Leadership Is Essential

Choosing isn’t just about what you say yes to, it is even more about what you are saying no to

We are now a few weeks into the New Year. Studies show a big majority of people set goals or resolutions at the start of the year. Research also shows that most people have given up on their goals before the end of January.

 

How can you beat the odds and make this year your best ever? Of course there is no shortage of advice on how to realize your goals. But most of this well-meaning encouragement doesn’t actually help you with the real challenges. Working with millions of leaders over the last six decades, we have learned what truly works to help people achieve their goals. I will lay out these key principles over the next few articles.

 

The first key is focus. 

 

You see, one of the biggest challenges people have in working towards their dreams is distraction. Changing your trajectory and achieving something awesome requires incredible focus - you won’t become ultra successful part time. The real problem is that it is very easy in today’s world to be become distracted. There are so many different “shiny objects” competing for our attention it’s extremely easy to lose our focus.

 

Focus is all about making a choice. There is a saying, “You can have anything you want in life, but you can’t have everything.”  In other words, you can achieve almost anything you want, but you have to be willing to not achieve other things. You have to choose the success you want. Most people won’t make this choice, so they end up pursuing many things – and achieving none.  

 

Martin Meadows said, “This is the hard truth about focus that you must accept: you must make sacrifices in order to develop a powerful focus, and the more you’re willing to sacrifice, the more focused and effective you’ll be.”  So if you can’t have everything, the key is to accomplish the dream you want most, one that will make the biggest difference in your life.

 

Steve Jobs said, “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”

 

Choosing isn’t just about what you say yes to, it is even more about what you are saying no to. When you make a choice it can’t just be – This is what I am pursuing.  It also has to be – This is the only thing I am pursuing right now.  Too many people choose a goal, but then they let other goals distract them. Having too many goals is one of the biggest obstacles to great success. Michael Porter said, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”

 

So to achieve focus and great success, it is time to make a choice. I want you to choose one business dream and one personal dream. These two dreams will be your entire focus until they are achieved. Take time to go through your dreams and carefully decide which two dreams you want to pursue right now. It doesn’t mean you are giving up on your other dreams, it just means they aren’t your priority and focus right now. Sometime in the future, you may make some other dream your primary goal. In fact, by choosing two dreams you are adding motivation and urgency to those dreams. Because your other dreams have to wait, you will be even more motivated to accomplish your two dreams as soon as possible! Focus is an absolute key to motivation. 

 

Be sure to make your choices with a lot of thought and reflection. Pick dreams that are truly important to you. Don’t pick dreams that you think you’re supposed to achieve, or dreams that others want you to pursue. You will know you have picked the right dreams when you feel an awesome sense of freedom and an exhilaration and excitement to pursue your cherished dreams. There is unbelievable freedom, clarity, purpose, and passion in knowing your chosen path forward.  

 

Please use the next weekend to reflect on your dream lists and make your choice on which dreams you will commit to. Remember, focus is a critical factor for success. Orrison Swett Marden, one of the fathers of the personal improvement discipline, said, “Every great man has become great, every successful man has succeeded, in proportion as he has confined his powers to one particular channel.”  

 

Your success will be determined by your focus. Great focus = great success. Put the power of focus to work for you right now. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. 2024 really starts the moment you commit and focus!

 

Curated by Bizwiz Learning, Source LMI

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