The Importance of Focus for Success
From The Notebook Of Terry L. Brock
Maybe something like this has happened to you.
I was driving yesterday to a meeting over in Tampa from Orlando. No big deal as it is about an hour and half drive. Somewhere in the middle of the journey I noticed that traffic was slowing down.
You know what it’s like. You see the red lights on the cars in front of you. You know it is going to add time to your journey. You can feel the tendency to get frustrated at the delay.
Then as I got close to the reason for the delay it was obvious that it was all the cars slowing down to gaze at a police car that had pulled over two cars, maybe giving out tickets (they do that here in Florida – raising money from those tourists!) or perhaps our fine public servants helping some motorists in distress.
Either way, it was no big deal. No apparent injuries or damage. No serious problems. But it seemed that everyone had to slow down to gawk at the event. I guess they had never seen such a thing before!
The police had pulled the people over on the right side of the road and the two right lanes were much slower than the far left lane. So, I jumped into the left lane (yes, I did use my turn signals this time!) and moved a bit faster.
Then it hit me that this was a metaphor for many experiences in life. You’re traveling down the road running your business, doing your thing and then there is a slowdown. It is because of something external to you (economists would call this “exogenous” factors – I love those big words!). These are the activities that pull you away from what is best for you and slow you down in pursuing your goals.
As I write this, the major media’s current tizzy is about the governor’s race in California, something about a journalist leaking information on a CIA agent, a merger of airlines, the state of the economy and a bunch of other trivial stuff.
Who cares?
Think about all the news stories that made it to “This breaking news just in…” status on TV in the past five years. Do those stories really make an impact on your life today? Even the tragedy of the events of September 11, 2001 (within that five year span) could be understood and processed much faster than spending hours and hours glued to the TV watching. For serious situations like that it is best to learn what is happening quickly and then get on with how you’ll deal with it. Take control of your own life rather than worrying about a situation over which you have no control.
I’m not saying you should become an ostrich and bury yourself from the events of the world any more than you should not slow down in traffic when there is a valid reason. My point is to put it in perspective and focus on what is best for you.
Instead of reading so much current news, how much classical, sound, business-building books have you read lately? How many quality audio messages have you heard vs. just listening to the same old songs on the radio over and over? I find many successful people read at least one book a week and often more. Yes, be aware of what is going on but usually a quick scan of the Wall Street Journal’s front page, www.news.google.com or another composite of news can give you what you need to stay up with important events that are happening. Then spend the bulk of your precious time on those things that are going to bring you the greatest long-term benefit.
This also means not spending a lot of quality time with those clients that don’t return calls or are rude. Find other clients and relegate the rude ones to other more automated means of communication (e-mail, letters, and less intense contact). Pour your time and effort into those relationships and activities that generate the most for you. Don’t spend a lot of time with rude people. When you encounter people that are rude, be nice and polite always (you don’t need to lower yourself to that level of rudeness) and deal with them in an “arm’s-length” capacity.
This requires focus. It requires discipline to stay focused in the midst of competing headlines, news bulletins, etc. Sure it is compelling to be riveted to the TV when a major story is breaking. However, you have to think about the relevance of that to your overall life vs. reading a good quality book, spending time with your children or significant other or just being with good friends.
Life is a matter of choices. The ultimate scarce resource is time. Economists tell us that economics is really all about resource allocation. By focusing you can bring about the success you want in your life.
So, the next time you’re driving and there is that inevitable delay think about this approach: 1) Be aware of what is going on and focus on safety first, 2) Get around it and let the police do their job. Yes, they can actually handle the emergency at hand without you gawking at them! 3) Listen to that training or motivational audio instead to strengthen your mind and build your skills.
In the long run, you’ll be better off.
And who knows, if we start a mass movement, traffic might flow even better!
Terry Brock is an internationally recognized professional speaker, consultant and author in the fields of business productivity, technology and marketing. He is a syndicated
columnist for Biz Journals across America and can be reached at 407-363-0505 , by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com .
Copyright © 2003, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.
