Page 59 - Midas Touch

the diet is the true power of focus. I have gone on diets, lost weight, gained
it back, and had to lose the weight again. That is the lack of focus over
time.

The same thing happens in the world of money. People get rich, and then
lose it all. Lottery winners and sports stars are prime examples of the loss

of focus over time. Many professional athletes spend years practicing hard
to make the big money in professional sports, but are broke five years
after retiring. They focused on sports, but not on their financial
intelligence.

In the first chapter of this book on the power of the thumb, I wrote about a
few of my many failures. If not for the power of focus, I would have quit.
In other words, most entrepreneurs fail because they lack the strength of

character, represented by the thumb, and the power of focus, the ability to
stay on course until successful.

Focus also means staying successful beyond the goal. This means hanging
on to the money after you make it, or keeping the weight off after you lose
it.

As pilots, we had to stay focused on our target, even though the enemy was

doing their best to shoot us down. Focus gave us the power to stay calm,
think clearly, and act decisively. We never let go of our focus until the
aircraft and crew were safe and sound back on board the aircraft carrier. It
takes the same focus in business. Just because the business makes money
does not mean the business is safe.

Success eludes millions of people simply because they lack the power of
focus. When people are in a focused state, the words “I can’t,” “I’ll try,”

“I’ll do it tomorrow,” and “maybe” get forced out of their vocabularies. In
many ways, being focused means “do or die” and “for as long as it takes.”
When the going gets tough, many people lose focus and quit. They look
for something easier to do. And worst of all, most people never start
because they allow the words “I’ll try” and “tomorrow” to dominate their
thinking.

Have you noticed that people who lack the power of focus often lack

direction too? They wander, going from one thing to another. To make
matters worse, in the world of investing, many so-called financial experts