This weekend I was saddened to receive the news that a dear friend and college roommate suddenly and unexplainably left us – a husband and father of 3, it’s a tragic loss for all who knew him. I spent most of my weekend processing that loss and evaluating my life. Am I living my purpose? Am I focused?
In my business, focus is literally everything. No one wants to watch a video that is full of edgeless, undefined blobs. In fact, when a subject is not in focus, it frustrates us, because we know how things should look. I think all problems are the result of a lack of focus. Pick a subject, any subject and the lack of focus can spell the difference between success or failure. If we don’t know our purpose, we focus on all the wrong things and life is too short for that. That got me thinking about these 7 requirements for living life in focus.
Focusing Requires Perspective
Sometimes clarity comes when we change our perspective and see things from a different point-of-view. If you’re stuck, change your point-of-view. Approach the problem differently. Look at it from a different angle. A fresh perspective provides clarity.
Focusing Requires Time
Sometimes that perspective only comes with time. Just today I looked at a clock that has been in our office for 2 years and actually saw numbers carved into it’s face for the first time! Until that point, I had never seen those numbers. They’ve been there all along, but somehow today I saw that clock differently and that allowed me to see what I had been blind to for several years.
Focusing Requires the Right Lens
When we’re shooting a video, sometimes we need a “long” (telephoto) lens and sometimes we need a wide-angle. Both were designed for specific purposes. Outside their purpose, they’re useless. So it is with life. The right tools can help you bring clarity to problems that you otherwise would never see.
Focusing Requires Action
Once you know what you need to focus on, you have to take action, you have to physically adjust the focus of your lens. Just knowing what you want to focus on, won’t bring the subject into focus. Focus requires action.
Focusing is Easier When You’re Still
Trying to focus while you’re in running full speed is really tough. It can certainly be done, but not for the inexperienced. If you’re new at this whole focus thing, you’ll do better if both you and/or your subject are not in motion. You’ll do better if you’re still. Being still makes focusing 100 times easer.
Focusing Requires Light
It sounds a little absurd, but you can’t focus in the dark, you need light. You can’t make progress in the dark but if you wait until the light is right, then you’ll be able to bring things into focus.
Focusing Requires Distance
You can’t properly focus on an object that is too close to the lens. Sometimes you just need to back up a bit, to see the big picture before you decide the subject of your focus. Many obstacles in our lives have a way of bringing things into focus. The truth is, we only have 2 choices; live a life of focus and purpose or live a life full of edgeless, undefined blobs. The choice is yours.
As I watch the sun slowly peak up over the tree tops, in the quiet of the morning the shadows give way to shapes. I can see more clearly. I have perspective. Things are coming into focus.