focus

Focus

By Don on March 25, 2012 0

I attended Debbie White’s The Great Sales & Marketing Paradox webinar last week. As always, I was impressed with Debbie’s enthusiasm for, and knowledge of how, to get an entrepreneurial venture up and going strong. She is a gem.

But Debbie White’s cutting-edge work on sales and marketing–as sharp and powerful as it is–isn’t something I qualify for right now. How can that be?

A Dream Into It principle is that one will meet with a “success unexpected in common hours” by stepping out in the direction of his (or her) dreams. There is a prerequisite, though: the identification of that dream. And I’ve found it is necessary to stop here and there along the way to sharpen some facet of the vision.

Debbie is an expert, for example, at helping identify the customer. She has developed tools that will hone in on who you are talking to and why. Knowing the customer is indispensable.

Like with Dream Into It, though, there is a prerequisite: Before you can identify your customer, you need to know what business you are in.

That’s the Roadturn thought for the day (or week). What do I offer to others? What service or product do I have that can provide real value? For each of us, it is likely there are many possibilities and ideas we could develop.

It’s hard to ride several horses at once, though–and the person who chases two rabbits, says the proverb, will catch none.

Thank you to Peter Griffin for the photo.

Focus

By Don on April 17, 2011 0

Learning is earning… even when we bomb.

I attended my first-ever poetry slam last night. Something I have wanted to do for years. I put it all out there; I tried hard … but my work didn’t make it past the first round. Even lovesick teenagers lamenting how wrongly they were treated by some bygone lover scored higher than me.

Should I quit writing? No. I should focus.

Here’s what I mean…

The poem I chose to lead with (and end with) is a bit heavy. It speaks of how easily it is to get gobbled up by relationships, jobs, society–and end up trapped, unable to get free. The poem begins, “I have been eaten by a wolf. You cannot see me…”

It’s a bit deep for many folks. And the 20-something judges, especially, didn’t seem to have a clue about what I was saying. It wasn’t their fault, though. It was mine. I could have focused in on the audience, maybe included some preamble to set the situation.

I was speaking to people who came to be entertained that night. Most of them young rappers. Big lesson learned: Know your goal, and be sure it is clear to those to whom you are trying to communicate that goal.

And… you can’t be everything to everyone.

Here’s the poem that began my poetry slam endeavors:

I have been eaten by a wolf, you cannot see me.
But, Perhaps you can hear me speak from inside the beast
if I try. I will try.

There are others here… This wolf is voracious
he seeks day and night to devour every fool he can.
Sometimes the wolf dresses like a woman, sometimes like a man, sometimes like an EMPLOYER, sometimes like your own MOTHER…
By the time you realize you are being eaten it is
Almost Too late.

We try to make the best of it here. We tell one another about “some day.” We sing songs and hold hands and pray. God, how we pray.

Here is our dilemma: The wolf is ravenous and bold. His yellow wolf-eyes are greedy. His appetite is never satisfied. Never. He stalks day and night. He never sleeps. Never. Even if we were able to escape,
somehow escape, He would Pounce without MERCY
anger unBEARable.

His wolf-teeth dripping wolf-saliva fangs into our flesh
Bleeding furious wolf-feeding his friends gather
like hyenas and lions and ugly horrible
creatures unseen would immediately devour, destroy, die.

If… If you can hear me, friend, then I ask only one thing please…
do you know a Wolf-SLAYER?

Okay… so I can see why that poem might not fly in a rap contest. Later, though, the slam director told me several audience members told her they hoped I would be back next year to try again.

Focus is the key, Don. Live and learn.

New Beginnings

By Don on October 31, 2009 2

On the First of November, 20 years ago, my father passed on. I was at his bedside when he left, and that evening is forever etched in my mind. He did not go gently. His departure was accompanied by an audible “slap”, as if his spirit broke the sound barrier when it released. My brother cried. I went to the tavern.

It wasn’t long before I discovered that my father’s death meant a new life for me . It was strange without him. It still is. Yet, I could not be who I am today, if he had lived. There was a torch-passing of sorts, that went on between us. Surely, the death of one’s father is a primary rite of passage. It was a roadturn. A big one.

On this night, this all-hallowed eve, I am inclined to wonder a bit, to speculate. Can we gain significant change by simply realizing something of importance? Can we take advantage of our ability to imagine, to think, to reason, to decide–and call forth a turn-around event for ourselves? Can I use such a process to make changes that need to occur in my life, without waiting for severity of consequence or situation to force me into them? Of course, I can. And so can you.

Change takes guts, though, and it takes focus. Watching the World Series tonight, I was impressed by the intensity exhibited by the players when they were up to bat, or pitching, or catching. There was total immersion in the moment. The game of life is being played out every day, you know. And this is our own World Series event. If I can bring my desire up to the same level, to the same degree of focus, nothing will keep me from excellence. It’s my choice. No one can stop me, but me…