On Being Focused
By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, 7/24/2006

This past weekend there was a valuable lesson that developed during the 2006 British Open (referred to as “The Open”) golf tournament that Tiger Woods won. First, for non-golfers, The Open maybe the most sought after golf title in the world as it was one the first, if not THE first, golf tournament in history. For Tiger Woods this was the THIRD time he won this most prestigious tournament. Why is this tournament important in regards to being focused?

There are many reasons. First, Tiger Woods from his most early memories idolized the famous golfer Jack Nicklaus who to many is the greatest golfer who has ever lived. Nicklaus has won 18 major golf tournaments in his career and a lot of experts felt that this record would never be broken; it was that unusual. Major golf tournaments have a tremendous amount of pressure on the participants and players who otherwise would be unaffected by such pressures oftentimes succumb to the pressures of a major tournament and fail to play to their potential. Tiger had set his sights on the 18 major victories that Jack Nicklaus had set when Tiger was only a child. A lot of children grow up wanting to be firemen, policemen, doctors, or what have you. Tiger wanted to “be like Jack” if not better. Most children change their desires as they grow older but not Tiger. He had a laser-like focus on this goal.

Tiger Woods is only 30 years old and thus far has won 11 major golf tournaments and at the age of 30 has won a total of 49 golf tournaments and that places him number 7 on the all-time victory list just two behind the famous Billy Casper and trails the likes of Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Byron Nelson – all Hall of Famers! This is a perfect example of what can happen when you set your sights on a goal and then stay focused on the goal and act like you have already accomplished it. But there is more…

During the play this past weekend, one of the announcers reminisced about an interview he had with Jack Nicklaus when Nicklaus said, “I never missed a 4’ putt.” The announcer did not want to contradict the King of Golf but had to when he recalled several 4’ or less putts that Nicklaus had missed. Jack reiterated, “I never missed a 4’ putt!” with the emphasis on the word “I” as emboldened herein. What Nicklaus was saying is that he was totally focused on his desire to put the golf ball into the hole and then to take whatever actions were required to do so. By saying that “I” never missed a 4’ putt he meant that he took those required actions, put the necessary stroke on the ball and for whatever reason, what happened between the time he made the stroke and when the ball reached the hole was not within his control. And while the ball may not have dropped into the hole, his “focus” was on making the putt which in his mind he did. Did he actually make “every” putt? Of course not but he made the stroke he felt he had to make to drop the putt – that is the lesson learned from this conversation – he was focused – he knew what he had to do – he did what he had to do – and then “chance” took over that he could not control – that was not his concern – he did what he had to do! Therefore in HIS mind, he made the putt!

On the final round of the 2006 Open, there was another perfect example of remaining focused on the task at hand and it involved Tiger Woods. The PGA (Professional Golfers Association) has a policy of no cameras on the course during play as people tend to take photographs at the most inopportune times thus disrupting the thought process of players. Professional camera men and women ARE permitted but they are aware of when they can take photos and when they cannot. Plus they usually have very powerful long-range lenses so that when the camera clicks, they are far enough away that it does not interfere with the player’s swing. This weekend, however, it was different as “today” is the day of “cell phone cameras” and they were in play this weekend like never before. Time after time one cell phone camera click after another disrupted the thought process and pre-swing thoughts of not only Tiger Woods but other players as well. Time after time Tiger Woods would back away from his set-up to take a shot. His focus on the moment was clearly disrupted. To most players this would have been devastating during normal golf tournaments but during a major it would and has been disastrous!

But on this weekend, even with the disruptions of the cell phone cameras, Tiger Woods prevailed and won the tournament. How did he overcome these distractions? I cannot tell you the “how” he did it only that he did. I would imagine that he was able to “compartmentalize” the distraction and put it into its proper perspective. By this I mean he realized that one or more of the fans also had become focused on getting a photograph of someone who at least in my mind and probably their mind, is now “the greatest golfer to have ever played the game.” They took the photograph out of total admiration for this individual and his obvious accomplishments. What they failed to realize that fans all over the course were doing the same thing and that what to them might have seemed harmless had become a series of distractions from the first hole to the final hole of the tournament. Their actions, what seemed innocent to them, were actually a show of disrespect to Tiger Woods. They failed to realize that with each click of the camera they may have caused Tiger to hit an errant shot that could have cost him this third victory in The Open.

