Anyone who has attended or viewed a major league baseball game has likely witnessed one of the scariest moments a baseball player can experience – the inevitable time in which he loses grip of the bat he is swinging and it flies off, hopefully, safely landing on the turf somewhere.

Now some might wonder why this happens so often – is it because they are swinging the bat so hard they simply can’t hang on?

The reality lies in proper technique. Every player at some level has received hitting advice that goes something like this:

“Do not squeeze the bat. Hold it lightly in your fingers. Pretend as though you are holding a small bird in your hands. You want to hold the bird firmly enough to prevent it from flying away, yet not so tightly that you harm the bird.” (Source: beabetterhitter.com)

And there you have it – some of the best business advice I can offer.

All too often business owners hold tightly and desperately to what they think they must do in every day in order to achieve their goals.

This smothering attachment to outcomes is the greatest source of stress and frustration felt by many of the business owners I encounter.

And that little bird of a business suffocates as a result.

So you see the secret to success truly does lie in your grip.

I’m all for goals and setting a vision for where you want to go, but then you’ve got to detach from the day to day judgment on how you’re meant to get there.

You can’t be afraid to let lose of the bat.

Gripping tightly is what leads to feeling so busy. It’s what tricks you into thinking that because you checked eight things off your to-do list that you accomplished a lot.

You know this, but I’ll remind you – there’s a really good chance that 80% of what you do each day is wasted. Okay, maybe it’s not all wasted, but it’s likely not moving you in the direction of your vision.

When you start to let go of the fear of not being busy, you can open up the possibility of actually finding the very few things that will make a difference in your business.

Oh, and people might actually enjoy being around you more as well.

Starting today, pledge to let go more. Loosen your grip and figure out the two or three things that matter today. Then go to work on them. (PS – Meditation and Yoga – I suggest it!)