Eugene Moreau – Being Focused (Part 1)

 Read more articles by Eugene Moreau.

"Human energy is like the energy of light. When it is dissipated, as in the average light bulb, it gets work done in an average way. But when that same energy is focused and concentrated in a single direction, as with a laser beam, it has the power to cut through any kind of obstacle. In the same way, whereas the average person disperses his/her energy into a broad spectrum of pursuits, the person of 'genius' is able to harness his or her energy, beam it toward one single pursuit at a time, and accomplish far more than others. This principle of concentration of energy also applies when you are considering the efforts of a large group of people – an organization. The success of that organization is directly related to the amount of energy its people are willing to invest, and to its ability to harness and direct those energies toward a single, burning purpose."
Mission Possible By Ken Blanchard 1997

"The sun sits at the centre of the solar system and emits energy as electromagnetic radiation at an extremely large and relatively constant rate, 24 hours per day, 365 days of the year. The rate at which this energy is emitted is equivalent to the energy coming from a furnace at a temperature of about 6,000 K (10,340ºF). If we could harvest the energy coming from just 10 hectares (25 acres) of the surface of the sun, we would have enough to supply the current energy demand of the world."
Power From The Sun by William B. Stine and Michael Geyer 2001

The Awesome Power Of Focus

Every hour our planet is washed with billions of kilowatts of energy and yet we go about our personal and business affairs thinking nothing of it. Just the other day my wife and I decided to take a different route for our walk and we headed towards Mangere Mountain. Now, to call it a mountain in the presence of our good friends Peter & Jane who have actually climbed a real mountain (Mt Kilimanjaro) would be embarrassing, but all the same, we made our way there. As we walked I observed the sun bathing down on us, it was warm, refreshing, invigorating. We could have stayed out in the sun for hours with a hat and some +30 sunscreen. I find it fascinating that with all of this power the sun will have minimal effect on us as long as we take proper precautions and protect ourselves.

Now, let's compare the energy and power of the sun with the energy and power of a laser beam. A laser beam is a relatively weak source of energy when compared to the sun, would you not agree? A laser takes a few watts of energy and focuses them into a single concentrated stream of light. Lasers play a pivotal role in our everyday lives, too. The fact is a laser shows up in an amazing range of products and technologies. You'll find a laser in things like CD players to dental drills to high-speed metal cutting mac­hines to measuring systems, tattoo removal, hair replacement, eye surgery — they all use lasers. Lasers use the principle of focus.

When you are being focused you create the same effect as a laser. I saw a memorable programme several years ago about the sport of mountain bike riding. They were interviewing a professional mountain bike rider and when asked his secret for success he said, "I focus on the gap not the rock."

It's like when new drivers are learning how to race, one of the very first things they are taught is what to focus on when they go into a spin. The natural tendency is to focus on the wall they are trying to avoid hitting, and they usually wind up hitting the wall. Instead they are taught to focus not on the wall, but to focus on where they want to go. In this way, they have a better chance of avoiding the wall and successfully getting out of the spin. That's the power of being focused!

So, the question is, how does a person go about being focused in such a way so as to defeat the enemy called average? Well the answer is in four parts and today we'll address the first part which is to Avoid Negativity. Over the next few weeks we will address the remaining three parts, which are: Pursue a Worthwhile Mission, Replace Hope With Purpose and Stay On Track.

Avoid Negativity

Where we place our focus, the: rest of our mind and emotions will follow. Sometimes we find ourselves focusing on the wrong things, like negative things. Focusing on negativity has never defeated the enemy called average!

What we must do is focus on what is most important and most often what is negative is not most important! As one writer so aptly described it, "If everything was important then nothing would be important". We need to develop the habit of focusing on what's important and our mind and emotions will follow.

One of the most impacting books ever written is 'Man's Search for Meaning' by Victor Frankl. Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. Everything was taken away from these prisoners. They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings. They even took away their names and gave them numbers. Frankl was number 119,104.

Everything was taken away except one thing. Frankl said, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances."

I'm absolutely convinced that the most important choice you make everyday is your attitude. Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. The outcome of your life, your job, your business, your marriage, even your relationships, will be determined by whether you’re negative or positive focused.

If you have a critical or complaining attitude or behaviour you'll complain till the day you die. Your life will get worse and worse because you'll accumulate more and more negative experiences.

But if you avoid negativity life gets better and better. Why? Because you accumulate positive memories and at the end of the day, one-way or the other, your focus determines your reality!

Sometimes we have to zoom out and look at the big picture in order to create focus. That's what the following college student did in writing this letter:

Dear Mum and Dad. I have so much to tell you. Because of the fire in my dorm set off by student riots, I experienced temporary lung damage and had to go to the hospital. While I was there, I fell in love with an orderly, and we have moved in together. I dropped out of school when I found out I was pregnant, and he got fired because of his drinking, so we're going to move to Alaska, where we might get married after the birth of our baby.  Your loving daughter.  

PS: None of this really happened, but I did flunk my chemistry class and I wanted to help you keep it in perspective.

Sometimes we need to zoom out and look at the big picture.

The first step in zooming out is avoiding negativity. I read a fascinating statistic recently. Research indicates that the average person talks to himself or herself about 50,000 times a day. Any guess on what percentage of that 'self conversation' is negative? Research indicates that 80% of self-talk is negative.

In her book, Mindfulness, Ellen Langer says that all of us have 'premeditated cognitive commitments. Translation: we tend to see what we're looking for. A pessimist will always see something bad in a good situation and an optimist will always see something good in a bad situation.

Negativity is like poison to performance in business, sport, education, growing up, raising children, and any other relationship you care to name. In fact, negative input seeps into our consciousness and changes the direction of our thought patterns. When we get around 'negativity' we become judgmental and harsh, even when we believe we are doing it in love.

If you picture negativity to be like a swift, determined invader of your 'being' – who you are, the way you talk, the way you think, the way you live and once it's in poison it starts to work its deadly intent.

The very first step in 'Being Focused' is avoiding negativity. Don't go near it and don't let it get near you!  Stay completely away from negative input and you will find it much easier to maintain a positive frame of mind.

With a positive frame of mind your personal performance will lift and you will find the enemy called average will die of starvation. Developing a positive mindset is one of the most powerful and most rewarding life and business strategies there is. Positive thinking and a powerful attitude is an essential key in life success and having a healthy mind and body. Positive mindset is your key to success in life and in business. At a personal level it will transform your life, your health and renew your passion for life. Professionally, you can use the power of a positive mindset to create success and reach your financial goals.

Positive people can recognise good opportunities and realize their potential. Negative people fail to recognize opportunity when it is presented to them. Positive people expect to succeed and negative people expect to fail. Whether you believe you can or cannot achieve something……..as Henry Ford was famous for saying….. "You are right!"

Having a positive or negative mindset is merely a choice. Choosing to have a positive mindset will allow you to attract amazing opportunities and successes in your life. Choosing to be negative will only attract more negativity and failures in your life. How will you choose to live your life?

Make the decision today, right now, this minute, to defeat the enemy called average and be focused on positivity.

Next week we'll explore Part Two in 'Being Focused’, which is to ‘Pursue a Worthwhile Mission’.

Until then…..focus on the positive……defeat the enemy called average.

Eugene.

For more of Eugene’s writings and information please visit www.eugenemoreau.com

Part One of the Series – Defeating the Enemy Called Average