Focus

Do you ever feel like you're being pulled in a thousand different directions? Do you feel overwhelmed by all the information that comes to you by email, fax, telephone, television, radio, newspapers, magazines and everything else on a daily basis? Do you sit back at the end of the day, after answering all your email, returning all your phone calls, running all your errands to UPS and the post office and the bank and Kinko's, and wonder what you actually accomplished?

Life gets in the way if you don't watch out. All sorts of distractions come along to keep you from what you want to do. With the incredible amount of communication technology available to the average person, it is all too easy to get sucked in to hours of useless activity, just out of curiosity. Look at the World Wide Web. You could follow links on the Web for hours and hours. Or television. Most cable systems now have at least 50 channels, and many more are on the way. The other night I became absorbed in watching Hurricane Erin come ashore. I was able to tune my satellite receiver in to local Florida stations sending remote feeds from the beach. Beyond that, there are all the other people in your life, who each have their own agenda, and who can easily distract you from accomplishing what you need to get done.

In a world of so many distractions, you must make a conscious effort to focus if you ever hope to accomplish anything. The only other alternative to this is having a boss tell you what to do 10 hours a day, and we all know that's a dead end road.

So how do you maintain focus while the world spins confusingly around you?

First, you must know exactly what you want to do. Many people have a good general idea of what they want. That's not enough. In order to maintain focus, you must know specifically what you want. This all goes back to goal setting. When you think about the importance of maintaining focus, it is easy to see why goal setting is so critical. It's a fact -- people who are successful in life are the people who set meaningful, specific goals and then constantly focus on these goals.

The human mind is an incredibly effective tool. We all have one at our command. It is, first and foremost, the most important tool we have at our disposal. The mind can achieve any outcome we focus on. The problem is that we too often focus on the wrong thing. The vast majority of people in this world focus on being comfortable. And guess what? They're just that -- comfortable, but going nowhere.

It is amazing what will happen when you make the decision to focus on a specific outcome. Almost as if by magic, doors begin to open for you. Things come into your life that help you to reach your goal. The more highly focused you are, the more often this happens. It is an interesting philosophical exercise to try and come up with a reason for this. Is there a power that we don't comprehend at work here? Some force that draws things toward us when we dwell on them? Or is it that the things we need are there all along, and we can see them only when they are viewed in the context of our specific desired outcome? An argument can be made for both scenarios, and I suspect that in reality it may be a combination of both, along with other factors that we are unable even to speculate about.

Though it is interesting to try and understand why this happens, that is in itself just a needless distraction. The point is that it does work. When you focus on an outcome, whether it be good or bad, that outcome begins to manifest. This is not something that you have to take on faith. It is easy to experience for yourself. Just try it for a few days and you'll know without a doubt that it works.

In fact, you can't turn it off. You're doing it already, whether you're aware of it or not. Your mind is drawing you toward an outcome, something that you are focused on. Are you focused on your financial problems? Then you'll be having financial problems in abundance. Are you focused on your pains and discomforts? Then you'll be sick and hurting more and more. Or are you focused on your car that's breaking down? Then you'll have even more problems with it.

Your mind is a goal seeking machine. Whatever you program it with, it will do. If you program it with negative, limiting thoughts, it will manifest these thoughts into reality. You cannot turn it off, it's automatic. What you can do, however, is re-program it with positive outcomes. It's going to take some work, though.

It is vitally important that you first tell your mind exactly what you want. You can't be vague about this. You must be specific. If you say, "I'd like to be successful in my network marketing business," that won't cut it. That gives your mind nothing to work toward. Successful is a vague concept. There's no way to achieve "success" because it can be so many different things. It's like going to the airline ticket counter and asking for a ticket to "somewhere nice." It can't be done. There's no airline in the world that can give you a ticket to "somewhere nice." In order to purchase a ticket, you must know exactly where you want to go.

Instead, say "I'm going to have 10 new distributors by the end of the month." Now, that's something that your powerful mind can work with. You'll wake up in the middle of the night with great ideas on how to recruit. The person standing behind you in the checkout line will strike up a conversation with you, telling you how he's looking for a way to make a little extra money. A prospect you sent a tape to 3 months ago will suddenly send in her distributor application. If you focus on this goal, and then take advantage of the opportunities that come your way, things will happen to bring you what you want.

Now, add power. Determine the "why" of what you want. Knowing what you want will get you going in the right direction. Knowing why you want it will keep you focused so powerfully that you won't give up until you get there. If you understand why you want something, you'll be completely committed to it. There will be no obstacle that can stand in your way.

Understanding the "why" requires some deep digging, down to the point where you eventually reach very raw emotional tissue. It requires that you probe into the very fiber of your being. It requires determination and ultimate honesty with yourself. It is well worth the effort.

Start with your goal. For example, "I want to make $150,000 this year." Then ask yourself, "Why?"

"So I can be financially independent."

"Why?"

"So I can travel and see the world."

"Why?"

"Because I want to experience new places and meet new people."

"Why?"

"I respect other people and seek to share a common bond with others."

"Why?" . . .

Two things can happen if you pursue this honestly. One is that you'll reach a dead end. You'll realize that you really don't want what you think you want. You'll come to understand that, deep down, you have no compelling reason to want the things you want. You're simply saying you want them because that's what the world expects of you. This can be an important revelation. You'll suddenly realize why you haven't been more effective in reaching your goals -- it's because you don't really want to achieve them. When this happens, you'll need to start over. Re-evaluate your goals. Try and figure out what it is you really want. Not what other people expect of you. Not what the world defines as success. Find what it is that you want to become, to accomplish. Money and material things and status are a foolish charade. They distract us from the truly important things in life. Get past all that and dig deeper.

The other thing that can happen is that you'll uncover your true purpose in life. This can be a very emotional and powerful experience -- something which you'll likely never forget. When you get there, you'll understand the context of your life. You'll have a solid framework around which you can build anything you want or need. You'll be highly focused, and no thing, no person, no circumstance, will be able to deter you from your path.

The secret to arriving at this point is to keep asking "Why?" until you reach the ultimate "Why" of your life. Eventually, you'll get there, and when you do, you'll know it. You'll find what defines you as a person. Knowledge of this is a powerful asset that no one can ever take away from you.

And that, along with written goals that are "congruent" -- in other words, that agree with your most basic purpose, will keep you highly focused. You'll stay on track and move forward every day toward your goals.

That's not to say you should be so highly focused that you ignore every distraction that comes along. You need to be open-minded as well, and willing to try new approaches. Your focus should not be so extreme that it gives you tunnel vision. Rather, it should provide a solid anchor to your life, something that gives everything else a context and a purpose. If a new idea comes along, without focus it is merely interesting. With focus, new ideas become powerful tools.

Resolve today to uncover your true purpose, your real wants and desires, and focus yourself on getting where you want to be. Then watch your ideal world materialize before your eyes.

Remember... "Those who know how will always work for those who know why."