Make focus your focal point

From the diamond desk of                        
I. C. Clinton                                                                   

A cure for poverty of the mind and the pocket

Subject: What successful people             
do that you too should start doing

“There are too many people in too many carts, in too much of a hurry, going too many directions, to get nowhere for nothing.” (John Manson.)

I recently made the mistake a vast majority of mankind often make in many aspects of their personal and business lives: I put my entire eggs not in one basket but in too many; I scattered my money in different directions assuring myself it’s a good thing to diversify my investment, and this time I did it a little too much. One thing I didn’t realize at the time’s that as I was putting my money in different ventures at the same time, I was consequentially  scattering my attention in different directions, which of course put me in danger of losing focus, and I did lose focus. Yes, I lost focus, and I lost money, but I learned a valuable lesson. And why am I sharing what I learned with you? Because I want you to learn from my mistakes so that you will not fall into the same errors and lose focus as well as your money.

 “Behold the fool saith, ‘Put not all thine eggs in one basket’ – which is but a manner of saying, ‘Scatter your money and your attention.’ But the wise saith, ‘Put all your eggs in one basket and – watch that basket.’” (Mark Twain.)

I know you will tell me that it is a good thing to diversify your business or investment. While that may not be a bad idea, it’s bad to kick off more than one business project at a time, and more so, at the wrong time. My recent experience shows that the best time to diversify your business is when you have fully established yourself in a particular venture and made your bones in such enterprise, and not when you are starting out newly or beginning afresh after a major setback. If you are in retail business for instance and have a brand that has won the patronage and confidence of a wide spectrum of consumers, it may be OK for you to diversify by entering other areas related to your present business, but not when you are still trying to build a brand and make it acceptable to the public.  The latter stage is a very wrong stage to begin a diversification exercise, and you should not attempt to do it. Also, no matter the stage you are at in your business, unless you are one of them mega companies who have the wherewithal to hire the best team or outsource many of their operations, never begin more than one new business project at the same time. I made that terrible mistake. I put my thoughts and my money into three different projects at the same time, and it was the wrong time. Indeed I was foolish: I scattered my attention and my money, and I reaped nothing but loss of concentration and loss of cash. Do your best not to do what I did and your experience will be better. 

Gotta catch sight of it...

Focus generates power

If you need power to accomplish great things you must learn to achieve focus on one thing at a time. By focus I mean that you should always tackle an issue at a time. Doing that is like having one objective in a scientific experiment. When you think or work on too many things per time, you drain yourself of the creative energy and ability to find appropriate answer to the challenge or issue you want to tackle. But focusing on one thing per time pumps you up with enough creative energy to accomplish your set goal. Objective or focused thinking will make you more creative, focused work will make you more productive. Thomas Edison had one objective, and that was to invent an electric bulb. He concentrated on it: he thought about it all the time and worked on it almost all the time; and though he made almost ten thousand attempts and failed, he did not lose focus or give up till he succeeded. Now that is objective thinking, or you could say, focus in its finest form! Maintaining focus is a prerequisite for success in any venture or enterprise.

You can do more by doing less

It’s true that if you chase two rabbits both will escape. The right thing to do is to chase one rabbit at a time, capture and remand that one rabbit before chasing another. Start one thing and get through with it before moving on to something else. Accomplish each undertaking successfully before taking on another. Undertaking too much at a time makes you a victim of near success syndrome, a dangerous disease that leaves you powerless and unable to accomplish anything successfully. As my dad would always say, nearly doesn’t kill a bird! You might at some point be able to kill two birds with a single stone, but that can only happen by chance, and you cannot entrust your destiny or purpose to chance, it’s foolish and dangerous to do so. If you can focus your energies on one thing at a time, you will discover that you will excel more in that one thing than in any two or more different things you may pursue at a time, no matter how hard you may work on the latter. James Liter said, “One thought driven home is better than three left on base.” Don’t sow your wild oats on the wrong farm or invest your thoughts on too many things of little consequence at the same time – don’t expend your energies on the construction of three canoes when you can focus on building one ship and get it completed. Stop trying to chase two rabbits at a time, chase an elephant instead. “One day at a time” is a song many of us love to sing; and I bet it’s not only a beautiful song but a successful piece of music. Concerning those other things and the way forward, here is what I advise you do, listen to John Mason when he asks you to “Begin by delegating, simplifying or eliminating low priorities as soon as possible.” No doubt, you can do more by doing less.

Jack of all trades, master of none: Is that you?

Not many of us are privileged to be famous for many things. Most famous people we know are famous for either being an actor, a musician, designer, writer, footballer, preacher, etc. While Apple is engaged in different business ventures, the company is well known for its smart computer devices. Microsoft is certainly engaged in other kinds of software engineering and programming, but we think more of the company when we think of Windows. We know J. J. Okocha better as a footballer than we know him as an Hotelier or anything else. Although Apostle Paul was also a tent maker among other things, we know him for the powerful gospel he preached and scores of gentile souls he won for Christ and His kingdom. Set a target and meet that target before moving on to something else. Choose a course and commit to it till you make your mark. Don’t be in a hurry to diversify.

Find your mark and press towards it

When we were young and my mom was still around, she would often quote Apostle Paul’s famous confession and explain to us how his exploits in ministry derived from that statement that tell the story of his intense focus on his calling. My mom always did this whenever she wanted to teach us the importance of focus and commitment to one’s chosen course or career. In addition to Apostle Paul’s story, she would tell us how a constant drop of water on a stone creates a crack on it. She would then link this interesting example to apostle Paul’s unflinching faith in The Way, and his commitment to the work of the ministry and preaching of the gospel of Christ, which she said did not only convince and convert unimaginable number of gentiles, but also brought him fame and earned him the enviable status of the greatest apostle of all time.   My mom was right about the stone example as she was about Apostle Paul; for I have grown up to observe with my own naked eyes a crack created on a stone by constant drop of water on it. I have also learned, through study, that Apostle Paul was so focused and committed to his calling that he in time rose to become the dean of his vocation. He was so focused that he studied everything about the law and the prophets, the Jews and the gentiles, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and became so knowledgeable and authoritative in his understanding and preaching of The Way of Life that he almost singlehandedly turned the first mass of convertible gentiles into members of The Way. Paul, through his infectious conviction about his faith and calling, became so powerfully persuaded and persuasive that even today it is not uncommon to hear some Christians say, “I am of Apostle Paul’s persuasion.” No doubt, the gospel flowered in the wake of his powerful and persuasive preaching. Maybe the key to his success is found in his confession: “This is one thing I do… I press towards the mark.” Now, that is focus! Make it your focal point.       

Constant drop of water on a stone creates a crack.

Until next time.

Your man,

- I. C. Clinton

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