A single 3 letter word is responsible for all freedom and success I’ve had in my business life. Without this 3 letter word, nothing would even start at all. It’s a scary word at times, a word that brings the baggage of commitment. It’s also a word that that requires a lot of faith.

As you might have guessed, this 3 letter word is yes.

Every business opportunity or idea starts with yes. You make a commitment to pursue a vision that isn’t yet a reality, but you intend to make it so.

Why ‘Yes’ Has Become My Enemy

Now you might assume that the enemy of yes is no. But that simply isn’t the case. In fact, I’m at the point in my life where it’s actually the word yes that’s become a sworn enemy.  But how can that be? How could I turn my back on the word that’s responsible for achieving so many goals in my life?

In the early stages of a business, your success thrives on saying yes. When you’re trying to get traction for a new product or service, you’re probably going to need to say yes a lot. You’ve got to figure out what works, and its hard to experiment by saying no.

But as your business grows, you begin to learn what works, and where your priorities should lie. One of the traps of success is that it creates a surplus of opportunity. Saying yes brings opportunities, but opportunities bring distractions from your main goal and purpose.

In the early days, you sought out opportunities like mad. Opportunities were scarce. But as your business begins to thrive, opportunities begin presenting themselves effortlessly. People take notice and throw ideas, joint ventures, and partnerships at you from everywhere. It’s very easy to assume that because yes got you here, that it will also get you there. But this is a lie.

The secret to creating more time is learning to say no.

As necessary and important as yes is, its an inherent time stealer. Every time you use it, you’re making a commitment of time and resources you can’t get back. And therein lies the paradox: it’s actually not possible to say yes to anything without saying no to something else. There’s always a trade.

Learning to say yes and no at the appropriate times is absolutely vital for the success of your business.

What stage are you in right now? The yes stage, or the no stage? Share your thoughts below.