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HOW TO CONQUER
THE RECESSION:
Breakthrough business strategies
for creating long term prosperity
and peace of mind.
by Les Hewitt
bestselling author, The Power of Focus
CONTENTS
Foreword by Jack Canfield 3
About the Author 6
Here’s what you will learn in this Recession-busting Report:
• Are you Recession Proof? Use The Success Checklist to score yourself 10
on 10 major success factors.
• What creates a Time Pressure Spiral for business people and how to get 14
out of it?
• The #1 Reason you are not enjoying the level of success you deserve 16
and the three main causes behind it.
• The Power of Focus clearly defined. 17
• The Mouse and the Maze—Feeling stuck? This is the way out. 18
• Discover your Current Level of Focus—prepare to be shocked! 26
• 10 Major Flaws that will Destroy your Ability to Focus and 28
the straightforward strategies to eliminate them.
• Why some people become Superstars—3 big reasons that will 37
separate you from the also-rans.
• The Movie Manifesto: your life is like a movie—will it turn out to be 42
a “Best Picture”?
• The Complete Focusing System: a unique 3 step process to help you 45
conquer any recession and achieve your most important goals, every year.
• Are you ready for a Unique Opportunity? 55
In other words, being able to hit your business, personal and financial targets with
confidence and certainty every year, instead of endlessly spinning your wheels, not
being able to make that leap that sets you free. Sound impossible? Not at all.
However, this is not a “get-rich-quick” scheme. Let me be blunt; the truth is, at least
80% of business owners and entrepreneurs struggle to grow their businesses
successfully, even in good times.
Sadly, the vast majority of these men and women who have courageously decided to
make their own way in the world will continue to struggle instead of enjoying the fruits
of their labour. During this recession many will be forced to quit, ending up in unfulfilling
jobs, resentful that they never “made it”. Even worse, a lot of people won’t be able to
find employment.
Les tends to fly under the radar. For years he’s quietly worked with some of the biggest
names in our industry—Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Tom Peters, Dan Clark, Zig Ziglar,
Marci Shimoff as well as billionaires Bill Bartmann and Donald Trump. And that’s just
a few. There’s a whole lot more you’d instantly recognize. In the training business, Les
has built a solid reputation as The Focus Coach.
In 1997, when I first came across his work, I was so impressed with what he was
teaching, that I immediately did 2 things:
First, I decided to partner with him on his first book, The Power of Focus. Good
move on my part—it became an international bestseller!
In fact, this book is widely acclaimed as one of the best books ever written on personal
development. I also persuaded my Chicken Soup partner, Mark Victor Hansen, to get
on board with Les as well.
Secondly, I hired Les to spend some one-on-one time with me and my President,
Patty Aubery, to show us how to focus better.
I was aware my life had become too complicated with the explosive growth of
Chicken Soup for the Soul®. Frankly, I felt overwhelmed and was struggling to manage
too many things on my ever growing to-do list. This was making me more and more
ineffective. Patty was having similar challenges, too.
In just one day, Les expertly whittled our lists down to a few top priorities and
then he gave us a unique strategy to deal with all the other “stuff” in our business, to
avoid all the distractions and interruptions that were holding us back. He made it look
so simple. But sometimes when you can’t see the forest for the trees, life can appear
anything but simple!
To make sure the current recession doesn’t consume you, it’s absolutely critical that
you know about this. Knowing what to do about it is even more important. So take the
time now, to carefully digest what follows.
It’s my wish that this powerful document will be a lightning rod that inspires you to new
levels of accomplishment. May it also enrich you and the people closest to you in your
business and family circle.
Sincerely,
Jack Canfield
Les Hewitt He is also the creator of numerous CD programs including the ever
popular, Power of Focus Audio Club.
Founder and CEO,
The Power of Focus
• Recipient of the prestigious Entrepreneurial Leaders
Award from Trinity Western University.
• Founder of The Power of Focus Coaching Program, a
unique focusing system for entrepreneurs and business leaders
who want greater profits, less stress and more time off! This
two year program has delivered this and much more to his
happy clients.
• As Les’ reputation for delivering big results grew,
billionaire Donald Trump selected him to provide Audio
products and web-based coaching for Trump University’s
world-wide audience.
• A dynamic inspirational speaker. Coveted by iconic organizations
such as Wells Fargo, FedEx, Investors Group, The Royal Bank of
Canada and The Million Dollar Round Table.
