I have written about this before but it is worth the occasional reminder. The only way to get anywhere in life is to simply focus on one thing and never stop until you get there. I think the real problem we face is that we have many things we dream of doing and we have far more talent than we give ourselves credit for. Some of us jump from this to that and back again without focus, never really doing anything, but rather dabbling in everything and becoming a master of none.
We have to master something; that one thing.
This is not an original thought. I borrowed it from Gary Keller and his book, The One Thing. It is a life changing read. Very simple really. Unless we focus our energy and resources on one single purpose in our life, we won’t see the results that we seek.
I can speak to this. I am not where I want to be yet, but I think I have grown leaps and bounds as a person, writer and photographer. I am obsessed with writing and photography. In a good way of course. Not the kind where you get a white jacket with all those buckles to keep you from harming yourself.
I am obsessed and think about getting better and doing more from the moment I wake up to the moment I lay my head on my pillow.
If you don’t have that one thing in your life, you should come up with one. It’s not easy but it is there. There is something you deeply desire that can be yours if you give yourself the time to get there.
Once you know what that one thing is you have to do two things according to Gary Keller to see it through. Every decision you make and every action you take needs to be governed by two thoughts. One, how can I make my life and my work in attaining that dream easier. Two, what can I do in my life to make me doing this thing over and over again redundant.
I’ll give you an example.
I know that I spend a lot of time editing photos and I also learned recently that for $5-$10 per photograph, I can outsource this work to someone else. I am going to outsource my editing to make my life easier, because my time should be spent in meeting new clients or learning how to make their experience better. No one else can do that work. Lots of capable people can edit some pictures.
I could give you another example, but I believe it’s your turn… so go…
Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@andrewtneel
