Learning to focus on ONE THING is quite possibly one of the best things you can do to invest in yourself. This is probably one of THE MOST overlooked areas of self improvement.

You would think focusing on one thing is easy to do, but it’s actually pretty hard.

To illustrate my point of how hard it is for people to focus, let’s focus on one of the things that a majority of people would like to accomplish:

Make substantial income.

The ways to make substantial income are endless. Here are just a few examples.

Opening your own business Selling merchandise on Ebay Flipping houses Buying apartments to create passive cash flow Investing in the stock market Network marketing FOREX Writing a bestseller book Becoming a famous actor/actress Getting a high paying job

We are constantly bombarded by ways in which to make substantial income whether through word of mouth, TV, radio, Internet, or by looking at other people who have made substantial income.

To illustrate: the typical John Smith hears the rave on how real estate is the way to go. He buys the books, goes to the seminars, tries a few deals out that doesn’t do too well, and then tosses his hands up in the air and decides real estate is not for him and it’s not the way to go.

Now he hears the market is hot, so he calls up his broker for stock tips, reads Buffet’s books, subscribes to magazines. After buying and selling a few stocks, he realizes it’s not for him.

Now he hears people becoming millionaires on Ebay so he decides to do that. Contacts a few wholesalers, sets up a store, sells some items, but the business doesn’t really take off. Same result. Why is John Smith experiencing the same results of not creating substantial income over and over again?

It all comes back to lack of focus.

Let’s look back at some of the people who have learned how to harness the power of focus. Warren Buffet, when you hear his name, you think investing. Donald Trump, real estate. Thomas Edison, inventions. Tom Cruise, acting. Jay Leno, comedy.

The pattern here is that all these people have chosen to focus on one subject and to keep at it.

Google prided itself on being THE search engine. It now has ventures in pay per click advertising, video search, Google Earth, Froogle, etc. By establishing itself first in one venture, it was able to launch several other ventures without having to go through the monumental effort of establishing itself again.

Some people might say Donald Trump makes substantial income via book writing and TV shows too. But that’s AFTER the fact that he made it big by focusing on real estate.

You will find that if you focus on one single subject and excel at it, many other doors will begin to open for you.

That last sentence is very important so I will reiterate it again. You will find that if you focus on one single subject and excel at it, many other doors will begin to open for you.

Let me give you an example that will hopefully illustrate the power of focusing on one subject.

Focusing on one subject is analogous to building your own staircase.

The longer you keep focus on a subject, the more stairs you can build.

Let’s say you keep focusing on a subject by reading about it, asking people about it, practicing it, whatever it is, so long as you’re focused on that one subject. You will soon have focused enough on learning that subject that you effectively built your first stair.

Now you get to stand on that stair and look around.

You’ll probably see things you’ve never seen before when you were at ground level.

You’ll probably see things from a different perspective than when you saw them on ground level.

Now that you’re on higher ground, you’ll have access to things you never had before because they were previously out of reach.

Other people may be able to give you a helping hand on their respectively built staircases, since you are now within reach because of your newfound height.

Keep focusing again on the same subject, and now you’re be able to build another stair and another stair, probably more faster than before as now you have access to resources to help you build faster that you previously did not have. As you climb higher and higher with each step you build, you will find more and more opportunities at your disposal. Now let’s say you don’t focus and skip from subject to subject. It’s the same as you building half a step and destroying it. Then building another step halfway and then destroying it.

You’re always going to stay at ground level. You’re always going to stay at ground level. No, that’s not a typo.

By focusing on one subject, you will start to capitalize on all the experience and knowledge you gain from it. And once you master that subject, you will have built stairs that will take you to heights that you’ve never been before and opportunities that would have never been available to you at ground level.

Let’s use another example to illustrate.

John Smith loves to play tennis. He’s not good, but he loves to play. So he practices, day and night. Gets lessons. Reads books. Watches professional players. Asks for help. Plays pickup games. Enters tournaments.

Now he’s at a pretty good level. He can now teach neighborhood kids for money. He can enter tournaments and win prizes. He can play professionally. He can write a book. He can organize teams at the local park, and be an instructor there. He can publish beginner videos. The possibilities are endless. All because he decided to focus on one subject and to master it.

That’s the power of focus.

However, in order to fully utilize the power of focus you must choose a subject that you love to immerse yourself in. If you abhor Shakespeare, no matter how hard you try to focus, you’re not going to focus and master it.

For most people, choosing that subject is the hardest part. Once the right subject is chosen, mastering it follows easily. If you don’t choose the right subject, mastering it will prove to be difficult. That’s why it’s so important to find what you love to do. If you haven’t already read my essay on how to find what you love, please do so here.

So let’s say you found the subject you want to focus on.

I guarantee your mind will start to stray.

It’s easy to stray with all the distractions we have today. Internet, TV, magazines, cell phones, etc. What we don’t realize is that these distractions can lead off on tangents that will steal our focusing power. We may have chosen tennis to be our subject of focus, but we see the World Cup playing on TV and decide to switch to soccer. No. We must stay focused on the subject at hand.

Above my computer on my desk, I have a quote printed out in big bold letters that reads “STAY FOCUSED ON THE SUBJECT AT HAND”. I then have another quote printed under it that I think sums up the gist of this article.

“Do not scatter your powers. Engage in one kind of business only, and stick to it faithfully until you succeed, or until your experience shows that you should abandon it. A constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can be clinched. When a man's undivided attention is centered on one object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvements of value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a dozen different subjects at once.” – Barnum & Bailey.

Choose the subject you wish to focus upon wisely and then focus upon it, and only it. Do not stray and you will find a myriad of opportunities that will come about due to your constant focus.

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If you are ever tempted to stray, remember the staircase you are building.

Invest in yourself and make it happen.

[tags]focus, goals, success[/tags]