There is one proven business strategy that has consistently worked time and time again. It is a strategy that has created the most important innovations for centuries.

Focus on doing things that matter that others find incredibly hard.

That’s it. Nothing hugely profound. Nothing that is out of reach for really anyone to do.

Just focus on the hard part of something. Whether it’s a process, a piece of technology or just a human interaction. And this works for really any industry… and life for that matter.

If you’re in retail, how can you deliver exceptional customer service while still keeping prices low? I don’t know, but Zappos did it.

If you’re a restaurant, how can you convince people to only get what you want to serve them and charge them hundreds of dollars for it? If you can get get to heights of Michelin 3-star status, you can do that.

If you’re an author, how do you guarantee that people will buy your book regardless of a book tour, advertising and distribution channels? Prolific business writer, Seth Godin, says he no longer wants to get any more fans. He’s got enough to buy all the books he writes at this point. So he focuses on delivering the best he can to that core audience.

Don’t look for the easiest way to do something. Look for what’s the hardest part about what you do. And then put all your energy into doing it great.

That should be the goal of any brand. Finding the things that your competitors are too afraid to venture because it’s bound to be too expensive, too operationally challenging, too risky an endeavor.

People admire those brands. Not the ones who figured out how to get by with doing as little as possible.

Do what is hard. Go where others won’t. Be truly remarkable because no one else would even dream of going the lengths that you did.