Keep Your Eyes Fixed on the Prize

In today's excerpt from my new book Intelligence for Your Life: Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth, I discuss what quality we must master before we'll ever find personal fulfillment.  That essential trait is FOCUS!  I learned about focus from working with the most focused athletes in the world.

For about ten years of my life I worked as an announcer for CBS Sports and then NBC Sports.  One of the best things about announcing the Games and many World Championships is that I lived with these athletes and their teams for months at a time.

You would never get that kind of access to NBA or NFL players. And so I came to know them and their families and their passion for their sport. I’ve had dinner with French Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault at his home; I’ve skied with Austria’s Olympic downhill Champion Franz Klammer, and I’ve traveled all over Europe with gymnast Bart Conner and speedskater/cyclist Eric Heiden. Why am I namedropping? Because I want to give credibility to what I am about to share with you. Every one of these world-class athletes shares something that you and I can use to take us to greatness in everything we do: FOCUS.

Focus is a wonderful thing to watch. There are plenty of incredibly talented downhill racers in the world, just as there are thousands of brilliant kids graduating Ivy League schools every year. What distinguishes those who go on to become champions is the power of focus.

I will always have burned into my memory the image of Franz Klammer just before he stepped into the starting gate to win the Kitzbuehl downhill—helmet on, eyes closed, hands weaving in the air as he ran the course in his mind. Before the gate opened, you see the whole race in his face; you could watch the course come alive just by following his hands. Then his name blared forth from the speakers, and in moments he was out of the gate, attacking that same course—this time with his eyes open, at sixty-five miles an hour on a pair of skis.

Cyclists, gymnasts, divers. The great ones all prepare with the same routine. Greg Louganis had done the dive a thousand times, but he never lost the desire and discipline to stay focused. It’s why so many football quarterbacks are also straight-A students. It’s why many ex-athletes become successful announcers and businesswomen: They know the power of focus, and they practice it in everything they do. They never take their eyes off the prize.

In Intelligence for Your Life:  Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth, I've shared many practical ways you can get focused and stay fixed on your prize. You can pre-order my book today at half price and you'll receive a free concert DVD by just clicking here.

John
Email John: johnsblog@teshmedia.com