One of the most important lessons I ever learned was at the top of a snowboarding training slope.
I clearly remember the instructor saying “you will always travel in the direction you are looking… “
Sadly, as I was remembering this lesson, I was simultaneously looking at 10ft snow drift.
Snow, it turns out, can be surprisingly hard.
This simple rule explains why so many snowboarders end up hurtling face-first into barriers that seem harder to hit than avoid.
The problem is, when you start out you always fixate on the threat.
You get stuck looking at where you don’t want to be instead of where you want to be, and end up tamely smashing into the family of skiers at a half-mile per hour instead carving your way effortlessly down the piste like a winter Olympian.
The same lesson applies off the slopes. You see it a lot in business. Especially, online.
People spend so much time focusing on what they don’t want to happen that it’s exactly what happens.
Email marketing for example:
Too many people are scared stiff of writing the wrong thing, or writing a boring email, or letting their personality shine through and being laughed at, that they never send the emails and make the sales their business needs to survive.
And it’s not just email, it’s everywhere.
Creating products.
Launching products.
Writing your book.
Creating a daily blog.
Taking a course in the evening to let you explore your passion and meeting like-minded people who can open doors for you, instead of collapsing on the couch after a hard day’s work.
It’s not always easy, but sometimes definingyour focus and being brave enough to follow it no matter what is what’s needed.
We all know people who constantly talk about how busy they are, but they’re scared to spend time and money to hire a staff member to make their life easier and their business run smoother.
Instead, they end up focused on trying to do everything themselves. They become over-extended, piste-off, and often end up underperforming as their business’s sole employee.
Where you focus, is where you end up.
If you’re constantly focused on the negative, you cannot be surprised when it manifests in your life.
That’s not hippy-dippy-woo-woo talk. It’s basic time management.
Spend more time looking at problems. Get more problems.
Spend more time looking at solutions. Find more solutions.
Being able to stay focused on your desired destination instead of the 10ft wall of snow, is one of the most powerful tools in your toolbox.
Where’s your focus leading you today?
