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.
Have-To’s
Now let’s review your list. Take a look at each item and, one at a time, put a line through each task. That’s right, cross it of your list.
Here’s why: You don’t have to do any of these things. No, you really don’t! Now, you may be protesting that some of these things really must be done. They can’t be avoided- taxes must be paid, you say. No, you don’t have to pay taxes. You may end up in jail or pay a fine, but you don’t have to pay taxes. These are just the consequences if you don’t pay- but you don’t have to. In case you are a little confused by this, let’s make a simple defining statement: In life, you don’t have to do anything.
Here’s what you need to really understand: Life will give you the consequences (of your actions).
That includes paying taxes, working seventy hours a week, or staying in a job, business or relationship you don’t enjoy.
Now look at your list again- will your world really come to an end if you do not complete these tasks in the next three months? Of course not. You may not be happy if you don’t complete them, and there may be real consequences if you don’t. We understand that. The big point we are making is that you don’t have to.
Let’s switch gears for a minute. (If you are still confused, bear with us. Everything will become crystal-clear shortly.) Notice the words you selected to describe your feelings. Based on years of experience, we’d guess a lot of those words are negative, especially if the task is something you have been putting o for a while or are not looking forward to. It’s normal to feel anxious, concerned, or frustrated in these situations. Take another look at the words you used. What sort of energy do these “feeling” words bring out in you- negative or positive? You’re right! If the feeling is negative, you automatically create a negative energy that drains your capacity to perform at a high level.
Choose-To’s
Now, make a list of at least six things you want to do, or choose to do in the next three months. This is a different list. What are you really looking forward to doing? Again, choose a word to describe how you feel about completing each item on your list.
Now look at those feeling words. They are probably much more positive than the ones on your Have-To list. If your activities are producing positive energy, then you will have a greater capacity and desire to complete them. Isn’t it better to be feeling happy and excited instead of worried and frustrated?
At this point you may be thinking, “Well, it’s easy to feel good about the things I want to do, but life isn’t always like that. There are a lot of things I don’t like to do, but I have to do them anyway. That’s just the way it is.”
No, it isn’t. Here’s the mega-point: Everything in life is a choice. Absolutely everything.
1. What bad habits are holding you back?
2. What new habits do you need to develop in order to reach your goals?
3. In what areas of your life do you need to consistently persist?
4. How would being consistent change your results?
5. Do you have a proactive game plan for your business? If no, create one now!
6. Are you embracing the power of choice?
7. What are you going to choose to focus on accomplishing during the next thirty days?
At our music school in Midland, Texas we encourage students to be proactive in their decisions. They may or may not like to practice on a daily basis, but they will enjoy the results.
The Double-A Formula- This formula stands for Agreements and Accountability. Adopting this formula 100 percent will make immeasurable differences in your personal and professional lives. All broken relationships can be traced back to broken agreements. As a society, we seem to be having more difficulty in keeping agreements. Just look at all the lawyers we need as a result! Stand out by maintaining your integrity. How? Keep your agreements. Every day you make agreements, and every day others judge you by your actions afterwards. And remember, there are no small agreements. Repeatedly breaking agreements diminishes your reputation and eventually loses your business or relationships. When you develop the habit of consistently keeping little agreements, the big ones follow naturally. As do the rewards. Perhaps the biggest reward comes from knowing that you are a person of high integrity. It is usually possible to renegotiate when you are having difficulty keeping an agreement. Taking the time to do so maintains your integrity.
One of the great benefits to having teachers and coaches is that you become accountable to your agreement with them, based upon consent. At our music school in Midland, Texas we value the decisions students and parents have made to pursue future growth, and we stand with them, providing accountability for those decisions.
The Integrity Factor
1. When you always tell the truth, people trust you.
2. When you do what you say, as promised, people respect you.
3. When you make others feel special, people like you. The words ‘as promised’ in point two are important. Used in your correspondence they subtly reinforce that you do follow through. Applying the Integrity factor will put you in the top 3 percent of performers. Your clients will be more than happy to refer you. And that can only be good news!
Taking Decisive Action
Are you a procrastinator? Do you constantly put things off before a last minute scramble? Procrastination will cripple your future if you don’t do something about it, and fast.
Six good reasons you may be procrastinating:
1. You’re bored
2. You are overwhelmed with work
3. Your confidence has slipped
4. You have low self-esteem
5. You are doing work you don’t really enjoy
6. You are easily distracted, or just downright lazy!
Active Decision-making- Remember the Double Spiral, be aware if you begin to start to slip into a downward spiral. Visualize two pictures. One is an image of what will happen if you keep putting off this task. Make it as vivid an image as you can, after all this is what will really happen. The other image is your future if you take action now; imagine all the good that will come if you do it now. If the temptation to put something off enters your mind, visualize those two pictures immediately to help you make the right decision.
The TA-DA Formula
Do the following when you need to make a decision:
1. Think. We’ve talked about this a lot. The more you think and consider all the implications of a decision, the better the decision will be.
2. Ask as many questions as you can. Find out everything you need to know from a variety of sources. Don’t over analyze, but make a well informed decision
3. Decide. This is half the battle. Many just can’t make a decision. If you sit on the fence for too long, you’ll get stuck.
4. Act. This is the critical step. Everything depends on taking action. Nothing will change until you do.
Living On Purpose
There are people between thirty-five and fifty-five who come to a point in their lives and ask: ‘Is this all there is?’ Something is missing. Eventually they realize that there is more to life than paying off the house and accumulating material things. This principle encompasses everything in this book. It is the master of all the other strategies. Even if you have many success habits, great goals, take action and achieve them all, you may still not be satisfied. We crave a purpose, to make a difference.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we encourage students to have a big picture and see the value in studying music. As they find joy in making progress, it not only benefits them, but also brings beauty and inspiration to their community.
Three key points that will help you find your purpose:
1. Align your purpose with your natural ability. You are given talents for a reason. If your purpose is conflicting with your talents then uncertainty can result. That’s not the way it should be.
2. Be determined. Never give up. Your purpose should consume you; let nothing stand in its way. Your life will be fulfilled each day as you do what you were born to do.
3. Maintain a humble attitude. The people who have done the most good in our world were not concerned about getting the limelight. Is your purpose really just about ego? No. When you find your purpose, it will most likely involve helping or lifting others.
The greatest joy we have at our music school in Midland, Texas is to lift up the lives of the students we serve, along with their families. We encourage not only musical disciplines, but life-lessons and character development in each student. Knowing that their lives will ultimately enrich others is highly rewarding.