In life, there are always a million things that are screaming for our attention, and at times, it feels like you have to improve every aspect of your life. Do more things with your life. Help more people in your life. And do it all with grace… it’s an unrealistic expectation.
A key lesson of success came from my conversation with David Osborn. David’s life story is fascinating, going from being a restless youth, to a globe-spanning nomad, to joining his mom’s real estate team. But as he turned 30 years old, David took a hard look at what he needed to change in order to go from a typical life to a great life. What he landed on was focus.
“I began to understand the importance of focusing on the significant few in order to get the best results.”
David really ran with that idea and found he got better results, and had more fun doing it! Focus, through use of goal setting, was the key to honing in on greatness for David. He went from a meandering youth, to having a hand in around 50 business ventures.
Top athletes from around the globe KNOW the need for focus. They dedicate themselves to the practice, but what gets overlooked when we hear this phrase tied to athletes is not just focus, but focusing on what actually matters! No top athletes are focused on the unimportant. They aren’t focused on the easy. They are focused on what is SIGNIFICANT.
True greatness on the field and off comes from focusing on just a few things. It doesn’t come from focusing on everything, and it doesn’t come from focusing on unimportant things. Those significant few items in your life are likely to be hard. It will take dedication, and support from a great team around you. It will push you in ways you never thought you would be pushed. And that is what makes greatness on and off the field. Your significant few may be people, habits, goals, finances, etc.
It is up to you to take a hard look at your life just like David did and make the decisions on what matters in your life, but the path is clear. Pick just a few, and dedicate yourself to their completion.
The question for yourself now is, what are YOUR significant few? This isn’t always easy to answer. As David reminded me,
“If you don’t choose your dreams you get what you get.”
This was originally published as a weekly newsletter from Ed Molitor, with The Molitor Group. If you’d like to receive the weekly newsletter, follow this link to subscribe.
