I go running on a regular basis in order to keep up my cardio, and my two sons, ages 5 and 3, will usually stretch with me beforehand and then, many times, run around the house until I get back. Like many young boys, they want to be just like their daddy. So much so that one day running around the house wasn’t enough for my oldest son anymore. He wanted to experience the real thing and go for an actual run with his daddy. Now, although he runs around the house and yard every day, this doesn’t mean that he was ready to take on the course that I attempt to conquer on a regular basis. So I decided to run with him by my side to the end of the road. He wanted to do the full course but decided in the end that something was better than nothing and he would take it.
It wasn’t long before he noticed for himself that running around the yard and going for a run were two different things and by the time we were three quarters of the way down the road he began to tell me how “he couldn’t go any further” and “we had to stop.” I continued to tell him that he could do it and to push himself, even though I knew that the last quarter of the run was actually going to be the most difficult as there was still a hill that awaited us before we reached the end of the street. With this I decided to use this principle of focus to accomplish the goal.
I asked him if he could see the stop sign up ahead that marked the end of the road. He said that he could. I told him that all we had to do was make it to the stop sign. Once we got to the stop sign we could stop. He, of course, argued that he couldn’t do it, but I told him it wasn’t an option. If he ever wanted to run with me again he was going to run to the stop sign. Now he not only had something to focus on but he also had added motivation.
He not only made it but when he did, he fell to the ground and told me, while trying to catch his breath, that he couldn’t have made it another inch. “Not another inch,” I thought, interesting. I guess I had gotten the absolute most out of him that his body could have possibly given, right? I don’t think so.
When combined, focus and motivation can be a powerful thing. Something tells me that if we had gotten to the stop sign and then noticed that we were being chased by someone with a knife he would have found the energy to go past the stop sign, despite his earlier claims. What I want to focus on though is how he made it to the stop sign to begin with when his body was telling him at the bottom of the hill that he couldn’t go another inch.
He was able to do this, even at the age of 5, because I understood how his brain and body were created to work together. Once I gave his brain something to focus on, his body was able to make it happen since it was realistic within his capacity to do so.
Whether we are five years old or 50 years old, we are still created in the same way to operate in the same manner. If we give our mind something to focus on that is within reason, our body was created to carry out the marching orders it has been given. But you have to give yourself something to go after. Have you ever tried putting a puzzle together without seeing what the puzzle is supposed to look like? Good luck…
How does this apply to your life? Think about your daily routines, thought patterns and aspirations. Have you trained yourself to go after any particular thing or are you stuck in the business that will entrap you in the world of mediocrity for the rest of your life. It is up to you to diagnose your potential and then focus on a result that you believe is within your reach and give your brain and body something to work together on to accomplish.
If you are not focusing on anything then don’t be surprised by the results you will get.
I was speaking to a group recently where I was discussing this very topic when all of a sudden a question popped into my mind. The question I asked them was this: If you had the ability to hand pick and create your own children, would you create them to be mediocre? The obvious answer to this question is absolutely not! So why would you think for even a second that you were created to be mediocre? Again, the obvious answer to this question is that you weren’t created to be mediocre. Mediocrity comes from our own decisions and lack of focus, motivation and understanding. Don’t settle any longer.
Jared James is the CEO and Founder of Jared James Enterprises, an internationally sought-after speaker and trainer. James built one of the fastest-growing real estate teams in the country, was inducted into the International Hall of Fame for one of the world’s largest real estate companies and wrote a best-selling book—all before the age of 28. As an acclaimed speaker, James keynotes events for major real estate organizations and conducts regular webinars and training for nationally known organizations like NAR, CRS, Yahoo Real Estate,Trulia and Zillow Academy and blogs regularly for RISMedia.
To stay in touch with Jared James, visit www.facebook.com/jaredjamestoday and www.twitter.com/jaredjamestoday or visit his website at www.jaredjamestoday.com.