Focus Your Life One Step at a Time

sat up in my bed after waking up from an unsettling dream.  For a moment I was frozen trying to clear my mind’s cobwebs and that’s when I heard it.  The sound was unmistakable.  It was the sound of moving water, almost like the sound of a toilet flushing. The only problem was that there were only two people in the house – my one-year-old niece and me. 

While I believe her to be gifted and special, she was not big enough or smart enough to navigate the trip upstairs to the restroom.  I thought about what to do next only to realize that I had to investigate the issue.  If something was seriously wrong, I needed to know so I could respond as quickly as possible. 

Nervously, I tip toed past the baby’s crib and headed down into the basement.  As I stepped down the sounds of water became louder and louder.  In fact, it sounded as if I were in the middle of an aquarium.  “Lord Jesus” I sighed as I listened to the water running loudly in the pipes.  I didn’t know what the problem was, but I knew that my sister and brother in-law had left me in charge of their child and home.  As the sounds of water continued, I wondered what to do next. 

It was 3AM. 

I checked around and there were no signs of water, but I couldn’t ignore what I was hearing.  I worried that at any moment a pipe would burst and I’d be fleeing the house with my niece in tow a la Titanic style. 

I decided to reach out to my god brother.  I knew he kept crazy hours and it was possible that a 3AM text would get a response.  Sure enough, in fifteen minutes he returned my call and with his guidance, I was able to test a few things out and have peace of mind.  Later on as I reflected on my thought process when facing a potential emergency, it occurred to me that my mind was one track -- the only thing that mattered was my niece’s safety.   As I worked to figure out what was going on in the basement, I had a contingency plan that included having all her necessities in a bag that I could easily grab along with my keys by the front door.

I had focus and although there were a thousand things that I could’ve thought about, I was able to clearly think of what needed to be done to achieve the goal of caring for my niece safely.  I realized that if I faced every day with that type of focus, I could eliminate the thousands of distractions and time wasters that seem to crowd out a sense of purpose.

Today, I want to share a few things you can do to jumpstart some focus in your own life:

First, count to three: We’ve been conditioned to buying into the all or nothing philosophy.  The reality is that we can’t have everything.  What’s more is that we probably wouldn’t want it all if we could.  At any given point in your life, you should only have a maximum of three things that are taking priority in your life and schedule.   For instance, if you are focused on building or starting a business you can’t scatter and focus your energy on trying to do everything.  One month your focus could be on researching the right infrastructure, the next it could be on determining what your brand will be and then the next month something different.  It doesn’t mean that you ignore all else – but it means that you devote your core time and energy to a specific area of focus so that you can learn and master it well. 

So think about your life and imagine where you want it to be in thirty days.  Determine what will need to make a priority in order for this to happen.  Schedule your time and calendar around achieving this goal.

Pack your emergency bag:  What do you absolutely need to have if you can’t have everything?  Many times in life we fail to execute on our ideas and desires, because we convince ourselves that we need certain things in order to be happy or in order to be successful.  The truth is that we can get by with far less than we’ve become conditioned to having.   I’m from Miami and hurricane season was a part of life.   When threatened with a storm, government agencies and news shows often posted lists of things that we had to have in order to survive.   It all fits in a single bag. 

Your next challenge is to think about a project that you’ve desired to complete.  It could be losing weight, writing a book or working on a relationship.   Sit down and list the bare minimum that is required. If something on your list is something that you can’t or don’t have…do some research and find another option.  It’s all got to fit in a bag that you can carry.

Call in your clean-up crew:  Sometimes you need an extra set of hands to get things tidied up.  Getting the insights of a trusted friend, mentor or counselor to help you de-clutter whatever area of your life it is that you wish to work on.  Two sets of hands and minds working on the issues are better than one.  These individuals should be more than trusted; they should also be skilled at doing what you want to do.  People who know how to do something well, also tend to do it quicker.  Sometimes it is our lack of knowledge and expertise that slows us down. 

If you’re interested in cleaning up your finances, find a financial advisor who can help you get things together.  If you want to lose weight, consider joining a weight loss organization that can equip you with strategies to help you eliminate the obstacles to your goals.  Your clean-up crew will also help you execute steps 1 and 2.  

Live It!   Change won’t start until you start changing.  Get to work on these three strategies!