I am in the process of organizing a seminar series. I made my basic decisions such as target audience, when to offer it, the various topics, and the format. While I laid out my time line and list of action items – my mind starts to wander. That little voice inside my head starts whispering – will anyone show up? Can I deliver? Will people find value? Am I charging too much? Will this format work the best? etc. At this point I have two choices – allow my little voice to continue and stop me from taking further action or talk back and tell it “thank you for sharing but I am choosing to ignore you”. That little voice has as much control as I give it.
When facing your future do you focus on opportunities or obstacles?
As I shared my experience at the beginning of this article – my mind immediately focuses on the obstacles. I believe that is human nature. As I make myself conscience of my thoughts I can change my internal discussion. Instead I could ask myself – will I have enough room for all those who want to attend? Will I be able to withhold my enthusiasm for my topics? How far will I exceed my audience’s expectations? How many lives can I improve? Now this is a different story.
Did you feel overwhelmed and defeated focusing on the obstacles? Did you feel invigorating, ready for action when considering the opportunities? When I feel defeated I freeze and take no action. When I feel excited and passionate about the opportunity I am ready to charge forward. The feelings that are generated by our thoughts spur the actions that we most likely will take. My chance of success when I focus on the obstacles is slim. My chance of success when I focus on the opportunities becomes vastly improved.
I hope you will join me at my new seminar series for small business owners. See the enclosed flyer or go www.focus-cpa.com/workshops for more information.
P.S. This concept came from the book secrets to a millionaire mind. One secret is that rich and successful people focus on the opportunities.