Single-Eyed Focus
Being singularly-minded is about prioritizing what's important, and narrowing your focus to achieve your desired outcome.
My son knows I love to read, so for Christmas, he presented me with a copy of "Masters of Command", a leadership look at Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar. It's as much a history lesson in how three decisive conquerers made leadership decisions, some good, some not so good, and what they learned from each.
Hannibal was not your typical military leader. He often did the unexpected, such as crossing the Alps with 37 elephants to invade another country. While his ultimate quest for conquest was unsuccessful, there's a lot we can learn from what he (as well as Alexander and Caesar) did.
In one military excursion, Hannibal led his troops through a swamp in order to surprise his opponents. Heavy rains made the swamp nearly impassable, so his opponents did not expect him to attempt something so foolhardy. Hannibal sent his best troops across the swamp first, knowing as the thousands of soldiers and elephants trudged through the swamp, the water-soaked land beneath them would essentially liquify and turn into a muddy quagmire.
Hannibal lost many men and several elephants during this soggy traverse, as they sank into the bog and drowned or succumbed to the perils of the swamp. With what troops remained, he emerged and engaged the enemy, luring them into a trap and slaughtering them. It was not so much a battle as it was a massacre.
During the trek through the swamp, one of Hannibal's eyes became infected. Being more concerned about his men than his own welfare, he ignored his need for medical attention and continued urging his troops forward. By the time they emerged, the infection has robbed Hannibal of his sight in one eye.
Interestingly, the Celts, who were fighting with Hannibal, saw this as a sign of good fortune from the Gods. One of their major deities was a God who closed one eye when going into battle so he could be singularly focused on the task at hand and not be distracted. They saw Hannibal as the personification of this Celt deity and rallied them to fight even harder for him and his cause.
According to the writers of that era who chronicled his exploits, Hannibal did not seem to be bothered by the loss of vision in one eye, as it gave him a singleness of focus and minimized the distractions around him. It did not minimize his ability to lead, to see the opportunities before them, and strategically seize them.
So, what can we learn from Hannibal?
A major distraction to most people's success is a lack of singleness of purpose. Napoleon Hill, in his immortal classic, "Think and Grow Rich", he discusses the importance of a chief, definite aim - one singular goal or objective for which you dedicate your thoughts, energy, and life.
But less than 5% of people even take the time to clearly identify, define, and refine their goals to arrive at a chief, definite aim - a singular purpose they will pursue.
They are NOT single-minded in their focus.
Remember, successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do sometimes, or not at all. If you want to accomplish more, become more, you've got to do what's necessary to become singularly-focused on your success.
I recently taught a free Masterclass entitled, "New Year, New You". In that workshop, I shared a simple exercise you can use to identify your chief, definite aim. It's answering in as few words as possible, the 3 W's.
What is your goal?
Why do you want to accomplish it?
When do you want to achieve it?
Most people have good intentions, but in failing to become single-minded in their focus, it's easy to get distracted, chase the "shiny objects" vying for our attention, or get caught up in being active (doing stuff) we never get anything of real significance accomplished.
Don't let that person be you.
And if you're working on more than one goal at a time, such as losing weight and being more productive at work. You've got to be singularly focused on the desired outcomes for each of these objectives and avoid the distractions that can deter you from doing what is required to reach your goal.
Our brains have a tendency to only focus on what's before us at the moment, so if we allow ourselves to become distracted, tempted to chase the proverbial rabbits, we find ourselves focusing our time, energy, and attention on way too many things throughout the day that the important things don't get done.
Just because you're active, and doing things, it doesn't mean you're spending quality time focused on the BIG things you want to accomplish. But how often do we equate being busy with being productive? They're two very different things.
As my parents used to remind me growing up, "John, don't get busy doing so many different things you can't keep the main thing the main thing."
Good advice Mom and Dad, thank you.
To keep the main thing the main thing, apply the Paetro Principle to being single-minded in your focus. After you've identified your chief, definite aim, focus 80% of your time, energy, and effort throughout the day on achieving this goal. The remaining 20% can be devoted to the other things you need to do.
Being singularly-minded in your focus is about prioritizing what's important, and narrowing your focus to the specific tasks necessary to achieve your desired outcome. It's about creating a plan to reach your goal and executing on it every single day.
Remember, successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do sometimes, or not at all.
And don't forget that a goal without a plan is only a wish.
An Olympic sprinter comes out of the starting blocks and as his head comes up, he purposely gazes forward, his eyes fixed on the finish line before him. He doesn't look to the left or the right, as this only slows him down.
He keeps moving forward, intently focused on doing what is required to get him from where he is to where he wants to be as quickly and efficiently as he can.
And when he breaks the tape, setting a new World Record in the process, he pauses for a moment to celebrate the WIN, and then he begins to singularly focus his time, energy, and effort on the next race to come.
This is the same singular-minded focus you need to WIN...and keep WINNING!