The following contains excepts from the book, The Power of Focus (Jack Canfield)
At our music school in Midland, Texas, we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. When studying the value of relationships, the subjects of leadership, self-leadership, and personal accountability come into play.
In this book Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt explain that three of the biggest challenges facing people today are time pressures, financial pressures and the struggle to maintain a healthy balance between work and home. Their advice is geared toward finding solutions to these challenges, and the strategies they offer are practical. The authors also explain that the main reason most people struggle professionally and personally is simply due to a lack of focus caused by procrastination, distractions and interruptions.
Here’s what’s important: Life doesn’t just happen to you. It’s all about choices and how you respond to every situation. If you are in the habit of continually making bad choices, disaster often occurs. Your everyday choices ultimately determine whether you end up living with abundance or living in poverty. Consistent choices lay the foundation for your habits. Your habits play a major role in how your future unfolds. This includes the habits you display to the business world every day, as well as the variety of behaviors that show up in your personal life. These strategies are not gender specific. One of the most exciting developments in the marketplace today is the rapid growth of women entrepreneurs. Successful people have successful habits; unsuccessful people don’t!
Onen of the most powerful life-skills we can help students at our music school in Midland, Texas develop is the ability to focus, through long-range goals, personal practice, and patient consistency.
Building Excellent Relationships
The Double Spiral
Look at relationships as a spiral that can go upward or downward. These principles apply to both business and personal relationships.
Understanding the Downward Spiral
Have you had a relationship fall apart? Analyze and write down what happened, step-by-step. What went wrong? If you can’t learn what destroyed the relationship, there’s a good chance it will happen again. Some common starting points for the downward spiral are lack of communication, dishonesty, unfulfilled promises and financial problems. If you can see a relationship beginning a downward spiral, you may be able to set things right or at least stop it from happening again.
Understanding the Upward Spiral
Now analyze a relationship that flourished. What did you do to make it grow? The list probably includes giving, trust, common goals, consistent support, keeping promises and good communication. Just like a downward spiral slowly gathers momentum until it spins out of control, an upward spiral gathers momentum until it produces many rich, varied and sometimes unexpected rewards. Understanding the upward spiral can help you save, build upon and forge new relationships.
Core Clients and the Double Win
Core clients. This is a win-win relationship. They generate the most revenue, give you the most referrals and your business basically depends on them. But our research has shown that most businesses spend very little time with them. What could you do to strengthen your relationship with them?
You could: a) Look for ways to improve your service. b) Offer discounts, some free product etc. c) Take them out to lunch and ask if there’s any way you could improve your service (also a good opportunity to get to know them personally) d) All of the above.
Personal Relationships
Are you spending enough time in your most important personal relationships, such as family, friends and mentors? If not, then who’s taking up all the time? It’s time to say ‘No’ to these people who aren’t at the top of your relationships list. Protect this precious time with the most important people in your life.
The Confidence Factor
Confidence is not often thought of as a habit. But it is a habit that you can develop, hone and strengthen, on a daily basis. Don’t expect not to encounter fear, worry or uncertainty- they are a part of life. In the absence of confidence, they take control, hindering progress. With confidence, these forces can be overcome. In the end, confidence is a combination of positive attitude and positive action. Both of these involve the power of choice. It is up to you to choose daily to think more positively and take positive action.
One of our goals at our music school in Midland, Texas is to help students acquire core competencies that give them confidence in whatever artist projects they are working on. The greater skill they gain in these basics, the more confidence they will have.
Resolve Unfinished Business- This means any mess in your life that has not been cleared up, be it financial, legal, career, relationship or health. Often these messes are not faced out of fear. Fear leads to doubt and corrodes your confidence, creating a vicious cycle. Confronting the issue may be uncomfortable and risky. Here is a phrase to help: Step into your fear. Most of the time, it is all in your mind. Living in fear takes an enormous amount of energy. Clear up your unfinished business, then move on. Do this regularly. As issues arise, deal with them with confidence. Enjoy the energy boost that comes with an uncluttered life.
Forgive and Forget- To fully release yourself from the baggage of the past, you must also learn to forgive. First, you need to forgive people who have undermined you in the past, regardless of how serious the situation. This is essential for peace of mind and future happiness. Write a letter, phone; find some way to settle the issue for yourself, and then move on. Second, forgive yourself. You cannot change the past. Do not get caught in ‘It wasn’t my fault’ or ‘Poor me’.
The Road to Freedom Paradigm- This is a component of the personal development programs created by George Addair. The philosophy: everything you want is on the other side of fear. In order to break through this obstacle, clearly identify your fears. The best way to understand how and why you sabotage yourself is to know yourself better. Take the time to really concentrate on this step. You are then in a powerful position to design strategies to counteract your fears.
Six Confidence Building Strategies
1. Every day remind yourself that you did some things well. Don’t beat yourself up over what didn’t work or get done. Focus on what you accomplished.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we teach students that it is not the big events that make a difference, rather it is the daily small wins that add up to create the greatest success.
2. Read inspiring biographies and autobiographies. Sound familiar? Find out about people who found a way to win despite overwhelming odds. Remember, your capacity far exceeds your current performance. Challenges are a reality. You will have difficulties. As you face them, your confidence will grow and you will have plenty of wins.
3. Be thankful. No matter how bad you have it, someone else has it worse. Put things in perspective. Focus on the benefits, things and people that you often take for granted.
4. Build excellent support around you. Surround yourself with people who will encourage, support and uplift you. People who believe in you and the principles you wish to follow.
We intend to build a culture of trust and high expectation at our music school in Midland, Texas, one where our students feel that they can accomplish great things, knowing they have people around them cheering them on.
5. Push yourself to accomplish short-term goals. Getting things done boosts your confidence like nothing else. Create an environment of accomplishment. Each week, focus on your three most important targets. Do something to further your goals every day. Take one small step at a time.
6. Do something for yourself every week. Find a way to celebrate your weekly achievements.
What To Do If You Hit a Slump
- Recognize you are in one. Take time to rethink and refocus. Talk to your support team.
- Remind yourself of a major accomplishment. Concentrate on something you are really proud of. You’ve done it before- you can do it again.
- Get back to basics. Have you lost track of the fundamentals? Are you doing the easy things rather than the rewarding things? Take a break if you need it. Life is full of cycles. Take it one step at a time. You will get back on top.
It all goes back to mastering the basics, or core competencies. At our music school in Midland, Texas these basic foundational skills must be revisited and refined ongoingly. When they are focused on, with patience, the exponential growth will be unmistakable.