• Known by his peers as “The Focus Coach”, someone who
can listen to complex problems and create practical solutions, fast.
To be a champion,
you must have a champion mindset
At all costs, avoid the negative media—this is toxic to your health. The newsmakers
feast on negativity. Have you noticed that positive headlines don’t sell newspapers
and magazines?
Quick Tip:
That means socking some of
To diminish the effects of the next storm, your profits away into a secure
always build reserves, interest-bearing “rainy day” account.
particularly when times are good. Make this a habit. Spending like
there’s no tomorrow because a
healthy economy looks like it will
last forever, eventually becomes the graveyard for many promising businesses.
Believe me, I know, I’ve been there!
I have create a high net worth and enjoy Most of my time at work—80% or
total Financial Freedom. more—is spent doing what I do best.
I have great systems in place that keep I have a clear direction and purpose for
my business running smoothly. my work and my life.
I have a highly skilled and dedicated I enjoy a healthy work/life balance with
team who expertly manage all the day plenty of time for family and friends,
to day business activities. including time for me.
Well, how did you score? 50% or less, 60%, 80% or more?
Is there room for improvement? Most likely, when you consider less than 10% of the
men and women in business could check all 10 boxes.
And if you didn’t knock it out of the park, here’s the really good news.
In the following pages, I’ll show you how you can achieve those high scores too,
using practical strategies that my clients have been implementing for years. These
strategies work, they are life-changing, especially in a turbulent economy. They will
transform your results, your attitude and your bank account.
On top of that you’ll enjoy a tremendous boost in confidence and momentum, plus
your negative stress levels will practically disappear. I don’t make these statements
lightly. They’re based on more than 25 years of direct, face to face coaching with
thousands of entrepreneurs, many of whom have achieved massive results.
If you’re a little skeptical right now—maybe you’ve surrendered to all that doom
and gloom media—here are a few comments from people who have implemented
these strategies:
“My biggest difficulty was balance. Les Hewitt challenged “Thanks to Les Hewitt, I am happier, more relaxed and
me to make changes. Last year I took 3 months off and our well balanced. My income has increased 80% and I have
total sales increased by 52%.” received top performance awards for the second year in a
—Phyllis Arnold row. I now focus more precisely on my most important
President tasks and complete them efficiently. The weekly connection
Arnold Publishing Ltd. with my focusing partner is an indispensable part of my
planning and achievements.”
—Nigel Grace
Regional Manager
Human Factors International
“In the first year alone I’ve achieved half of my long
term goals. Investing in Les Hewitt was the best money I
ever spent. Thanks Les!”
— —Dr. Michael C. Paterson
BSc.PhD. DClinPsych.CPsychol.AFBPsS.
Chartered Clinical Psychologist
“Les’ program has changed the person I am and the
life I am living. The program has empowered me with the
help of countless tools to set and achieve goals, enhance
relationships and realize outstanding business successes.”
“It took a year of focused effort, but I reduced my —Lesley Conway
work week from 80 hours to 45. In the process our company President
had the most profitable year ever.” Hopewell Residential Communities
—Andrew Hunter
CEO
H & H Wireless
Why? Well, I was brought up in the backstreets of Belfast, Northern Ireland in the
middle of The Troubles—it was a war zone. I drifted out of high school, never went
to university, and ended up in a dead end 9-5 job that I stayed stuck in for 14 years.
I wasn’t making much money and I was totally frustrated at my lack of success
because people around me were doing a lot better than I was. I also had a wife and
two young children to support and on top of that the next two career moves I
made—both companies I worked for went broke! And after starting my own
business, my back’s been to the wall more than once, battling previous recessions.
I’m not telling you this to evoke your sympathy, I’m telling you this because no matter
how stuck or worried you may feel right now or frustrated at your lack of success
despite all your hard work, you can turn it around, you really can. What changed
for me was that I learned how to focus on what was important—to set new goals
and pursue them with enthusiasm and distance myself from negativity. I’ll show you
the specific strategies I used to make this happen.
Here’s an important first step that really propelled me on the road to success.
I credit my old mentor, Jim Rohn for this. He said:
I had to accept the fact if I wanted my life to be different, I had to change. Not the
economy, the banks, or the government—me!!! Once I did that, everything changed
for me. And it can for you, too.
Let’s run down the list of things that constantly suck your time away like some giant
vacuum cleaner. Make a mental note of the ones that you relate to. I call it
The Time Pressure Spiral.
