Focus on wildly important goals

THINGS that matter most must never, ever be at the mercy of things that have little value. You have one life to live and it is not as long as you may feel. Never lose sight of the end game and the terminal point. Each moment counts, make every moment count through your focus and resolute actions.

The measures that you use determines the insights that you get. Recently in January 2018, the social media giant, Facebook, announced that it had created a new unit of measure called a “flick”.

The flick is equal to 1⁄705, 600,000 of a second. It is a fraction of a nano second. Whatever time measure you use determines what you are able to do. Facebook postulates that the flick will help in syncing video frame rates and other applications that require precision in time. So it is with life, “flick it” and you will succeed.

The measure of time that you use determines what you see and what becomes important to you. If you measure your life in years, your term becomes a year. If you measure your life in days, you may find that your priorities may need to change. Your time is precious and your focus matters. Mr Guy Pentreath (1902– 1985), a headmaster at a UK school until 1952, revised the traditional Time’s Paces as follows:

“When I was a babe and wept and slept, Time crept; When I was a boy and laughed and talked, Time walked. Then when the years saw me a man,

Time ran. But as I older grew, Time flew. Soon, as I journey on, I’ll find time gone. May Christ have saved my soul, by then, Amen.” Invest your time Your time is your life in motion therefore invest it in significant things. Your life’s core resource and canvas is time. When you are not doing anything significant, you tend to have all the time to squander. If you have nothing important to do, you do not need to protect your time.

Time lost is never regained. You can procrastinate issues but you cannot procrastinate time. When you have significant things to do, you realise that you have so little time at your disposal. Do not just use your time, invest it like you would your money. Invest your time on significant and top level goals. Be clear what your values are. What matters most to you demands your primary investment in time and focus.

Invest your focus

Direct your focus deliberately and live intentionally. Take the clutter out of your life and affairs. Focus is a resource you need to leverage with care and direct it on high impact activities. Invest your energy and focus on what matters most — on the wildly important goals.

Know what to focus on and your life and organisation will march forward towards greatness.

One of the greatest discoveries on the journey of life is that you cannot do everything, be everywhere, please everybody. Focus, focus, focus and you will win with focus.

Not all goals have the same rank. If everything is equally important you have a crisis to deal with. Trying to do everything will lead you into doing nothing that matters. It is not doing the most that matters but doing what matters most. Many goals are important, but other goals are wildly important and demand your focus. Aiming at doing everything lives you directionless and motionless. Wildly important goals move you from X to Y by a certain given time.

These are the goals that matter most and need your primary attention. Focus on these and the smaller goals will tow the line in time. When the big rocks are in place, the sand will always find its space. Super-important, wildly important goals, have high impact and greater meaning to you. You become whatever you choose to focus on.

Invest your energy

Invest your energy on that which matters. Get the right return on energy by focusing on the wildly important goals. When you have energy, use it well and do not take it for granted. You are truly old when you no longer have energy for anything that matters except resting. Take time to fuel your body, focus your mind and then deploy your resources appro- priately. When you have energy use it well and run. If you can crawl, walk. If you can walk, run. If you can run, sprint. Move with confidence and determination. It must not be doubted whether you are dead or alive. A big difference among people is the levels of energy they have and where they deploy it. Stop being a purposeless busy body. Busy is good but let it be focused on the wildly important goals. Wake up daily determined to make a difference and make your life and time count. Wake up with purpose and live intentionally. You do not have the luxury to live like you are an accident waiting to happen.

Invest in people

Give your time generously to develop and inspire people. When you strengthen someone, you expand life. Invest in people. Mentor people with potential. Encourage the gifts around you. Be known as an encourager and supporter. Make it your mission to grow and encourage people. Shine the spotlight on those who are trying to rise and give them a run way to fly. Invest in people.

If you want to be successful for one day, send an effective tweet that trends. If you want to be successful for a year, grow maize and pray for rain. If you want to be successful for ten years, grow trees. If you want to be successful for a lifetime make it your wildly important goal to grow people. Your will not always have the people you want, but you can develop them. The best time to start is now. Do not envy great teams, develop your team. It takes time, focus and effort.

Invest in your mission

Develop and discover a cause for your life and every day wake up to run with this cause. Do not worry or scratch your head about your purpose. Just go ahead, fill the needs of the people around you. Keep doing that with all you have and can do. Find the things that make you sing.

Do more of them. Do what you enjoy with excellence and learn around that in order to enhance it. Find what you get paid for and do it well. Keep developing yourself and increasing your earning power.

The more you do these things, the more you get a better grasp on your purpose. If you are confused about your mission, just serve faithfully where you are. Make it your wildly important goal to serve.

Committed to your greatness

Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and coach.

He is a cutting strategy, innovation, team-building and leadership facilitator.

Feedback: mkamwendo@ gmail.com, Twitter @ MiltonKamwendo and WhatsApp +263772422634