I began wearing glasses the summer before I entered high school. That was the summer our family went on a road trip to California. During the trip, my mom noticed that while we were playing road trip “I spy games”, I could not read the letters of signs until they were unusually close. As soon as we got home, I was marched to the eye doctor. Yes, indeed, I needed glasses.
I still remember my amazement of how sharp and clear things were with my new specs! I kept comparing sights in the distance with my glasses on and then would peer over the top to see the difference. I could even see the individual leaves on trees! To this day, I love getting new glasses. I love the crisp clean focus provided by my new lenses.
Precise focus is important not only for accurate eyesight, but for many aspects of life. What in your life do you need to examine and bring to clarity?
An examination using these questions may sharpen your focus:
- Are your dreams, goals, and maybe even your day-to-day tasks clearly articulated? Are they SMART? Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound? Do you have powerful visual reminders of what they look like, sound like, and feel like when accomplished? Do you spend time each day visualizing the completed goal? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-dowden/why-a-picture-is-worth-10_b_4685007.html)
- How many dreams, goals, or tasks are you trying to accomplish at the same time? Some will argue that our brain cannot multitask, but rather it can switch quickly from task to task. With that in mind, it makes sense that we do not overload our brain or confuse our focus by switching between too many tasks at once. (http://ergonomics.about.com/od/ergonomicbasics/f/can_people_multitask.html)
- Do you have the dream/goal/task articulated in a very simple, clear, and direct way that others can understand and comprehend instantly? Neuro-linguistic programming suggests our brain likes things boiled down to the very fewest words possible (Neuro-linguistic Programming for Dummies®, Second Edition by Romilla Ready and Kate Burton, 2010). Think of the power of Apple’s tagline of “Think Different”? Every employee and every customer clearly knows the goal with those simple, yet powerful few words!
Recently, those same questions came to mind when I received feedback that what I do in my business is a bit fuzzy. Who is my target audience? What value do I bring them? Just like my trip to California, what I thought was clear, was, upon close examination, not so clear after-all.
So what has sharpening my focus helped me to see clearer?
First of all I established that yes, I still will have two companies, Clarity Learning Inc. and Jane Schuette and Associates, JSA. JSA is focused on helping people attain and show their authentic style in a bold and positive way. I help people take action to make their big dreams attainable and real. Whether they are new to the executive level or wanting to branch out and start their own business or need some guidance for a big presentation, JSA is there to co-create with you an action plan and hold you accountable to follow through and make it happen!
In Clarity Learning, I want to guide small to mid-sized organizational growth through increasing their emotional intelligence. This includes cultivating self-awareness, which affirms natural gifts and talents along with management of possible weaknesses. The next step is helping individuals implement a unique plan for development that fosters confidence and openness to learning. From self-management, I will move to building social awareness and social management. Here teams and leaders learn tools that build rapport and positive influencing skills with others. This contributes to a trusting and optimistic environment. Tools for conflict and stress management will be taught as well as effective selling skills. Using all of these practices I will help organizations meet and exceed their goals.
With a clearer, sharper focus, I am looking forward to be more effective in serving you!