Let’s face it; if you’re expending all your energy trying to build a successful
business, which is a noble cause in itself, you probably aren’t an expert in the Stock
Market, nor do you have the time to see trends developing that could be devastating.
All of this just adds to the pressure. No wonder more and more people are saying,
“I just can’t take it anymore!”
* More on this
later
Your core problem isn’t the fact that you’re struggling with a massive to-do
list, getting pulled in all directions, putting out fires every week, and reacting
to other people’s so-called emergencies. And believe it or not, it’s not the
current recession either.
Unlike other “reports” I’m not going to drag this out for six more pages until you’re
salivating to know what the big secret is—that’s an old technique to wind you up—
I’ll tell you right now…
On top of that I reviewed almost 20 years of notes from mentors, industry peers and
hundreds of workshops I’d attended on personal and professional development.
To put it mildly, this is a substantial body of work and there were many sixteen hour
days spent sifting through and distilling all of this material.
That looks pretty straightforward, right? In fact you might already be proficient in
completing at least one of these steps. Well if this is straightforward and logical—
and it is—how come legions of business owners, entrepreneurs just like you, are
in a constant battle to keep their heads above water, never mind aspiring to live an
exciting vision for their life?
Don’t you think they want to enjoy Financial Freedom? To have smooth running
systems and a passionate support team that ensures they can take plenty of time
off, knowing that their business will continue to make money and provide a valuable
service to their happy customers? And if they feel like it, somewhere down the road
sell the company for a lucrative sum that guarantees money will never be a problem—
ever! Of course they do!
Isn’t that what you want, too?
The objective is to see how fast you can get through it. Some
people spend hours in the maze and some become so panicked they end up
screaming for help because they can’t find the way out!
The mouse and the maze is a wonderful analogy that many entrepreneurs need to
learn from. Have you ever felt you were running around in circles in your business?
Maybe you have some goals, you think you know what you want, but you keep getting
distracted and interrupted. This is the equivalent of running into those dead ends
in the maze. You don’t seem to be getting ahead, you can’t find a way forward and
working harder doesn’t seem to help. It’s frustrating!
For most people the scent of the “cheese” isn’t strong enough. In other words your
“Best Picture” Vision isn’t exciting enough. It isn’t crystal clear, and consequently
you allow yourself to be pulled off course. Undoubtedly, “recessionitis” can play a
significant role too. However, it’s our own lack of self-management and self-discipline
that is the major contributor to our lack of focus.
And if your desire isn’t strong enough—you are not compelled to do whatever it
takes to reach your “cheese”— then you’ll stay stuck in the maze.
Instead, as I said earlier, embrace the challenge. Remember, you need to have
a champion mindset in order to achieve champion results.
The reality is, in business you’re guaranteed to hit walls and obstacles. Whether or
not you endure through those hard times depends a lot on how much you want the
reward at the end of the maze. When you have really big reasons to succeed,
and those reasons are in synch with your passion, your natural skills and
your purpose in life—then you have a much greater likelihood of enjoying
the big rewards.
Only when you identify what you really want and create a
crystal-clear picture of it, will you have the gusto to persist
through the maze of life. You’ll also blast through any downturns
in the economy because your reasons to succeed are much
stronger than a temporary recession.
Literally, your pipeline for creating big profits and an enviable net worth is literally
being sabotaged, choked off at the source. And the main source I’m referring to
here is you! More than likely, this also includes the people on your team, too.
Then there’s the Internet, which is wonderful as a resource. The world’s greatest
encyclopedia at your fingertips—it’s powerful when used to assist your business.
Then there’s the big one—emailitis. This is such a two edged sword. On one hand
it can be an excellent communication tool. Fast, easy to use, with global capacity.
However, it’s the other aspect that’s driving people crazy—email bombardment!
Recently one of my clients took a well-deserved vacation with his family and when
he returned there were 3,000 emails patiently waiting for his response. Three
thousand! No wonder people are stressed out.
And have you noticed how impatient people are these days. “Didn’t you get the
email I sent you five minutes ago?” I could go on and on. But you get the picture,
don’t you?
The truth is we are constantly being bombarded with far too much information.
How do you think this affects your ability to focus? Big time! The good news is you
can develop excellent focusing skills.
In a few minutes I’ll show you how to calculate your current level of focus—that’s
your ability to focus on your Top Priorities—and how to improve it. This little exercise
is the catalyst that’s created major breakthroughs for many of my entrepreneurial
clients. Be prepared for an eye-opening experience.
