I was watching the post-Olympic gold interviews of Evan Lysacek, the first Men’s skater to win gold for America in 22 years. He was asked about how he handled the pressure while waiting for his turn to compete. His response credited his coach for having the right words to say.
Evan said Coach told him to focus on the job. Coach said thinking about whether he might get gold, or silver, or nothing took Evan away from where he needed to be.
Evan went on to say that once he focused on what he did every day in training, the stress melted away and he was able to turn his attention to the important task at hand — getting on the ice and doing his job.
What Evan’s very wise coach understands is that it takes strategy and practice to keep Evan’s eye on the real goal — to keep Evan focused on delivering the best skate, the best performance he can in every situation.
And that is exactly what you want in your home business. To deliver your best to your clients every time.
Apply Evan’s Coaching Strategy in Your Home Business
Having a strategy means having a plan which means having a goal which means having a target. Getting a project finished, delivered, and yourself paid is generally the target. That’s the outcome of any business project.
And yet, I wonder. Is focusing on getting paid where you want your mind’s attention while you are creatively and actively working on your project? I say no.
“But”, you ask, “what about the goal? Keeping eyes on the prize?”
True. We are taught that the goal is to get the prize; that the prize is the outcome. Clearly this is a good and effective work ethic. Yes, the prize IS payment for the work we produce. No argument there. And yet, experience has taught me that too much focus on the prize creates emotional havoc and impedes production of quality work.
What struck me as I listened to Evan is how important it is — especially for those of us who run a home business — to first focus on timing. At the beginning of a project, define the prize. Pay attention to planning, set the targets and goals. That is the time to perform this vital task.
Then make a record of how you’ll get to the prize. Put the goals on paper. Put the weekly target into your daily to do list. Using whatever method works for you, place a succinct version of how you’ll get to the prize squarely in your face so that you see and acknowledge it daily. And then forget about it.
Yep, I said forget it. It’s about timing. Once the project begins, you must turn all of your attention to the creative and administrative parts of the project — getting the work done.
Your mind won’t really forget the prize. When you record that prize and position it so that you see it daily, your brain lets go of the details. That’s how you free your mind from clutter to focus on getting the job done. Make the details part of your routine and free your mind to focus.
Like Evan, you can’t be concerned whether you win Gold or Silver or even whether you medal at all. Get the job done and give it everything you’ve got. That’s all the conscious control you have over the outcome. Fortunately, it’s all the control you need.
Have any tips or tricks that you depend on to clear your mind and focus on focus? Share your opinion and thoughts in the comments below!
Do you find staying on track and focused a challenge? Then Find Your Focus audio seminar might help.
