Focus is Easy...Finish is Hard.

My wife accuses me of terrible bouts of indecision because I am a planner, and she is a big time do-er.

Everybody knows that you have to focus in order to do something well.

I tell myself and my daughter and my customers to focus 100 times a day.

Deciding to focus is easy. Linking Focus with Finish is another thing altogether.

Everybody realizes that sometimes in order to reach a goal, you have to focus your energy. I can focus on a project for hours...For me, though, that doesn't usually result in "Finish."

I am a notorious starter...and even my grandfather could tell that I was a slow finisher. I am working on my "finishing" because I think that successful people finish.

Finisher's Quality: Finishing is one part focus and 3 parts action.

I feel that I have accomplished something or had a really good day when I have focused on my goals, and completed the two or three essential action items necessary to see the project through ALL the way to completion.

I always have to apologize when I stop before I am done.

Go Finish.

Openings and Closings...

Start to Finish.

Brainstorm to Finished Project.

Goal setting to Execution.

I am the king of the left hand side of that list.

This week (same as last week), I am faced with several do-able projects. The problem has been actually doing that work to finish these things. I keep juggling. I keep spinning the plates, and as a result, none of them are finished.

If you are reading this and I owe you a website...thank you for your patience...it is coming this week.

Here's how I am going to do it!

I am ONLY focusing on one thing at a time. (Truly a finisher's quality)

I have readd part of a book about procrastination...I'll read the rest of it another time.

There are piles of things around my house to get done. And while I am not going to post my "honey do" list on the blog...the point is the same. Pick the hardest or most important thing and focus on it until it is done.

That is my challenge to myself this week. I WILL exhibit this finisher's quality.

In the meantime, take some time to check out these superior blogs.


Recent Post from Seth:
URL: Small business success


Recent Posts from Stephanie Diamond:
URL: Collaboration with Customers


URL: The Power of Focus

Finishers "Never Weaken" - see: Justin McBride

Here's a finisher's quality and a guilty pleasure all rolled into one post:

I am obsessed with the PBR.

No, that doesn't mean I am hanging out in some guy's back yard having a "yard" beer.

That is the Professional Bull Riding. "The Toughest Sport On Dirt" - as their commercials say.

This weekend was the end of their season where the league crowned its "World Champion."

My finisher for this week, therefore, is the PBR Season Champion Bull Rider Justin McBride. His rider page is HERE...just in case you are curious how much you can make riding a bull.

This guy is a finisher. One of his mentors, Ty Murray, has a saying about riding bulls that I think to myself whenever I recognize that I am slipping into something less than a finisher.

It is, "Never Weaken."

The only way you can ride a 2,000 pound bull for 8 seconds is to fully commit yourself to that action at that moment. When you watch hours and hours of bull riding, (and yes that means that I have...just ask my wife!), you can clearly tell the difference between the riders who finish their rides and riders who aren't.

It is not a question of ability or heart or "wanting it", or any of the things that ALL of the riders have. I think the difference is being able to sink yourself into the moment completely.

Finisher's Quality of the week: Finishers Never Weaken... they are ready to ride for 10 seconds.

by the way...if you want to pull for the bull...that's ok. A bull named Chicken on a Chain is the winner of the rankest bull world championship. HERE are his stats for this season.