by Michael S. Melfi, author of “The Simple Secrets of Being an Entrepreneur“
Have you ever met someone who shared with you what they have going on in their life and in your mind you could not help but question how they are able to be successful in all those different areas of their life? We all know someone, even if it’s just a connection through social media – the person who owns a business or is running a company and finds time to complete incredible athletic feats, contribute to charities and worthwhile causes, all while taking amazing vacations around the world. This may sound like the makings of a perfect storyline for an Instagram feed and while it is, it can also be your reality. The key is to build solid habits in the core areas in your life and focus intently on them.
As my life has gotten busier I have been asked how I am able to continue to keep up with the demands on me and create success. At first, I thought maybe I was just getting lucky, or by being the early bird I had a few more hours to get everything done. But a mentor challenged me to really look at how I create success in the various areas my life. When I reflected, I found that it came down to my focus and the habits I’ve built around those areas. So, earlier this year I put together what I call the focus bonus exercise. It is something that I complete daily when I first wake up. It sets the tone for my entire day and allows me to be productive, engage in beneficial habits, produce results and achieve success.
You may be wondering what is the ‘focus bonus exercise’? It is a three-step process I take myself through each morning. At first it was time consuming and I often did not want to do it. Quickly it became a habit that has been ingrained into my daily routine. Whether it is a day that will be full of professional responsibilities or personal enjoyment, I use this exercise to create complete abundance in my life. The focus bonus exercise was created based on a few key distinctions:
- What you focus on you find
- The strongest force in nature is the human mind and your beliefs impact everything in your life
- The mind is a muscle that can be strengthened over time through exercise and repetition
- By creating daily wins any obstacle can be conquered
Belief.
Based on these distinctions I was able to create the three parts of the focus bonus exercise. The first part of the exercise is establishing your belief for the day. What is the one belief you have for today? I’m sure there are and could be many beliefs, but what is the one belief that will allow you to grow and create abundance today. What do you need to think or feel in order to live today to its fullest? Inside these questions will be your belief for today.
Priorities.
The second part of the exercise is defining the priorities for the day. It is so easy to create a to-do list that is not accomplishable in any given day or to have a vision or goal that may take months or years to achieve. Rather, for this exercise look for the top three priorities that you would like to accomplish today? These can be personal or professional in nature and you should address them at a very high level. It could be something about health, maybe it is spending quality time with your family or friends, or relating to coworkers, or that big project that is due today. Regardless of what the priorities are, establish the priorities and create specific measurable results around each priority so you know at the end of the day that you completed them. At first, if you do not achieve them, it is ok, remember you are training the brain and over time, it will get stronger and be able to focus and accomplish more.
Tasks.
The third and last part is to list the tasks you need execute on to complete the priority. These tend to be your checklist of items to complete and it is important you end with these, as once you have your beliefs in order and find your priorities to create a strategy for the day, it is much easier to identify those items you must execute on to create a result. This process will also get you out of the to-do checklist mentality for which there is never an end.
These three steps may seem very obvious. The ability to complete these on a daily basis to start your day will have a profound effect on your productivity, your happiness, and ultimate success. If at first this exercise is challenging, that is ok, you are simply working your mental muscle and with time it will only get easier. Additionally, you will find over the course of time that you will begin removing unwanted habits that no longer serve you and allow you to focus on the areas of your life to create abundance and success.
Michael Melfi is an IP attorney, entrepreneur coach, investor, media personality and four-time author. Michael has a dynamic background that allows him to provide insightful legal services, while creating business development strategies for funding and growth. He is author of “The Simple Secrets of Intellectual Property“, “The Simple Secrets of Being an Entrepreneur“, “The Simple Secrets of Social Media“, and “The Simple Secrets of Crowdfunding“.
