Focus Gabriel, Focus

Focused strength can accomplish things that might otherwise seem impossible. I remember when I was staying the summer at my cousins’ house in North Carolina I was given the chore of cleaning the stove top. I was more than happy to oblige and wiped the stove top clean, removing the spaghetti and sauce stains with a clean rag. Upon inspection by my Uncle after a shouted “I’m done” I was disappointed to find out that there were stains on the stove top that I hadn’t noticed. (You see, I was losing valuable play time doing this menial chore.)

My Uncle pointed out jagged circles of the burnt down, carbonized, petrified, substance that surrounded each burner on the glass surface of the electrical stove top. I couldn’t believe that my Uncle wanted me to clean that. I had already “scrubbed” them and they refused to come off. I had run my fingernail over the top of them and they were hardly noticeable. So I reached for a butter knife to scrap the stubborn things off, but my Uncle told me I couldn’t use it would scratch the glass surface. Now I felt like Daniel San when Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid told him “man who catch fly with chopstick, can do anything”.

So I scrubbed the rings with the rag and some soap. The rings wouldn’t budge. I wrapped my finger and then my fist, I sweated, and grunted and those rings sat and mocking me. I looked up at the clock in the kitchen and realized that a whole five minutes had been lost in this struggle against the impossible. I threw in the towel and informed my Uncle of how impossible it was to remove the rings.

“Focus your efforts, Gabriel.” He said. “You can do it if you focus.” I envisioned myself with my fingers on my temples staring hard at the stove top “focusing” and I couldn’t see how that would work. He chuckled imagining how I had interpreted his words. So he took my rag and folded it to a point. Placing the point under his finger he rubbed a section of one of the circles and “miraculously” the stain gave way.

Focused Strength

I followed his example and although it still wasn’t easy I was able to complete the chore, without too much lost play time.

As a Police officer I was asked over my career to help several people break into their cars to retrieve their keys that hung safely from the ignition in their locked vehicles. I won’t forget one occasion in particular. It was cold outside and the owner was anxious to get home. So my partner and I used our PR24 (a nightstick) and hammered on the rear side window. The window didn’t budge. Not even a crack could be seen. So my much stronger partner punched at the glass window, and the window still did not break. After repeating both methods unsuccessfully I remembered something I had seen in the trunk of our patrol car. I pulled out the snow/ice scrapper out and saw what I had remembered. On the side of the scrapper was a steel cone. It was perhaps half an inch in diameter and came to a very sharp point. I placed it against the window of the car and applied some force. The window shattered.

We can see this in other areas of our life. Did you ever use a magnifying glass to focus the light of the sun into a burning spot of light? The quarterback on the football team can shut out all distractions and focus on the receiver running down the field. The mother of the new born can hear the baby cry in its’ crib from across the house. The stock broker on the floor can buy and sell over the deafening din of other shouting their orders. The focused strength of the repressed water in a dam turns huge hydroelectric turbines.

I am sure we have already used this principle in our lives in one way, shape or fashion. But now that we have identified it we should purposefully use it. Take inventory of your life and the activities you currently are involved in. Are they taking longer than you had expected? Do you finish your daily chores? When you go shopping, do you leave the store with things you never knew you needed? When you watch TV, does the one-hour program extend to the entire night?

Learn to focus your thoughts, ideas, and strength to become more effective and rise above mediocrity.

First Things First

Time has to be the most precious commodity in existence. We all have it but we can not buy more of it. It is finite for us mortal beings. It marks a pace and dictates when we sleep, and when we wake. It doesn't care how old you are or how much money you have it simply continues into tomorrow without hesitation.

Our time, like grains of sand grasped firmly in our hands, keeps slipping away. It gradually reminds us that we will soon be no more.

That is why we must be good stewards of it. We can't manage time since we don't control it, but we can manage what we do in the time we have, and We can certainly say that we "spend" or exchange time. Our goal should be to exchange it for valuable, long-lasting returns.

