Unleash Your Focus to Multiply Your Results

“Concentration is inspiration. You must be completely overtaken by your work and your subject. Only then do all your influences and experience come up to the surface.”—Cesar Chavez

Was there a day in your life when you totally got overtaken by an assignment or study? 

If yes, chances are, the output from that engagement stood for a long time—or even till today. That’s the life-giving power of focus and it’s what we will be studying now.

In virtually all walks of life, focus is the overriding force that separates the grain from the chaff. The founder of Luxy Hair, Alex Ikonn, was quite on point when he said, “A singular focus is the most important thing in business.”

And, that is because focus brings all our faculties into a single point which makes us so formidable that any impediment—no matter how large—eventually melts away into nothingness.

Al Ries, the author of the book, Focus, gets it and he gives a clear display of how focus works with the analogy of the Sun and a laser:

“The sun is a powerful source of energy. Every hour the sun washes the earth with billions of kilowatts of energy. Yet with a hat and some sunscreen you can bathe in the light of the sun for hours at a time with few ill effects. 

A laser is a weak source of energy. But with a laser {and the Sun}, you can drill a hole in a diamond or wipe out a cancer. A laser takes a few watts of energy and focuses them in a coherent stream of light. 

When we focus, we create the same effect. We create a powerful, laser-like ability to get anything done in our lives that we desire.”

You see, the key to producing a great result in any undertaking lies in the application of the lesson in the above analysis religiously.

So what’s important to you now?  

Do you want to grow your business?

Do you want to master a craft?

Do you want to lose weight?

Whatever it is, when you are sure of the right answer, then it is time to bring focus alive.

Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-born U.S. industrialist and philanthropist also agreed by explaining this powerful principle in the language of business. He said:

“Concentrate your energy, thought and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged...'Don't put all your eggs in one basket' is all wrong. I tell you 'put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket.'

Now that is focus excellently simplified.

Also, Steve Jobs single-minded focus brought tremendous success to Apple Inc.  And he narrated his strategy of focus and execution with the following words: 

“It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. 

We are always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on things that are really important.”

According to Apple CEO, Tim Cook, he said Steve Jobs was a “no” man most of the time as he stubbornly ensured you stayed focused on doing only what you do best. For them to remain focused on what mattered most, he said, “The hardest decisions we make are all the things not to work on.”

Focus massively counts in key areas of our lives. As asserted in the opening quote by the American labour leader and civil right activist, Cesar Chavez, I challenge you and myself to decide the change we most need to make now, and focus exclusively on them until we get the results we want.

If we can do this repeatedly, we will literally astonish ourselves. Focus is power.