THIS was in 2006. It was at the annual convention
of the International Central Gospel Church, Destiny Summit, held under the leadership
of Pastor Mensa Otabil. One of the guest ministers, Randy Morrison, who is a
regular at this conference, preached a message on the subject of “Focus.”
After
Morrison handed over the microphone, conference host Otabil stepped up and
instructed that each one of us should write down one thing we looked forward to
accomplishing by the end of that year. We did a quick calculation and computed
that December 31 was 53 days away. I took my pen and note book and scribbled
with faith, “In the next 53 days, I will release Winning with Confidence.”
From
that moment on, my prayer, my conversations, my thoughts, my dreams and
fantasies were all beamed on Winning
with Confidence. Winning
with Confidence was a script that I had put together to publish as
my first book. This was when I was an undergrad at Ghana’s premier university
at Legon in Accra. I had no money. Not much influence. No audience ready to
read my book. I could not distinguish my left from my right in the field of
publishing. I was a confused rookie.
But
from that night, I decided to focus on what I had and what I could do. I had
written a script. At least I had few friends I could talk to about what I had
done and what was left to be done. I could pray for God to spring a miracle to
fill the gaps I couldn’t fill.
Somehow,
things worked together and by November 26 that year, I was ready to launch my
first book. And actually, I launched it on December 13, 2006 while I was still
a student in pursuit of my first degree.
That
was how I discovered the amazing power of focus. Focus is a force that pools people
and resources together to produce the dreams we nurture in our hearts in our
lives. If you focus on something, you will be drawn towards it. If you focus on
something you desire, it will be drawn towards you.
Focus
is a magnetic force that brings your dreams together. It keeps your principles
in place. What you don’t focus on, you lose. What you ignore ignores you. Don’t
look away and expect that you will get somewhere. It is absolutely critical
that we keep our attention on the things that matter to us.
If
you want things to happen in your life, don’t focus on what you don’t have.
Focus on what you need and you will discover how to use what you have to
generate what you need.
To
focus effectively in your life,
- Have a dream. If you don’t know what you want to achieve, you cannot focus on something. In my case, I knew I wanted to be an incisive and inspiring author.
- Identify the resources you require. You must have a fair idea of what it will take to accomplish your dream. To become an author, I knew I had to write, I needed to build a brand that would appeal to people, I needed money to finance my publications and so on.
- Know the resources you have at your disposal. Certainly, you will not have all the resources you require. But surely you will have some. Identify what you have and make a commitment to use what you have to do what it can do. In my journey, I didn’t have money but I had concepts I wanted to project with my writings so I began writing. I didn’t have a name out there but I started talking to my circle of friends. And now, here I am. And here you are reading me.
- Don’t stop working until you get there. When you start, you will see yourself moving. You will see yourself getting closer to the destination. Remember that being close is not the same as being there. Keep looking at the goal and keep working. Although I have produced a few more books since the first one and written several articles for newspapers, magazines and online portals, I know I haven’t reached there yet. That’s why I keep working.
It
doesn’t matter how far away you are from where you want to get to. If you keep
your eye on the ball, you will get things together and you will get there
eventually.
© 2014 Terry Mante
CEO, Personal Development Network
Accra, Ghana
Cell: +233.267.186.420
