Focus. Focus. Focus.
2:30AM on a Saturday morning. Eyes wide open and brain wired. I just had a dream where I was on a stage discussing how to make different business models successful in today’s marketplace. The odds of me getting back to sleep? Slim to none.
There are two things I realized this morning that I think are relevant to many people reading this.
1) I need to get some freaking sleep.
2) There is one key ingredient to success that determines whether you win or lose.
Focus
It struck me this morning that this is the most focused I have ever been. Up until this year, I have had plenty of great ideas. Pockets of really great work being done. Then, there were just gaps of time where I wasn’t as productive. The problem? I lacked focus.
So what changed? Why am I now just wired through the roof and unable to think of anything other than winning at everything that is in front of me? It’s simple. I NEED to win, and that requires focus.
Want to Succeed as Bad as You Want to Breathe
Have you seen that video of Eric Thomas, and what’s called one of the greatest motivational speeches ever? In this speech, Eric delivers some pretty powerful messages that are worth taking to heart. Things like:
“Most of you say you want to be successful, but you don’t want it bad, you just kind of want it.”
And,
“You’re already in pain, you’re already hurt — get a reward for it!”
Now why am I bring up this video? Because the two quotes above highlight two very different places on the road to success. One talks to the crowd of people who say that they want success but have no true action to back it up. The other, talks to those people who are in the trenches, battling it out, and they haven’t reached their goal yet. Both of these scenarios require a tremendous amount of focus in order to be successful. Regardless of where you are, you need to be focused.
I’ll wrap it up with this…
There’s a book that I read a while back called, “Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence”. My biggest takeaway (and the one thing I hope you take away from this) was:
“The power to direct our focus on one thing and ignore others lies at the core of willpower.”
What this means is, if you want to be successful, you need to have focus. This requires that you
Get Rid of the Distractions
You know better than anyone where you spend your time. Determine what distractions are keeping you from accomplishing your goals, and ignore them. This literally means to intentionally disregard. Being able to shut off Facebook and Netflix, and tell your friends you won’t be going to that party, is crucial to taking the next step in your journey.
Be Stubborn for Success
Whatever your goal is, whether you’re a startup founder or you’re in school to be a teacher, there are bound to be low points throughout your journey. Have the willpower (the ability to control yourself) to stay focused regardless of how hard or tiresome it might become. When people say you can’t, go do it. When you think you can’t, push hard and go get it done. In the end, it all comes down to focus.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. It would be awesome if you could scroll down and click the heart to recommend :)
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Connect with me on Twitter — @JoshRamos0818.
- Josh
