Focus.  It’s a little word, but it carries a big stick. And I think we are now experiencing a worldwide shortage of it. And it’s only going to get more scarce, unless we actively strive to maintain it.  And think about our children, or worse, our children’s children.  While they may be born ‘wired’ and can adapt to technology at lightning speed, there’s an even bigger concern than lack of focus.  Daniel Goleman, psychologist and author of Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence writes, ” I’m particularly worried about  children because the brain is the last organ of the body to become anatomically mature. It keeps growing until the mid-20s.  If young students don’t build up the neural circuitry that focused attention requires, they could have problems controlling their emotions and being empathetic.”  He continues, “Attention is under siege more than it has ever been in human history, we have more distractions than ever before, we have to be more focused on cultivating the skills of attention.

So while is may sound scary, there are many ways we can combat this.. if we well … focus on the right things.

One of my favorite speakers is Hugh Culver.  In my mind, he should be on every conference agenda in the country. Because his subject matter is relevant to everyone. His signature keynote & mantra is: Think. Plan. Act.  And he teaches audiences how to create powerful results in the Age of Distraction.  I want to share an excellent blog post from Hugh that really resonated with me. How awesome woud it be to ‘kill’ your to do list everyday?  Here’s a good way to start…. Do 50% of your daily work in the first 90 mins of your day… Read more and share with your colleagues and your kids!

“The successful warrior is an average man, with laser-like focus.”  ~ Bruce Lee