me to provide further clarification why was I going against the conventional wisdom?
As we have all heard in the past, the common statement is “DON’T put all of your eggs in one basket.” In many cases, this is good advice. Carrying eggs is the most literal example (although I have never seen someone use multiple baskets to collect eggs) but this also holds true for things like making investments and mitigating business risk.
However, where I feel this doesn’t hold true, and where most people use the statement, is when someone wants to take a personal risk – like starting a new business or making a big change in their life. The minute they take a step toward this goal, they hear that old adage in their head – and they stop.
I personally believe that it is nearly impossible to make a major change in your life WITHOUT putting all of your eggs in one basket – another way I describe this behavior is trying to dive into the water with one foot still on land. It’s just not going to work – if you try to divide your commitment between the old and the new, neither one is going to be very successful.
I describe my personal success as being able to work one basket at a time. I see a lot of people who are trying to work multiple baskets at once – at any one time a person may be worried about several business projects, getting their kids to practice, what they’re going to make for Thanksgiving dinner… I focus on one basket at a time and give it 100% rather than spending all of my time worrying about things I have to do in the future. Once I successfully complete one project, I move on to the next, and the next. Try doing this sometime, and see if there is a change in the quality and quantity of your output!
