“You can’t be the best at everything.” – Pat Mesiti
Successful people have great focus. They know what their strengths are and choose to do only what they’re good at. Often times, trying to do too many things, or spreading yourself too thin, will lead to you being less effective and in turn, less successful.
There was a time when I ran 6 organisations and sat on all of their boards along with juggling other activities. I freely admit that I was doing too much and spreading myself too thin – I lost focus and couldn’t maintain the necessary level of intensity, an intensity that only comes through focus…….eventually I learned from my mistake and I hope you can too.
Focus for strength
Your busy lifestyle may mean doing several things at the same time. While multi tasking may eventually help you get things done, you may notice that your strength is sapped at the end of the day, making it difficult for you to enjoy life outside of work or your business. On the other hand, doing things a step at a time enables you to focus clearly on any endeavor, resulting in better outcomes while leaving you enough energy to enjoy life after work.
Focus for better quality
A day only has so many hours for you to spend doing a limited number of activities. This includes enough time for sleeping, eating, bathing and other personal necessities. People who try to do too much in one day end up doing things haphazardly as they rush to meet their schedules. When the quality of your work or output suffers, you end up doing things all over again. What is more important than getting so many things done is doing things the right way and at the first shot.
Focus on being good at selected things, not everything
There are a few rare exceptions, but most of us can rarely excel at everything we put our hand to. Additionally, we should look to bringing into our lives, things which enhance us and move us in the direction we want to go. Chopping and changing all the time, chasing the ‘next best thing’ will burn you out, unless you know where you want to go and have the focus and determination to get there.
Warren Buffet became the worlds most successful stock market investor, because amongst many qualities he has focus – he knows what sort of stock he is looking for and when he sees it, he buys it. Look at Rupert Murdoch as another example – he has built his vast empire by only buying into businesses which help him develop his core media business.
Tips for better focus
Review what’s in your life right now. Ask yourself what your priorities are and trim those activities that do not help you reach your goals. Don’t take on more than you can handle. When you prune some things out of your long list of things to do, you will experience more success life.
Most importantly, ask yourself, are you getting what you want out of life? If you are not getting what you want, what are you doing? your outcomes are the direct decendants of your actions and your actions are the result of your mindset!
If you are not getting what you want, go back to the drawing board, review your life, set some objectives and goals, then direct your focus at achieving them…remember, you can not keep your focus on achieving that which you do not desire, or that which does not bring you joy.
Tags: financial freedom, millionare, mindset, Pat Mesiti
