THE PERFECT BUSINESS PLAN - Focus, Focus, Focus

They say golf is 90% mental. The other 10% is the physical ability to hit that little round golf ball into a thirty yard wide fairway or a fifty foot wide green. According to those who can do such a thing, it all starts with a vision of where we want the ball to go and how it should get there(the plan). Once we have the vision, we next focus on the swing and how it should work. Instructors tell us our focus should not be on getting the ball to hit a certain target, but simply on the swing itself. It is when we loose that focus, that we hit the ball in the woods. I know from experience,

We come to work each day with that same idea; a vision, a plan, and a commitment to carry it through. Trouble is, we sometimes come with a host of allegiances, commitments, and divided loyalties, not to mention distractions from all directions and targets. Way back in the Garden, God told us to work and to listen to Him.(Genesis 2: 15-17) That is our focus. We work in a profession in which God has given us the opportunity and the gifts. In that work, He gives us an idea, a vision, a plan, and ask us to stay focused on what that is all about. 

We must first appreciate and realize what the priority of our focus should be. When we do, then we should go about it with intensity and commitment. Should our focus be on success, profits, recognition for accomplishments, and growth, in other words, the rewards? These are all good, but it is like trying to hit the target in golf. We hit the target by focussing on the swing, not the reward of hitting the target and getting that birdie. Our swing in business is the plan. God(instructor) says to work, listen, and to obey His principles as He reveals his plan. This plan becomes our passion and our focus. 

We loose our focus when we get intense and committed to the wrong things. We concentrate on the reward that comes at the end of the plan. I have a friend who recently was involved in a multimillion dollar real estate transaction where his commission was going to be extremely large. We joked about what he was going to do with all that money. His target, as he related to me, was to do all he could to keep his thoughts on the deal and not the money at the end. 

It takes time for a plan to reach it's target and we can loose our commitment when we don't see any immediate results. Our focus should be in the ability to resist the immediate gratification for the greater reward in the long term. We remove any doubts of accomplishment, we overcome the fear of failing, and we resist the criticism and resistance from others. With our focus on His plan and purpose, we move forward listening and watching how He can accomplish amazing things. At the end, all we an say is, " to God be the glory, great things He has done."  It all came because we remained focused on the right thing.