Written by Christopher Howard
If you were to take a 250-watt light bulb and plug it into a power source, you could light up a room. But if you directed that same 250 watts of energy through a laser, you could cut through steel. That’s the power of focus.
Harness your own attention and intention, and you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.
Persistent focus is one of the most common traits of billionaires. Those who enjoy wealth and success have a way of setting their mind to one goal or skill they are passionate about until they master it. Warren Buffett once said: “I’m like a Tiger Woods, or a Michael Jordan, these people have an incredible ability to focus.”
From day to day, Buffett pours his attention on reading financial reports and analysing businesses so that he can interpret the numbers and recognize the investments that will pay off over time. Thomas Edison once had an idea he believed in passionately he thought he could find a way to harness electricity so that homes could remain brightly lit after sunset. However improbable others said it was, he persisted through thousands of failed attempts until the light bulb became a reality and literally lit up the world. Edison kept his mind riveted on this one vision until he saw it through to fruition.
Focus comes naturally from passion. So choose goals that you are passionate about. The stories behind both Gates’ and Edison’s success are rife with technical difficulties, personal challenges, stiff competition and outside resistance. Yet, it was their single-mindedness of purpose that lent them almost super-human strength to persist and overcome obstacles. Their focus and resolve proved a stronger force than any outer circumstances that came along.
So how do you access your own power of focus? And more importantly, how do you direct it like that laser to cut a path straight to your dreams and create the life you personally desire? The answers to these questions take us deeper into the exciting mechanics of the mind and imagination, which work together like a wealth propulsion system.
It turns out, our ability to direct and re-direct our attention what we choose to look at, listen to, say to ourselves is a major key to overcoming any obstacles to success. When you shift your thoughts away from what you don’t want, and consistently train your attention on the experiences you do want, you actually improve your ability to create those desired experiences.
This is confirmed by leading neuroscientist, Dr. Michael Merzenich, who says: “Change comes primarily from the things we pay attention to.”
The fact is, the brain has habitual thought patterns that the mind you can override. Too many people act as if their mind has a mind of its own, and they themselves have no control over what they get in life. Habitual thinking, usually based on past conditioning, perpetuates getting the same results over and over again.
By creating a vivid picture of yourself achieving the kind of success you want, you are using the power of imagination to design your own reality. Write down your goals. Continue learning. Give yourself the neurological experience of having already attained sweet success. Then practice, practice, practice. Focus is like any other skill or athletic ability. Every outcome you could ever desire exists first as a possibility in your mind. By harnessing the power of your focus, you could light up the whole world.
Chris Howard, is promoted in Australia and New Zealand by Universal Events. Visit www.universalevents.com.au
