F.O.C.U.S.

I love to hate the person who came up with the mantra, “for every one step back, you take two steps forward.” It’s great… but that “one step back” can be super painful. knowwhatimean?

This past weekend I took one very large step back from the dream that I am currently pursuing (some would call this “Phase 2 of Preparing For The Unknown”). It was unintentional, but felt necessary at the time given the discussion that was being had during date night. 

Because I don’t particularly feel like re-living the blow-by-blow of what was going on in my head, I’ll sum it up with the end result: My heartstrings were shattered… I couldn’t read any of the books that I was in the middle of, I couldn’t listen to any of my usual podcasts, and I didn’t know how to have a conversation about my life. My focus had disappeared. My spin on life confused. My faith in the “endgame” evaporated. 

For those of us reading a lot of really important business books, imagine the hockey stick created by Jim Collin’s Good-To-Great framework: Buildup through Breakthrough. On Saturday night every disciplined thought that I was thinking about my future success in Dallas was gone. Prior to Saturday, I had been feeling insanely confident about being the “right person” for the task and about where I was “sitting on the bus” to continue the Jim Collins reference.

But, there is a happy ending to this story. I rebounded. A very important conversation (vaguely referenced here as too personal to share) was had, and I was able to start my week with a renewed focus on Phase 2 that is actually stronger than what it was before.

F.O.C.U.S: Follow One Course Until Success (Robert Kiyosaki)

Now, about that “breakthrough” part...