Magnified Focus

focus - magnifyWhen I was a child, we used to take our magnifying glass outside and in the hot Florida sun we would hold it up and see the light shining through it on the ground below.  If we then moved it about we could focus that light into a single beam that would then start to burn a blade of grass or an ant.  The focus was the difference.

Note to parents:  if you are concerned that a kid who might read this has been suddenly given a way to perpetrate mischief, I got news for you; they already know this and if they don’t will soon discover it on their own.  I did.

Refracted light illuminates.  It can brighten and reveal.  It can even offer a low-level of heat.  This is both beneficial and productive.  Try reading or performing open heart surgery in the dark.  Try finding anything small that you dropped on the ground.  You likely won’t find it until you are able to provide ambient light to reveal its location.  Refracted light reveals but doesn’t empower.

Focused light provides power and heat and intensity.  Sunlight gathered by panels gets focus and turns into electrical power.  A laser in very simple terms is focused light.  Apply enough focus to the light and it provides intense and powerful energy.  The focus is the difference.

Your Laser Focus and the HOT MOMENT

When your energies get refracted, poured out all over the place, you may get illumination but you won’t get power.  It is not until you focus your energies on a particular point that you are able to unlock the intensity and power; that you are able to generate a HOT MOMENT.  The focus is the difference.

When we can create a HOT MOMENT, we build intensity and energy and power.  It drives us forward and isn’t easily stopped or even slowed down by anything that gets in the way.  We need momentum to keep us on track and on focus.  Once we lose focus, we lose momentum and the HOT MOMENT is gone.

To create a HOT MOMENT, identify your target.  Without a target, there is no focus.  A target must be very specific.   Identify what success is for that target.  Is it a deadline reached, value-added to a person or group, a product sold, a goal reached?  Once you have the target, funnel all your energy on it.  It doesn’t have to be for long periods of time; a laser accomplishes a lot even in just short bursts.  The focus is the difference.  Act immediately, don’t wait to “feel like it” or for the “right moment”.  The right moment comes when you create it; you will feel like it after you start doing it.  Act now and put all your energy into it and ride the HOT MOMENT for as long as you can.  Reward yourself for accomplishment.

Action Plan

  1. What one thing requires your focus this week?
  2. What does success mean for that thing?  How will you reward yourself for achieving it?
  3. Personally brainstorm for 10 minutes on ways you can dedicate more energy on that thing.
  4. What is the HOT MOMENT you can create through this?