I’m sure you realize that the number of times your work is interrupted on an average
day has a direct impact on the results you produce every week. And if your role at
work directly influences the bottom line in your business, guess what? Every
time-wasting interruption is costing you money. Add this up once a month, then
every quarter, and an entire year. A whole year of interruptions is costing you a
small fortune!
Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to fix this shortly. Right now I want to make it crystal
clear that your core problem is a Lack of Focus. It’s not the economy, it’s not your
customers, it’s not your education, it’s not your systems, and it’s definitely not your
work ethic. In my ongoing research I’ve found four major causes of interruption:
a) people
—the people who walk in unannounced, who
phone you, who want you in meetings, who want
your most important asset, your time!
b) paperwork
—the number of offices I walk into where the
poor entrepreneur is buried under a stack of
paperwork, is incredible. Often, you can’t even
see their desk—it’s like a bomb went off in a
mailroom! Say no more.
Quick Tip:
TURN IT OFF AFTER 6:00PM.
Give your family a break!
d) it’s You!
For years I suffered with this, going off on tangents here there and everywhere,
chasing bright shiny objects that severely damaged my cash flow and
diluted my ability to focus.
You don’t need 50 ideas to be successful. Mastering one or two good ones
will bring you everything you want—fulfilling work, prosperity and a unique
lifestyle to savor with your family and friends.
As a result our frustration levels go off the chart, which leads to more anxiety. The
ugly part is when resentment sets in and a “Me against the world” mentality takes
over. Imagine where that downward spiral can lead you.
Back to the Attention Deficit. The other side of the coin is that your attention is
being demanded, competed for and mercilessly devoured every day, as you’re
attempting to gain the attention of the people you want to do business with. It’s a
constant two-way battle and sadly, many entrepreneurs are losing.
Okay, it’s time for you to take a good honest look at your own lack of focus. This one
reality check that I’m about to uncover has created more light bulb moments for my
clients than anything else I’ve ever done.
First, a definition.
If you scored 80% or higher you are pretty rare in the business world—well done!
The Focus Range for the vast majority of people is 20 - 40%. Maybe this
is comforting for you right now.
But right now, in case you’re feeling a bit demoralized about your current level of focus
score, let me give you some practical ways to improve this.
I promised you real value in this report, so I’m going to share some of my specialized
research with you. I’ve distilled years of testing and hundreds of client interviews
into the 10 major flaws that will not only destroy your focus, they will keep you stuck
in this recession, increase your frustration level and ensure you never get ahead
financially. Not a pretty picture!
I’ll define each one and then give you a practical Focus Strategy that I personally
use, to help you avoid these pitfalls. These strategies have all been thoroughly
tested in the nitty-gritty world of business entrepreneurship. They are also important
tools to help you conquer the recession.
Lots of people set goals and never achieve them because they lose focus. They
allow their goals to fade into the background. Instead of being crystal clear they become
fuzzy. The old saying, “Out of sight—out of mind” definitely applies here. It’s impossible
to hit an invisible target!
FOCUS STRATEGY
Keep your goals front and centre
Create vivid exciting pictures. Make a powerful collage
and turn it into a screensaver on your computer, or
MAJOR FLAW #2
Reacting to the Urgent instead of Focusing on Top Priorities
This is one of the major momentum killers! If you struggle with this, the reason is
twofold— a severe lack of awareness and poor self-management. Note: Not time
management, self-management.
Most are not aware of what their top priorities are, never mind focusing on them. I
played this game for far too long and it was painful. Spinning your wheels, frantically
bumping into dead ends in the maze, busyness to the point of exhaustion with no
concrete results. I could write a book on this flaw alone. Enough said!
FOCUS STRATEGY
Create your Top 3 Priorities
This one is very simple. Every week after
you have carefully selected your Best Next Actions,
highlight the three most important ones. Give
these top priority during the week.
Be accountable for getting these checked off. Do this every week and
your confidence will soar.
MAJOR FLAW #3
No Time to Re-energize
You only have a certain amount of energy to use every day. Stress drains your
energy. If you constantly feel that you’re not growing your business, your cash flow
is making you go weak at the knees, or you can never get the really important work
done because people are always interrupting you, then you’re creating a massive
negative energy drain. To top it off, the negative media keep adding more layers of stress.
