Deciding What’s Next – The Essential Skill for Multi-Passionate Entrepreneurs

Your growing company still has lots of upside potential, yet you’re getting distracted by what’s next. You loved starting the business, but running it? Borrrring. It’s just how your brain works: you’ve got an idea-generation machine between your ears that simply won’t turn off.

According to the hunter-farmer theory by author Thom Hartmann, you’re likely a genetic descendent of ancient hunter-gatherers – always alert and on the move to find food and shelter for the tribe. For 8 million years, humans were nomadic; only in the past 10,000 years did we settle down to farm the land.

Those hunter genetic traits continue to be passed down. Modern-day hunters often channel their curiosity, risk-taking and novelty cravings into entrepreneurship, while our unique superpowers are often labeled as “deficit disorder.”.

A study among members of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) – all high-achieving entrepreneurs – revealed that 62% have traits consistent with ADHD. Psychology Today estimated that adults with ADHD are 300% more likely to start their own businesses.

Hunter-type minds are ill-suited to the agrarian equivalent of the business world. The hunters’ job is to explore to find the fertile soil; it’s the settlers’ jobs to farm that land, implement systems and processes, and nurture growth.

And yet most advice for hunters is aimed at being productive in a settlers’ world – sit still, make your lists and “please for the love of god, curb your tendency to chase shiny objects.” But chasing shiny objects is precisely what we were born to do.

The power of intentional design

Conventional wisdom and so-called “best practices” were designed for settlers, not you. Yet too often, hunters get trapped in a false binary of an either/or choice – try to conform to everyone else’s rules, or fail.

But there’s a third way that I call intentional design. In biological terms, the term is “niche construction.” If you’re not a good fit for your environment, adapt your environment to fit you. Give yourself permission to do what you do best, and delegate or delete everything else.

Intentional design gives you the freedom to be yourself in all your quirky-brained glory… the power to achieve, create, and make an impact because of how you’re wired, not despite it… and the ability to work with greater ease and flow.

The possibility space

“When the future is defined by a possibility space, we can design what’s next (over and over again) without boredom or burnout.”

Neurotypicals work in a straight line, gaining speed and momentum as they move towards a fixed goal. But those of us who are dazzled by possibilities tend to work in circles, killing momentum and expending enormous resources in reinventing wheels.

So what’s the alternative? Balance focus with freedom by defining a “possibility space” that enables you to explore only the territory that’s the best fit for you.

We need to define our YES – what we commit to never change – and our NO – the boundaries outside of which we refuse to entertain possibilities. Within these two hard-coded parameters, we have free reign to play and experiment.

If that seems limiting, think fractals. When you look at the night sky, you see infinite possibilities; hunters can feel almost physical pain at the idea of constraining ourselves to a small section of that sky. But peer through a telescope and you’ll also see infinite (and more interesting) possibilities.

When the future is defined by a possibility space instead of a fixed goal, we satisfy our needs for freedom and novelty without sacrificing momentum and efficiency. We can design what’s next (over and over again) without boredom or burnout.

Know thyself

So how do you define your possibility space? This is where self-understanding is essential.

“You can only scale your business to the level of your identity”

- Dr. Alok Trivedi

Humans with traits of ADHD are inherently interest-driven. If we’re not passionate about it, our attention won’t last long. That means the ideal ‘fixed focus zone’ rests on deeply encoded lifelong patterns of what brings us alive.

While we certainly can change and evolve over the years, there are parts that never change. Look back over the years and decades: what’s consistently lit you up? What are the common denominators? It’s usually not what we do, but rather how we feel.

Emotion drives behavior, not logic. And not just any emotion, but how we feel when our core needs are met. Have you been moved more by freedom or belonging? Creative expression or aesthetic delight? Do you define growth as self-evolution, achievement, or both?

In my human-motivation research, I’ve identified 13 core human needs that we all share, but prioritize and define uniquely. Your top 3 - 4 are the cheat codes to your identity, values and decision-making.

Use these top needs as your goals, and then be creative on how to activate them over time. When everything’s aligned to what’s authentically you, there’s less need to bring the weaker executive-function part of your brain into the equation. Force is replaced by flow.

Last but not least, we need to be great boundary-setters. If opportunities and ideas don’t help you feel more (free, impactful, creative, etc.), then they’re a NO. Ask yourself: “is this really mine to do?” If not, delegate or delete.

What’s next?

Stay tuned for part 2, which will cover how these principles can help you better design your business around your best-match team, customers and partners.

If you’re a divergent entrepreneur who could use intentional design for your life or business, let’s talk!

You’ll get $1000 discount for my new CUSTOMER MATCH Hyperfocus strategy session until June 23rd.

In the Explorer Coaching Weekend, we’ll strategize and ideate while roaming a novel corner of the world… or you could opt for the Designing What’s Next program (1:1 or group).

Want to chat? You can book a call here.