Success Advice

This Single Habit That Will Keep You Successful in the 21st Century

Published

2 years ago

Feb 4, 2022

Image Credit: Unsplash

I am always curious what separates the successful vs. everyone else. My thought was if I could learn from how they think, model their behaviors, adopt their habits, I would eventually produce the same results they produced.

Because after all, they are no different than me, right? They may have an amazing network and a lot of money, but we all have the same mind. So, I figured studying them would help alter my thinking for the results I wanted in my life.

As I continued to study successful people that I know personally, people who have lived in the past, and others that I am sure you’ve seen on TV, I quickly realized the separation between those who accomplish their goal vs. those who don’t. Two words: controlled attention. Some people may also call this focus or concentration. To some, this may seem like an elusive attribute to create an abundant amount of success in life, but I’ve found that nearly every successful person has this unique quality.

Andrew Carnegie, the American industrialist, considered one of the wealthiest Americans in history, attributes his success to this very attribute. As the son of a migrant, he worked many odd jobs and eventually built one of the most successful business empires of all time.

In fact, it’s been said that government officials thought something was fishy because of how quickly he accumulated his wealth. So the US Senate commissioned Andrew Carnegie for questioning. As officials questioned him, Carnegie revealed his simple secret. Carnegie said, “I can keep my mind focused on something for five minutes at a stretch.” Carnegie had mastered the ability to keep his mind focused and attentive to start and complete a task in its entirety without distraction.

This simple but profound answer makes sense. I mean, after all, if you can’t focus your thoughts on a desired outcome, then nothing can progress in life – whether it be in your health, productivity, or wealth.

In an article published on the Napoleon Hill Foundation website, Dr. Angel L. Rivera writes that controlled attention is defined as “the act of coordinating all the faculties of the mind and directing their combined power to a definite end; an act that can only be achieved by the strictest form of self-discipline.” In addition, he writes that effective concentration “requires that the attention be focused, fully controlled and directed toward a definite end.”

Whether it be starting and finishing a task, giving your undivided attention to another person while in conversation, or even something as simple as sticking with one idea until completion – this is a quality that all successful people have adopted.

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” – Steve Jobs

Now you may be asking yourself how I can develop my attention, focus, and concentration? With all the pings, social media wormholes, and demands in life, it almost seems like focus is the last thing our current society fosters. Not to mention our mind wanders nearly 50% of our day, according to a recent Harvard study! So the odds are definitely stacked up against us.

If you don’t feel like you have this attribute now, or you feel like you need more of it to get your goals and tasks completed, stick with me! New science concludes that focus and concentration are skills that can be learned!

In Dr. Amishi Jha’s book titled, Peak Mind, she discusses that by investing just 12 minutes a day, five days a week, you can increase your attention and working memory through a simple mindfulness exercise. So, for a small investment of your time, you can reap an enormous award in just about every area of your life. Now, if you are looking for a few other tricks to keep your focus, here are some:

1. Eliminate Distractions

Before starting any task, you have to set up your environment for success to lessen the likelihood of distractions. This could be putting all your devices on Do Not Disturb, putting your phone in another room, or waking up early before anyone else is up to get a task done. Personally, I have to put my phone in another room sometimes because I will unconsciously pick it up and start scrolling on social media, which ultimately distracts me from the task at hand. Clearing your space to free up distractions is a great way to pave your path to success!

2. Take Short Breaks

Working for an extended period of time can deter our concentration. An excellent way to alleviate this problem is by taking short breaks. I typically work for about 30 minutes with no distractions and then take a short break for 5 min. Whether it be getting a snack or looking outside the window – this gives my brain time to recuperate. After the break is over and I get back to work, I’m refreshed relaxed, and my focus seems to increase.

3. Exercise

Many of us attribute the benefits of exercise to our physical bodies. However, there’s a ton of research on how regular exercise can actually improve our overall mental health – which includes our focus and productivity. Whenever I have a challenging task that requires my full undivided attention, I typically always schedule my task right after my exercise routine! This simple trick has accelerated the productivity of all my tasks and goals.

Related Topics:bad habits developing habits good habits Habits habits for success habits of successful people Successful people

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Chazz Scott

Chazz Scott is a keynote speaker and mindset expert. He trains entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals to achieve their potential personally and professionally. Chazz is also the Executive Director & Chief Creative Optimist of Positively Caviar, Inc., a grassroots 501(c)(3) nonprofit, focused on using optimism and positive thinking to build mental resilience and disrupt mental health stigmas in underserved communities. For more info, check out his weekly blog at: www.chazzscott.com or download his latest workbook designed to help you build good habits and break bad ones to achieve your goals faster: download here.

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Success Advice

How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

Published

8 hours ago

Dec 4, 2023

M.S. Rao

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Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

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2 weeks ago

Nov 20, 2023

Jane Frankel

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Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.