Jason Lee가 말하는 성공의 비결: Subtraction, Not Addition

 

I thought the way to grow was simple: just do more.

More products to sell.
More platforms to post on.
More clients to chase.

If I wasn’t everywhere, doing everything, I was sure I’d get left behind.

So I tried it: posting on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, launching a digital course, a coaching offer, learning facebook ads at the same time. Also, saying yes to every client, even the ones who clearly weren’t a good fit.

I was working 12-hour days, but nothing was actually moving forward. One week I’d obsess over building the course, the next week I’d be trying to figure out Facebook ads, and the week after that I was rewriting my website for the third time.

It looked like hustle. It felt like progress. But really? I was just running in circles.

Subtraction, Not Addition

Everything changed when I asked myself a different question:

Not, “What else should I be doing?”

But instead, “What can I stop doing?”

So I did something radical:

• I quit posting on every platform and chose one channel to master.
• I scrapped half-finished products and focused on a single offer that solved one clear problem.
• I stopped trying to serve everyone and focused on one type of customer.

The irony? When I started doing less, my business finally started growing.

Revenue went up. My schedule opened up. And for the first time, I didn’t feel like my business was running me.

Why Subtraction Works

Here’s the metaphor that sticks with me: your business is like sunlight.

When it’s scattered, it warms things up a little. But when it’s focused—like a magnifying glass, it’s powerful enough to start a fire.

Every platform you stop posting on, every product you stop forcing, every “maybe” client you stop chasing, that’s energy you get back.

Energy you can put toward the few things that actually matter.