“Here is the prime condition of success, the great secret,” said Carnegie. “Concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged. Having begun in one line, resolve to fight it out on that line, to lead in it; adopt every improvement, have the best machinery, and know the most about it.”
Carnegie did not make his millions by spreading his risk. He focused on one job, one company, and one industry at a time in order to be able to fully concentrate all his resources and energy on the task at hand. Regardless of circumstances, Carnegie believed that with the right amount of dedication and a single-minded view, success at any task could be achieved.
“The man who is director in a half dozen railroads and three or four manufacturing companies, or who tries at one and the same time to work a farm, a factory, a line of street cars, a political party and a store, rarely amounts to much,” said Carnegie. “He may be concerned in the management of more than one business enterprise, but they should all be of the one kind, which he understands.”
Carnegie believed that the road to success was a straight one with a single lane. By having patience, by learning all there was to know about that road, and by sticking to it no matter what, he knew he could reach the end. “The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it,” said Carnegie. “Success can be attained in any branch of human labour. There is always room at the top in every pursuit.”
Working towards just one goal at a time didn’t make Carnegie’s goals any less significant; it simply meant that he felt each was important enough to devote himself to 100%. Whereas many of his competitors wanted to diversify in order to minimize risk, Carnegie wanted to stick to what he knew best. For him, it was not a risk; it was the only option.
“The man of business knows that only by years of patient, unremitting attention to affairs can he earn his reward, which is the result, not of chance, but of well-devised means for the attainment of ends,” said Carnegie. “‘Don't put all your eggs in one basket’ is all wrong. I tell you, ‘put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket.’ Look round you and take notice; men who do that do not often fail. It is easy to watch and carry the one basket. It is trying to carry too many baskets that breaks most eggs in this country. He who carries three baskets must put one on his head, which is apt to tumble and trip him up”
Indeed, Carnegie believed that it was those very businessmen who tried to accomplish many goals at once who fell off the path to success quickest. “The concern which fail are those which have scattered their capital, which means that they have scattered their brains,” he said. “I believe that the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master of that line.”
Lesson #3: Focus Your Sights
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