Focusing Your Energy – The Power Of Focus
“The hunter who chases two rabbits, catches neither one…”
I’ve learnt a very valuable lesson in the past few months. While trying to build my online persona and build a very profitable online business, I have also been running my offline web design business. I soon found out that this was a bad idea, but had to learn it the hard way.
I’ve always had this problem where I was spreading my focus to too many different paths. When I first started my business, my very first mentor, Debbie Williams, has taught me to focus my energy to as laser sharp as possible and accomplishing each goal one step at a time before moving onto the next. I followed her advice and did very well for myself. I was able to grow my business from start-up, working by myself with no contacts, no credibility in the market place, and no experience, to employing a team of 4 staff within a year. This was a great success for me.
I then met another man who I now call my friend and mentor, Sean Rasmussen, who, once again, reminded me about the power of focus. He talks about having 120V, and trying to light up 6 light bulbs with it at once, sending 20V to each light bulb. This is ineffective if each light bulb requires 80V of power to light up, so he advised me to light up one first. Then when that one is lit, work on getting the energy to light up the next one. This made perfect sense, but somehow, I had let myself go and had forgotten this principal in the last few months.
So for the last few months, I was not 100% focused on what I needed to do to get to where I want to go. I was being the hunter who tried to chase two rabbits and catching none. This was a powerful lesson for me, and I write this post as a self-reminder to maintain my focus and take the necessary actions to get to where I want to be. I also hope this post can help you to be reminded of the power of focus.
My good friend, Clint Maher, recently wrote a post on his blog entitled “What Do You Focus On?” where he talks about focusing on what you want and not what you don’t want. I know these are two different topics, but they both relate to the subject of focus. I recommend you read the post, as it has reminded me to stop spending my time and energy on the negative things in life, but to focus on what will move me forward.
Thank you for reading, and have a fantastic day,
Binh Down Under
A great post Binh, and a timely message for myself too. One thing at a time.
It reminds me of when I was a child (and still now) and read 6 or 7 books at once, and rarely finishing or understanding any of them.
Hi Clint,
I think we are all guilty at some stage of trying to chase too many rabbits. Some may do it consciously, others may not even realise they’re doing it. I am glad this post has helped you in some mate. If each of my blog post only helped one person in a very minor way, it would be enough motivation for me to continue writing more and more. Thanks for the comment.
Binh
Consider yourself motivated Binh because this post is definitely relevant to me. Getting caught up in the pressures of society naturally causes us to become multiskilled. Hense the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none”.
Thanks for a great post.
Regards,
Stuart.
You have had some influence on me with this post Binh and for that I must thank you, Like so many we tend to be drawn away from our intended focus and goals by such insignifficant and trivial matters , that in no way contribute to what we want.
Keep the good teaching coming Binh and I shall be back for more positive reminders.
Hey……life is good….
Allen Sentance
Fisherman
Great post Binh! I have also struggled lately – as the marketing businesses grow I find myself just all over the place – what I have done this week is upgraded my office planning.
I bought two cheap but effective white boards – one has the whole year calendar, the other is a clear board. I have filled in the year calendar with all the work and jobs already booked – including trips to workshops and holidays. I found for me this just helps me picture the path I have in the months ahead and I can just deal with what’s next.
The blank board has been divided into sections – share trading, blogging, Gardens, birthday to do list etc
I tick the jobs off as I do them and at the end of the week I erase them.I don’t erase them straight away in case I double up on a job – no I don’t mow a lawn twice – it just means I know what I have achieved.
The third board is my weekly planner – this shows 6 weeks of a diary plan – each day has the primary jobs for the day.
This gives me the week in more detail and is great when people phone and ask for a job -say a school wanting me for a day or a garden client.
This may not work for everyone since I am a visual learner and thus love this type of layout over the wall!
John
Wow, I am quite surprised to see how many positive responses came from this post.
@Stuart, I know what you are going through mate. Keep the faith, as I know after all the hard work, is a great and worthwhile reward.
@Fisherman, yes I think we are all guilty of spreading our focus at least once in our life. The fact that we are aware of it now and are able to learn from it will make us strong individuals in the future mate. Keep up the good work. I love your attitude Allen, and I’ve learnt lots from you because of it.
@John, I can see why you are a teacher mate. You are very organised and I am impressed. Good organisational tips there mate that I feel can benefit the readers of this blog. Well done and keep the tips coming
John, I think you’ve inspired me to write my next post on here about time management for an Internet Marketer. Stay tuned.
To all readers of this blog, if you are reading this and find it useful, I encourage you to join in the conversation by leaving comments. Also, if you know any one else that you feel may enjoy this post or blog, please help me help them by letting them know about this blog. Thanks in advanced
Binh
Hello Binh,
You have certainly got people thinking ,well done, I too are a person that takes on everything, I go like a bull at a gate only to find that I ran straight past the female cows, (Well you know what I mean).
I have taken on so much that my mind is a blur ,but with constantly being in tune with posts like yours and reminding myself to focus on one thing at a time and not four other things as well.
To your other readers I too had about 2 to 3 books on the go, but now I read 1 book at time.
I have a passion to be good at my new venture of internet marketing and a book that has helped me to get where I want to go is reprogramming the mind.
Hi Richard,
Would you like to tell the readers how and where to go and get a copy of this book? That would help the readers. Thanks.
Binh
Thanks Binh for inviting me to show your readers the book, your readers will i hope enjoy the ideas and mind training this book has to offer.
http://www.selfimprovementmindpower.net/mindset/reprogramming-the-mind-is-addictive/
For anyone who is interested, I’ve read this book and strongly recommend it. It explains clearly how our minds work and how we can restructure our mindset to achieve the things we want into our lives. The added bonuses are fantastic as well.