Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to The Elements of Focus!

You’re here because you know you’ve got awesome work you want to do. You have something valuable to share with the world. You have friends and family you want to build thriving relationships with. Your best work, your best ideas, and your best relationships are all still ahead of you.

For this class, we'll be laying the framework for what "Meaningful Productivity" is. And the three specific themes we're going to be covering are: Time, Clarity, and Traction.

By far and away, the most common point of frustration I hear from people is two-fold:

1. They don’t know how best to be using their time to do the things that are most important to them.

2. Even if they did know, their schedule is completely full and they don’t know where to find the time.

We're going to address these head-on over the next few days.

You'll learn how to make the most out of the time you have in the day. You'll learn how to get clarity on where you should be focusing your time and attention. And you'll learn some ways to gain traction and momentum on your business or side project.

There will be helpful and practical advice. I'll also be sharing my own personal values for what I do to stay on track when life is crazy and how I know which projects to focus my time and attention on.

Today's Takeaway

Living with diligence and focus is not a personality type — it’s a skill.

And since it’s a skill, it means you can learn it.

The components of a focused life are:

1. A Vision for your life (your “why”)
2. Life Goals (your “what”)
3. Action Plan (your “how”)
4. Daily Schedule (your “when”)
5. Lifestyle Practices (your safety net)

When you put these things together, what you end up with is that on the day to day, the trajectory of your life actually becomes forward moving. It becomes positive as oppose to negative.

I realize this sounds a little bit intense to have all these five components. But think about the most accomplished and the most successful people that you know...

Do you notice how they always seem to know what's next for them? They've got something that they are working toward. There's a confidence that isn't just a personality type — it's a confidence that is based on experiential knowledge. This inner peace that comes from having direction and knowing where you're going and having a plan for how to get there.

Again, since we know that living with diligence and focus is a skill, then it means that you can learn it.

To be able to grow in this skill of living a focused life, like any other skill, it means that you have to practice.

What does that sort of practice look like? That's exactly what we are going to talk about over these coming days in the class.

What To Do

Today, I want you to change your mind. Change your mind about how you think of a life vision, and how you think of your own life.

Start by telling yourself you can change. Because you can. You can get a vision for your life. You can get better at how you focus your time and energy.