There is no doubt that Tiger Woods has “the game” to eclipse the records of Jack Nicklaus and others; that is not in question. The question has become can he eliminate from his mind the never-ending distractions that constantly occur around him during play? This past weekend he clearly answered that question when shot after shot was disrupted and yet his shot found its desired target and he played as flawlessly as anyone possibly could and ultimately won. It is my opinion he simply took the disruption in stride, accepted it for what it was and then as if he could turn a switch on and off, he turned the off-switch on the disruption and the on-switch on his goal. By turning on the on-switch in his mind, he shut out all the people who were watching and the noises they must have been making and then set about FOCUSING in on the target and what he wanted to accomplish and then simply did it! His primary sponsor NIKE may say it better than anyone – JUST DO IT! And, do it he did!

There are two stories to this Nugget and they both involve FOCUS – yours and that of someone else! Sometimes your desire to achieve your objective requires the assistance of someone else but what is THAT person doing and are you disrupting them? Sometimes your objective may be of such a necessity that it requires immediate disruption and that is understandable. At other times, your objective could wait and wait it should until a more convenient time. You know when you are disrupting some who is deep in thought or totally engrossed in a project and that is the time to weigh your need against their need and take appropriate action.

Then there is your personal focus and where it “should” be as compared to where it actually is. It has been said that the mind cannot conceive two thoughts at the same time. Therefore when you have a job to do, your first thought should be, “what is the most productive thing I should be working on at this very moment?” Then answer your own question. Then get as focused as Tiger Woods would on what you need to do first, then second, then third in order to see the process clearly in your mind and then take the action required to achieve it. Let nothing deter you from achieving your task at hand – nothing. But if some external force does interrupt, take a deep breath, accept it for what it is and then use the same switch used by Tiger Woods to get back on track and do what you need to do – right now!

It does not matter what business you are in; you have certain tasks that are more “dollar-productive” than others. What is your MOST productive activity that you should be engaged in at this moment? What is the second MOST productive activity? Don’t even think about starting the second activity until you have completed the first! Then, as Tiger Woods so clearly demonstrated, whatever that activity is – be there in your mind AND your physical presence. My favorite story that exemplifies this involves the father and his son fishing on the lake on a Sunday morning. The father is thinking, “I should be in church with my son!” Then the next Sunday he and his son ARE in church but this time he is thinking “I would prefer to be on the lake fishing with my son!” Then as if the minister could read his mind, he suggests that “wherever you are, be THERE!”

This is where each of us needs to be – where we are – both physically and mentally! Be focused on what you desire to accomplish. See it clearly in your mind. Put aside disruptions because they will occur and then get back to doing what you need to do and do it now!

This past weekend some people watched a golf tournament – I had a graduate-level lesson on being focused!
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Are you focused on your most dollar-productive activity? If not, a Virtual Assistant can help you keep you focus where it needs to be. Give me a call, I can help!

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Determining If You Need an Assistant

How do you know when the time is right to hire a personal assistant? That depends on a lot of things, most notably your business volume and how much free time you would like to have.

Real estate trainer and speaker Ed Hatch, CRS®, of Ed Hatch Seminars in Greenbelt, Md., informally surveyed some top salespeople and found that the majority decided it was time to hire an assistant when they had reached 25 to 35 transaction sides.

At that point, “there’s too much transactional maintenance and personal promotion to do, so time with family falls apart,” Hatch says. Besides Hatch’s numeric guidepost, there are other ways to determine if it’s time to don a manager’s hat:

• Calculate whether your sales volume has plateaued.
  
• Determine if there are goals that you have not been able to accomplish. If you’re unable to eliminate busywork, reduce the hours you work, prospect more, or get more involved in your community, it may be time to get an assistant.
  
• Keep track of all your activities for a week to determine if there are things that an assistant can do instead.
  
• Calculate what your time is worth per hour and compare it to what you might pay a personal assistant. When calculating the cost of an employee, keep in mind that you need to pay your assistant’s salary and FICA — the employer’s Social Security contribution, Medicare contribution, and federal unemployment tax. These payments can add 10 percent or more to the total salary.

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When you decide you are ready for an assistant, visit my website. Here you will find solutions to your needs.

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