From The Notebook Of Terry L. Brock
Maybe something like this has happened to you.
I was driving yesterday to a meeting over in Tampa from Orlando. No big deal as it is about an hour and half drive. Somewhere in the middle of the journey I noticed that traffic was slowing down.
You know what it’s like. You see the red lights on the cars in front of you. You know it is going to add time to your journey. You can feel the tendency to get frustrated at the delay.
Then as I got close to the reason for the delay it was obvious that it was all the cars slowing down to gaze at a police car that had pulled over two cars, maybe giving out tickets (they do that here in Florida – raising money from those tourists!) or perhaps our fine public servants helping some motorists in distress.
Either way, it was no big deal. No apparent injuries or damage. No serious problems. But it seemed that everyone had to slow down to gawk at the event. I guess they had never seen such a thing before!
The police had pulled the people over on the right side of the road and the two right lanes were much slower than the far left lane. So, I jumped into the left lane (yes, I did use my turn signals this time!) and moved a bit faster.
Then it hit me that this was a metaphor for many experiences in life. You’re traveling down the road running your business, doing your thing and then there is a slowdown. It is because of something external to you (economists would call this “exogenous” factors – I love those big words!). These are the activities that pull you away from what is best for you and slow you down in pursuing your goals.
As I write this, the major media’s current tizzy is about the governor’s race in California, something about a journalist leaking information on a CIA agent, a merger of airlines, the state of the economy and a bunch of other trivial stuff.
Who cares?
Think about all the news stories that made it to “This breaking news just in…” status on TV in the past five years. Do those stories really make an impact on your life today? Even the tragedy of the events of September 11, 2001 (within that five year span) could be understood and processed much faster than spending hours and hours glued to the TV watching. For serious situations like that it is best to learn what is happening quickly and then get on with how you’ll deal with it. Take control of your own life rather than worrying about a situation over which you have no control.
I’m not saying you should become an ostrich and bury yourself from the events of the world any more than you should not slow down in traffic when there is a valid reason. My point is to put it in perspective and focus on what is best for you.
Instead of reading so much current news, how much classical, sound, business-building books have you read lately? How many quality audio messages have you heard vs. just listening to the same old songs on the radio over and over? I find many successful people read at least one book a week and often more. Yes, be aware of what is going on but usually a quick scan of the Wall Street Journal’s front page, www.news.google.com or another composite of news can give you what you need to stay up with important events that are happening. Then spend the bulk of your precious time on those things that are going to bring you the greatest long-term benefit.
This also means not spending a lot of quality time with those clients that don’t return calls or are rude. Find other clients and relegate the rude ones to other more automated means of communication (e-mail, letters, and less intense contact). Pour your time and effort into those relationships and activities that generate the most for you. Don’t spend a lot of time with rude people. When you encounter people that are rude, be nice and polite always (you don’t need to lower yourself to that level of rudeness) and deal with them in an “arm’s-length” capacity.
This requires focus. It requires discipline to stay focused in the midst of competing headlines, news bulletins, etc. Sure it is compelling to be riveted to the TV when a major story is breaking. However, you have to think about the relevance of that to your overall life vs. reading a good quality book, spending time with your children or significant other or just being with good friends.
Life is a matter of choices. The ultimate scarce resource is time. Economists tell us that economics is really all about resource allocation. By focusing you can bring about the success you want in your life.
So, the next time you’re driving and there is that inevitable delay think about this approach: 1) Be aware of what is going on and focus on safety first, 2) Get around it and let the police do their job. Yes, they can actually handle the emergency at hand without you gawking at them! 3) Listen to that training or motivational audio instead to strengthen your mind and build your skills.
In the long run, you’ll be better off.
And who knows, if we start a mass movement, traffic might flow even better!
Terry Brock is an internationally recognized professional speaker, consultant and author in the fields of business productivity, technology and marketing. He is a syndicated
columnist for Biz Journals across America and can be reached at 407-363-0505 , by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com .
Copyright © 2003, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.
posted by Terry Brock @ Wednesday, October 15, 2003
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