It's all in the preparation!

If you want to build a house, a wall, anything at all really, they say that the quality of the finished product is all in the preparation and laying a solid foundation.

How often in life do we get an idea and want to run off, 100 miles an hour, in the direction the idea is taking us but without any real preparation?

Over my 42 years of life I have learned one simple wisdom. To sit on my ideas and wait to see if they are seeds of greatness. For if I run off after every idea, I will not have the energy or resources when it most counts. It is far better for me to conserve myself, that the impact of what I do may be far greater, than to spread myself too thinly on the ground and not do anything well

I guess it all comes back to my favourite concept at the moment - the word focus. Focus means to concentrate on a particular thing or an aspect of that thing and to clear your vision. How many of us need to clear our vision, so that we can have maximum impact in our lives?

If you are chasing your tail, chasing after the prize but not really feeling like you are achieving anything of worth because you are running off in all different directions, my advice is to stop and listen to your heart. If you still your soul, you will hear clearly what you are meant to be doing.

Conserving your resources by focusing your energies in a particular direction, allows you to have more to work with when it really counts. Like a race horse, it is critical to harness the raw energy and to channel it into running the race at the right time, rather than jump starting out of the blocks.

Take the time to lay a solid foundation for whatever you do. This is achieved by researching your idea thoroughly, by not being pressured into jumping before you have all the information and a clear idea of the direction you are wanting to jump and by setting clear goals so you know what you want to achieve. You don't have to have the whole picture to start something, but it does help if you have a detailed analysis of the part of the picture that you do have, as this will help you to attract and identify the missing pieces when they eventually arrive.

To focus is to love yourself, for when you narrow your options you limit the amount of stress that exists in your world and give yourself the opportunity to master whatever it is you are putting your hand to.

Remember, masters get paid a whole load more than jack-of-all-trades do! It pays to become a master.