And if you are attempting to compensate for all of this stress by working 16 hour
days non-stop, look out, you’re headed for trouble, a major burnout at the least.
Time off is not something you take when all the work is done. The fact
is—it’s never done.Taking regular breaks is a pre-requisite for success.
Do it!
MAJOR FLAW #4
Not balancing short and long range actions
In a nutshell, if you focus too much time on long range projects you will stifle your cash
flow. Conversely, if all your attention is geared to short team results you will create
serious voids in your sales pipeline because you haven’t planned far enough ahead.
Either one of these scenarios can cripple your business. Entrepreneurs are “idea
machines”—they generate more pie in the sky notions than any other working species!
FOCUS STRATEGY
Plan for Short and Long Range Results
When you are planning your week, ask yourself, “What
will I do this week to create a Short Range result?” This
means activities that produce a measurable result within
30 days. For example, completing a project or securing
a big check.
MAJOR FLAW #5
Not enough support
Many entrepreneurs run their businesses on the “Lone Wolf” format. They attempt
far too much on their own and don’t consider building a strong support team to
share the load. They become very controlling, won’t delegate and display a systemic
lack of trust in other peoples’ abilities. Does this describe you at all?
FOCUS STRATEGY
Build a fortress around you
All successful businesses that continue to
grow and prosper require people. Build a fortress
around you, people who are brilliant in the areas
you are weak at or shouldn’t be involved in.
MAJOR FLAW #6
Taking your best clients for granted
Big, big mistake! There are essentially two types of clients—
1.) Core clients: people who love your products and services and will gladly
recommend you to their friends;
2.) Peripheral clients: people who waste tons of your time and energy and
Core clients are also people who have big goals. They are ambitious and you can
grow as they grow. Don’t take them for granted—they might go elsewhere.
FOCUS STRATEGY
Make a list of your Core Clients
Plan to contact them regularly. Put them on your
calendar for a lunch, or phone call, a thank you note, or
golf game.
MAJOR FLAW #7
Focusing on your Weaknesses
People who advise you to develop balance by working on all aspects of your business
have got it totally wrong! This is one of the worst pieces of advice you could ever get.
If you want to be scattered, running around like a chicken with its head cut off and
feeling constantly overwhelmed, then by all means spend lots of time on the things
you are not good at.
A light bulb moment for me many years ago, was discovering and accepting that
there were certain things I was useless at doing. Keeping me away from any equipment
that has more than two buttons is a rule in my office! Technology is not my strong
suit. I’m content playing in my own sandbox concentrating on coaching, speaking
and creating products. That’s what I do best and when I focus on these natural
strengths, our business is firing on all cylinders. And guess what? I’m a very happy
camper at the end of the week, if I’ve spent 80% or more of my time doing what I
do best and letting go of the rest.
MAJOR FLAW #8
Poor work /life balance
Juggling a business and your family, plus finding some time for you is one of the
toughest challenges facing entrepreneurs today. The catch 22 is, you probably are
passionate about what you do—that’s why you’ve chosen to be an entrepreneur.
Time flies by, you think nothing of taking work home in the evening or even adding
more on weekends. If you’re young and single, hey, no problem, right? Maybe.
There’s a lot more to life than work. I work hard too, but I always schedule down
time every week. I’ll watch a movie or two, or a big sports event or I’ll just go for a
good long walk with my wife.
If you have a family and want to preserve these relationships, balance is critical.
Otherwise there’s a good chance you’ll just become another broken family
statistic. Is that what you want?
FOCUS STRATEGY
Schedule your most important family activities and
personal downtime at the beginning of each week
Put these in writing on the calendar. .
I use The 7 Day Focus. This is unique in that your business and personal
MAJOR FLAW #9
No time to think!
If you keep on doing the same old things that keep you stuck, no wonder you’re not
improving your results. It’s really sad to observe well meaning, sincere, honest business
people digging a hole for themselves that just gets deeper and deeper. Working
harder, repeating the same flawed strategies over and over again. Wake up—something
has to change here!
Take time to think. One thing I know from personal experience is, you can’t think on
the run, when you’re going 100 miles an hour. It’s impossible to make important
decisions at warp speed!
FOCUS STRATEGY
Schedule a Reflective Hour
When you slow everything down and stop your busyness, you can tap
into your deeper insights. Practical ideas and solutions emerge when you
take time to reflect. Make it a habit.
