(From the October 2008 LIA)
“To be successful in any endeavor we must focus on those things that bring success, and we must do it diligently, consistently, and with passion.” “We at Melaleuca are focused on providing an opportunity for people to get ahead in life. It is our hope to free people from the limit actions of not enough time and not enough money. We are grateful for those who have join ed us in this endeavor.” —FRANK L. VANDERSLOOT
Where we end up in life depends largely on our focus. As mortal beings we have many physical limitations: We cannot be everywhere at once, we cannot see everything from where we stand, we cannot do more than one thing at a time. We are limited by our health, our knowledge, our faith, our money (or lack of it), and our time … yet we also have endless opportunities.
There are so many wonderful paths that we can take, so many options, so many decisions—endless opportunities. Life is so precious, time is so precious; it seems to fly by so quickly. In fact, time seems to be one of our greatest limitations.
Although I believe that there will be a life after this life, I am quite certain that we will only pass through this life once. And since we can only do it once, it seems so important that we do it right, that we don’t make too many mistakes, and that we learn from those mistakes that we make … that we do not waste time, and that we capitalize on the opportunities that lie before us so that our life itself is not wasted.
Since we are blessed to live in a free country, we can pretty much decide how to use our time—whether we waste it or whether we spend it productively. And since most of us can only do one thing at a time—in fact, many of us can only think of one thing at a time—our productivity, our personal growth, our happiness, and indeed our present as well as our future depend on what our minds are focusing on at any given moment. It could easily be said that our future depends on our focus.
We can choose to spend our time worrying, complaining, wishing things were different … we can criticize, judge or make excuses … or we can choose to spend our time building, learning, creating, planning and implementing. We have heard it said that a mind is a horrible thing to waste; indeed, we can allow our minds to be totally wasted, depending on what we allow our minds to focus on. We cannot focus on productive things if we allow our minds to dwell on nonproductive things. We have heard that our attitude will determine our altitude, and it has been my experience that those people who have control of their minds and direct them toward positive thinking and toward seeing the bright side of all situations are those who are not only the happiest, but also the most successful in all aspects of their lives.
There are so many opportunities that are available to us with regard to how we spend our time, and what we choose to focus on—yet because time is limited we cannot choose all opportunities at once. We can do only one thing at a time. Choosing one opportunity limits us from choosing others, so we must choose wisely. Those who choose to seek success, whether it be in business or any other aspect of their lives, would be well-served to focus on the key factors that bring that success.
It is so easy to get distracted, to spend our time thinking about doing activities that are totally non-productive, or at least ineffective. To be successful in any endeavor we must focus on those things that bring success, and we must do it diligently, consistently, and with passion. When we veer off course, we must discipline ourselves to get back on course. Whatever we focus on, on a day-to-day basis ultimately consumes our time, and therefore limits us from doing other things with that time.
Regardless of where we are in life—whether we are young, middle-aged or getting old—if we are alive, we have opportunity. That opportunity will not be there forever. Time itself has its ways of consuming opportunity. Therefore, when an opportunity presents itself, if we decide to pursue that opportunity, we should do so wholeheartedly, with enthusiasm and with focus.
What we focus on today will determine our tomorrow. Those who focus on why they can’t do something, will never learn that they can. Those who focus on the obstacle will never find there is a way around it. Those who focus on changing the rules will never learn to play the game. Those who focus on doing what they know is right will never experience hating themselves. Those who focus on winning will never be affected by defeat; even if they lose a battle or two, they will almost certainly win the war.
Our happiness, our success and our future depend on what we spend our time thinking about and working on. When things are not going well in our lives, we would be wise to take a minute to take a step back and analyze how we have been spending our time and what we are allowing our minds to focus on. We can get past almost any hardship or almost any challenge by focusing our minds on those things that will cause us to move ahead, to seek out the positives of the situation, to choose to be happy, to look on the bright side, and to be involved only in those activities that are conducive to success and moving ahead.
We at Melaleuca are focused on providing an opportunity for people to get ahead in life. It is our hope to free people from the limitations of not enough time and not enough money. We are grateful for those who have joined us in this endeavor. We encourage people to take charge of their lives and take action to turn their dreams into reality. That process always begins with taking charge of our minds and focusing on productive thoughts and activities. Our future really does depend on our focus! We just need to direct our minds, our thoughts and our actions in that direction.
Sincerely,
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting. I’ll definitely be coming back to your site.
thank you very much for the message. i will be needing those for my presentation tomorow in my church for the youths. may God contnue to expand your wisdom and knowledge in him.amen