Fire up your business with focus
As a young boy growing up in Chappaqua, New York I learned about the power of focus. Unfortunately, I was learning how to use the power of focus this bright fall day but I didn’t have the wisdom to use it properly.
I was always intrigued by my Dad’s magnifying glass. My Dad wasn’t home this day and I decided to have some fun. For those of you from upstate New York you know that with the fall comes a great deal of leaf raking. I was supposed to rake the leaves. I detested leaf raking. Why?
Focus—Know What You Want To Accomplish
As soon as you cleared up the area you raked there were leaves all over it the next day. I had read in one of my science books in intermediate school that if you held a magnifying glass over a piece of paper or something that would burn that it would focus the power of the sun’s rays to be strong enough to start a fire and burn the object.
My focus was on getting rid of the leaves. And, in a stroke of brilliance I decided to see if I could use my magnifying glass to burn the leaves after I had raked them into a pile. Raking was bad enough. But then having to cart them out into the woods was more than I wanted to handle.
Focus—Know The Consequences
I took the magnifying glass and placed it over a leaf on the pile and let the sun’s rays do their work. But for some reason nothing was happening. Then I remembered that I had to hold the magnifying glass still in order for the sun’s rays to focus.
Once I did that the magic began. One leaf started to burn and as it was burning I grabbed the part that was not burned and stuck it next to a new leaf. After a few minutes I had a fire going.
Then it dawned on me that once the pile burned down that I would be burning the lawn beneath it. That was not good. As I was contemplating that problem the wind which I had not even thought about gave my fire new energy and started spreading it across the yard.
Frantically, I tried to control the leaves by stomping on them and after about 10 minutes the fire was out. Fortunately, the ground and lawn were wet and did not burn.
I sat down and breathed a huge sigh of relief. I had averted disaster. I looked up at the sun and then at the magnifying glass. Yes, the power of focus is an awesome power.
Focus-It Works
In my personal business coaching practice I have to bring the power of focus as do my clients to create pathways to accelerate the process of their successful performance.
Whether you are a self-employed business owner, entrepreneur, solo professional or corporate executive the power of focus is necessary for exceptional performance. No amount of online training, corporate training, business training, business courses or business skills training will work without utilizing the power of focus.
To use the power of focus wisely, unlike my childhood experience, keep the following in mind:
- Know your priorities. Make sure you are putting your focus on the right thing.
- Be committed to achieving your goal. Focus without continuous commitment is like holding the magnifying glass for a few seconds over a leaf and expecting it to burn.
- Pay attention to the details. As in the leaf story where I didn’t pay attention to the details, you must look ahead and see where your focus is taking you.
- Follow up. Always assess the results of your focus and where it is taking you. Success in business and life is about resetting your focus.
Utilize the power of focus. As you do you can adjust your focus to take you to the business and life you desire.