FOCUS STRATEGY
Celebrate all progress
Cultivate an attitude of “we deserve to celebrate.”
Then follow through. Recognition is important, for
you and your team. Your business is not supposed
to be a relentless treadmill with no “off” switch.
However, she still believed in her vision and beat out 782 other people to win a
major part in the movie, Dreamgirls in 2006. In her debut role as an actress she
gave a dynamic performance that produced an Academy Award for Best Supporting
Actress and a lucrative recording contract. All this by age 25!
In 2008 she suffered tragedy with the loss of two family members. Due to her
fortitude and strong character she quickly rebounded, winning a Grammy Award in
February 2009.
There are lots of other inspiring stories like this, many of which you have undoubtedly
heard. The one common thread woven through all of these success stories is an
unwavering vision—a “Best Picture” of what they want in the future.
And by the way, you don’t need to be a famous superstar to enjoy a meaningful and
exciting lifestyle.
Later in this Report I’ll show you precisely how you can create
your own “Best Picture” for the future.
Terry Fox wanted to help eradicate cancer. That was his passionate vision. The
goal he set that was directly related to this was to raise one million dollars during
his Marathon of Hope, running across Canada as an amputee. By the time he was
forced to end his run prematurely, due to the cancer spreading to his lungs, he had
raised almost 30 million dollars!
Make sure you use the same strategy. Link your goals directly to your vision and
this will pull you through any “dips” that dilute your enthusiasm or distract your focus.
Most people start their week with a lengthy to-do list, or dive into their emails.
Bad decision!
Tiger Woods has a detailed game plan for every PGA Tournament he plays in. His
caddy, Steve Williams, walks the course in advance noting yardages and any unusual
features. Tiger plays a practice round to get the feel of the course. He prepares
mentally and physically leaving nothing to chance. His goal is to win, not just participate.
Wouldn’t you rather be proudly holding the winners trophy instead of being an
also-ran, a statistic way down the list? Of course you would! Tiger doesn’t win every
tournament he enters, but he has a strong desire to win every time. That’s another
huge differentiation that separates winners from the also-rans.
Terry Fox set himself specific weekly targets when he ran his Marathon of Hope.
Then he broke those down further, into
how many miles he would run every day. He
averaged close to 26 miles per day—the
equivalent of a marathon—and he repeated
that feat 143 times!
The result?
Stress, frustration, guilt and even panic, when deadlines aren’t met. That’s a lot of
negative energy and it’s not doing your health any good. Too much stress causes
dis-ease, leading to disease.
If you’re caught in this trap like the mouse in the maze, you need to change your
strategy, fast!
Okay, I’ve laid the groundwork for making a substantial breakthrough. Now let’s
really clarify this. What’s helped me a lot when it comes to understanding a
breakthrough concept at a deeper level is using powerful analogies. For example,
The Mouse and the Maze created a clear distinction between people who get stuck
in business—constantly hitting dead ends—and those who are motivated to find
big rewards—their “cheese”—by choosing the most focused route to succeed.
Remember, this is designed for one purpose only—to help you enjoy the life you really
want to live. As you’ll discover, this includes all aspects of your life not just your
business and striving to earn more money.
To finish off, I’ll introduce you to The Complete Focusing System, a unique formula
that makes everything I’ve shared with you, very easy to put into practice.
So what made these movies memorable? What made them stick in people’s minds
years after they were produced? Essentially two things: First, a dramatic story
that captured our imagination and secondly, great performances—the main
characters brilliantly portrayed by some of the world’s best actors and actresses.
Many of these memorable movies went on to win Best Picture and Best Actor
Oscars at the Academy Awards in Hollywood.
I believe movies are a great analogy for real life. Think about it: we’re all creating
our very own story as our life unfolds year after year after year. So why is it that
some people create inspiring success stories, great movies if you like, while the
vast majority drift aimlessly along with no direction or purpose? Well, by now of
course, you know focus has a lot to do with this.
Or would your story be so dull and boring that the audience would be yawning their
heads off and streaming towards the exits long before the end? Wouldn’t that be sad?
Well, here’s the good news. You are the Director, Screenwriter and Leading Actor of
your very own movie. It’s called My Life. And it’s playing right now at this very
minute. Every day produces a new scene and you have the choice to create the
story any way you want. That’s powerful. You can decide how it all unfolds because
you’ve got complete control of the script. Will your movie be exciting? Will it give
you cause to celebrate? Will it create the lifestyle you really want?
