Focus Is the Growth Hack
Everyone’s busy. Few are growing. Here’s why—and what to do about it.
A few weeks ago, I removed all social media platforms except two:
LinkedIn (where my audience is)
Substack (where my best thinking lives)
That’s it.
No Instagram.
No X.
No Threads.
No TikTok.
Not because I couldn’t keep up.
But because scale without focus is just noise.
The Illusion of “More”
Most people think growth means expansion:
More content.
More platforms.
More offers.
More attention.
But the truth is:
Most people don’t need more opportunities.
They need more focus on the right ones.
Every time I tried to “be everywhere,” I lost momentum.
The message got diluted.
The audience scattered.
The energy drained.
It’s easy to feel productive when you’re busy.
It’s harder to admit you’re just running in circles.
What Changed When I Focused
When I stripped everything down to the essentials:
→ My writing got sharper
→ My offer became clearer
→ My growth rate accelerated
→ My stress levels dropped
I stopped trying to reach everyone and started resonating with the right ones.
And now I’m building faster—with fewer moving parts.
The Focus Flywheel
Here’s the 4-part system I now use to filter every decision:
1. Clarity
Whats the biggest problem are you solving?
Who are you helping?
Why does it matter?
If you’re vague, your audience will be too.
2. Channel
Where do you own attention?
You don’t need 5. You need 1 that works.
Pick one to go deep. The rest can wait.
3. Cadence
How consistently are you showing up?
Can your audience rely on you?
Sporadic effort = forgettable brand.
Set a pace that’s sustainable, then protect it.
4. Conversion
What’s the next step after attention?
Content without conversion is just unpaid therapy.
You don’t need 6 funnels. You need 1 clear outcome.
Focus Doesn’t Limit You. It Builds You.
People fear focus because they think it means doing less.
But focus isn’t about limitation. It’s about alignment.
When everything you say, do, and publish is connected to a single goal—
you become unforgettable.
Growth gets easier.
Decisions get faster.
Execution gets lighter.
This Week’s Prompt:
What’s the one thing you can cut this week that’s stealing your focus—but not driving results?
Write it down.
Delete it.
Reclaim your energy.
Because the fastest way to grow isn’t doing more.
It’s doing less, better.
—
– Ryan
P.S. - My favorite practical focus tactics are get in a quiet room with zero distractions, shut off the phone (or better yet throw it in another room), throw in some ear plugs and just push towards your main goal for an hour.
Easier said than done in todays world.
Good luck! Stay Focused!
Let me know how it goes if you take it this far!