A little while back, I said “no” to an amazing opportunity to help writers. This was an opportunity to partner with an entrepreneur I greatly respect, a person who has been very influential in my life. He was one of the first people to help me see that I could make a living with writing, and I’ve read his books and listened to his podcast for years.

This opportunity would have let me help more people, expand my influence, and spend more time with people I highly respect. So why did I say “no?”

The answer is simple: I didn’t have the bandwidth to do a good job in this role.

I’m working on several ghostwriting projects, leading my Daily Writer Club, creating this podcast, and working on a couple of my own books.

Remember, anytime you say “yes” to one thing, you are saying “no” to a hundred other things.

Time is not infinite. You only have so much of it. So, make sure you are saying “yes” to the right things for your season of life. Sometimes you will have to pass up amazing opportunities because the timing isn’t right. But you have to respect your existing commitments and realistically assess whether you can add something else to your plate.

Here’s something else to remember: the more successful you become, the more great opportunities will come your way. It becomes an issue of saying “no” to a lot of good things so you can focus on the few things that will really move the ball down the field for you.

In the case of the opportunity I mentioned above, it was important that I be able to do a good job if I committed to it. But the reality was that it would be something I was squeezing into my schedule, just trying to do the bare minimum instead of really giving it a good effort.

I have too much respect for the person who was offering me the opportunity to give something a half-hearted effort. I hope you feel the same way. When you say “yes” to something, make sure you can do it well. Commit to a few things and put your full effort into them.

Then, say “no” to everything else.

Today’s Challenge: What do you need to say “no” to in order to say “yes” to the most important things?