Don't be idle
The greatest waste is simply not doing anything.
Plan for tomorrow
Without a plan we tend to wander and drift to activities that do not produce but instead fill our time with non beneficial entertainment.
Plan activities in the case of eventualities
There are always hiccups in our plans. Murphy will always try to derail our purpose but if you already have a backup plan you needn't worry about the eventualities that will inevitably appear.
Stick to the plan
It seems redundant but as we walk through the day there will be distractions and other things we will identify as important. If we alter our plan for those things we may not finish what we planed to do. Instead add the activity to the end of the day's list and if you can't get to it then add it as one of the activities for tomorrow.
Say what you mean and mean what you say
You will waste more time in the long run if you beat around the bush. Be clear and to the point. Remember that being kind doesn't mean you have to lie.
Forgive all offenses
I don't have time to get into it but holding on to of fences will eat you up inside and will reduce the amount of time you have on Earth. Don't cut your life short. FORGIVE. If you don't want to be around that person that is fine but don't carry a grudge.
Love your neighbor
What we do that is intangible is greater than what we can see or touch. When you love those around you you are investing in your future. Just as the person that holds a grudge will cut his life short, a person who will love his neighbor will increase his life and the quality of it.
Give something away once a day
This is another principle that is very important to follow. When we stop giving we become stagnate. Our creativity, and forward momentum will slow to a stop.
Daily write in a journal
This is for your review, and re-planning. Life has a way of recycling problems or difficult situations. The journal will serve as a guide to keep you from doing the same mistakes twice. It is also a great way to help your children avoid the same mistakes we committed.
Do what you can today
Do not put something off to tomorrow if it can be done today. This procrastination is a sign of fear. Search it out and eliminate fear from your life.
Invest in yourself
You are the greatest investment you could ever take care of. You can not depreciate, be lost, be stolen, and the more you take care of yourself the more you will live successfully. Take good note of your three areas. Spirit, Mind, and Body. Invest in each every day. You won't be disappointed.
Eliminate all clutter
Don't manage it. Don't push it off. Eliminate it. Constantly going through stacks of stuff will only waste your time.
Hire someone to do any mundane repetitive work
Not all of us are at this point but when you can, get someone to do the mundane work. The following are mundane activities: addressing letters, finding people by phone, writing letters, organizing your files, sorting your notes, driving the car, preparing the meals, cleaning the house, washing the clothes, ironing the clothes etc. Anything that is repetitive and requires no mental problem solving is mundane.

If you will follow the above suggestions you will be far on your way to enjoying all of life's wonders.

Here is a rule remember, "Quality time spent with people has a greater return than spent elsewhere"

Today Matters

Every day you wake up is the most important day of your life. Yesterday is gone and there is nothing that can be done about it. The errors that were made have certainly changed your future but it there is nothing that you can do today that will change what happened or didn’t happen yesterday. Tomorrow is yet to be determined. No matter how efficiently you plan or organize, the winds of chance have a way of modifying what we hope or expect tomorrow to be.

It is today that we have the greatest control over and to be more exact it is the very moment of “Now” that is the most malleable. What you do this very instant will put into motion a future that will benefit you or be your demise.

I’ll wait until that sinks in.

You might think that that statement is too drastic and practically unrealistic. But, in fact, it is a truth that needs to be understood. If you were to stop reading this article this instant you wouldn’t understand this secret that I have learned over years of work and life. You won’t be able to “Wow” your friends and family with this insight.

The majority of people understand and grasp the logic of what I wrote but the problem arises when you put this article away or set it down. What will you do with this insight? Will it remain as an interesting thought to be resurrected in a cocktail or boring business meeting or will you take it to heart and do something about it?

I like the movies where the protagonist has been told erroneously that he or she is going to die in a short period of time. They spend the rest of the movie living life to its fullest. They say what they want to say and do what they have always wanted to do. Then as the end of the movie draws near the doctor who had prematurely pronounced his death date apologizes and the protagonist is free again from the impending doom of his death.

The protagonist filled his every waking moment with life altering activities. He didn’t spend more time at work nor did he get another job. He did things with what he had. Just like every one of us can do.

Too many times we waste precious moments waiting for that special condition, whether it be more money, an opportunity, or more favorable conditions…it doesn’t matter. It is an illusion. It keeps us sitting down in front of the TV, behind a desk, letting people walk on us until our days dim and we are finally put to bed. We let death creep up on us.

Make today matter. Chance your actions and change your future.

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