The prospect of starting a new business can be quite exciting. It can motivate people to make significant changes in their life. It can open up new earning opportunities for them. And it can start them on a journey of personal growth and exploration. But sometimes the excitement of business can be too exciting. Some new business owners are so excited about the possibilities that await them in business that they decide to jump into several businesses—all at the same time.

Sometimes they start two or three businesses thinking that they can succeed in all of them. Other times, they start two or three businesses because they just want to make sure that one will succeed. Regardless of what their motivations may be, these over-eager business owners usually find that if they don’t focus on just one business, all of the businesses fail. The very action the owner thought would reduce the odds of failure (i.e., opening up multiple businesses) actually ends up increasing those odds. In order to find success in business, you must discipline yourself to focus on just one business at a time and to pour your time, energy, and capital into that one business. Focusing on a business means that it becomes a priority in life. Clearly, you can’t devote all of your time and energy to the building up of the business; but you can make it one of the most significant priorities in your life.

Some of your other priorities might include time with family, church service, and time spent doing other fulfilling activities that refill your “emotional gas tank” and enable you to succeed in the other essential parts of life. While focusing on the business, concentrate your efforts on applying each of 25 Rules of Thumb.