Often, we get caught up in saying yes, and forget how to say no. So while we work tirelessly to do everything to our best ability, we seem to spin our wheels unable to gain traction. Economics teaches us that while we sacrifice our time to try to help everyone else by doing it all, and this is detrimental for all parties involved.
For instance, you could be the best at everything, and get the best results (the concept of absolute advantage), but while you work on one task there is a cost of what you could have been doing (opportunity cost). So to be truly effective, you have to focus on what no one can do truly like you and then everyone is better off (the concept of comparative advantage). The economics text uses the concept of comparative advantage in relation to trade between two parties, but really, it applies to all facets of our lives. The idea states that two parties can produce more if they focus more of their efforts on what they give up the least to produce, and as a result there is more for everyone involved.
The kicker, of the concept of comparative advantage is that even if you are not the best at anything, you can have an advantage in the market over competitors if rivals give up too much to compete with you (even if they are better!).
Source: Principles of Microeconomics, third edition (Found in pile of donated books), pages 45-57.
Author: N. Gregory Mankiw
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