My Life
Imagine right now for a moment that your movie is almost finished. If you were
looking back at your story from beginning to end, would it make you smile? Would
it bring a tear to your eyes because you had to overcome some really tough
challenges but you hung in there regardless? You wouldn’t quit, you stuck to the
course and you ended up with huge rewards and the ultimate satisfaction of knowing
that you gave it your best shot. And the proof was in all the glorious memories and
unique experiences you created with those special people in your life. Will you be
able to say, “Wow, what a ride, what an adventure; I created my Best Picture and
I’m proud of it?”
Or as the final credits are about to roll, will you be reflecting on a life of missed
opportunity, regretting you didn’t take any risks, you didn’t stretch to fulfill your real
potential; you allowed your dreams to die inside of you, never giving it your best
shot? And sadly, like many people, you’re left reflecting, if only: if only I had taken
that good advice I was given; if only I had trusted my gut feeling more often; if only
I had started my own business and really worked at it; if only I had focused on my
natural talents and abilities; if only I had taken more time off to travel and see the
world; if only I had spent more time with the people I love; if only. Then the screen
fades to black. End of story.
To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, here’s a powerful 3 step solution.
It’s like assembling three components for a sound system at home. Let’s say you
have a stereo receiver, a CD player and a set of speakers. Well, if you don’t have
the receiver hooked up, you won’t hear any music, no matter how much you fiddle
with the CD player and speakers. The same applies with The Complete Focusing
System. If you don’t follow the correct sequence, it’s impossible to create your Best
Picture. My goal is to help you produce the absolute Best Picture for your life, one
that will bring you tremendous satisfaction, and who knows, in the process you
might even pick up a major award for your efforts.
The first step is to create a Best Picture script of what you want, how you see
your life unfolding and what it will feel like.
American life is far from balanced. A time study conducted in 2007 by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics found that Americans average:
10.7 hours a day working for their employer
2.5 hours on household chores
2.6 hours watching television
0.3 hours exercising
Only 6% of American Adults spent time as the primary care provider
for their children. This averaged 2.1 hours on weekdays and
1.9 hours on weekends.
In order to ensure an excellent balance, you’re going to create your Best Picture
by using a special template.
When you script your Best Picture around these seven categories, your life will be
blessed in so many ways, resulting in much peace of mind as well as any material
rewards that you want. I’ll coach you through the first one in detail.
The next two steps in The Complete Focusing System will concentrate on short-term
focus to ensure you turn your screenplay into a real life memorable experience. In
other words, your movie becomes real and you’re actually living it. Step 2 is setting
Priority-based Goals, and Step 3 is called The 7 Day Focus.
The next set of statements will express how you feel about various aspects of your
life. The opening words will be “I feel.” These are essentially the emotions you’re
experiencing as you live your dream. The final set of statements start with the phrase
“It’s like me to.” These are the special things
you’re actually doing as your dream unfolds.
Be prepared to invest real time and effort into this. Block off a few hours at
least so you can explore each of the seven areas in depth. Remember, it’s
your own life you are designing, so why not plan to make it a blockbuster?
The reason so many people are living lives of frustration, who are always financially
strapped and unhappy, is because they never follow through on this first step—
designing their future. And the number one excuse I hear is, they’re too busy! Isn’t
that a joke? The truth is they’re “busyness” is caused by a lack of focus and they
end up stuck in the maze with no sense of direction or purpose in their life. Be
different! Schedule time now, to design the future you want to experience.
Okay, let me give you some examples. In fact, I’ll use some of my own statements
that I created years ago. And then I’ll tell you about someone who used this Focus
Strategy and created incredible results.
When you’ve selected your best statements in each of the seven life categories,
I suggest you transfer them to a 3x5 card so you can easily visualize it. Laminate
the card to prevent it being damaged and then read it twice every day: early in the
morning and last thing at night. This will keep your vision front and centre. That’s
really important.
In fact, that’s what I do and it has produced amazing results. You can also create
a vision board, if you like, using pictures that vividly portray your life’s movie in full
colour. And if you have a family, they’re going to love getting involved in this.
Here’s a portion of my son Andrew’s personal movie. You can do the same.
When you really see the picture, you’re more likely to live it.
Now, just to prove how powerful this visualization strategy is, let me introduce you
to someone who transformed his life by creating his own Best Picture experience.
Now, here’s the story. Even though Patrick had experienced success as a speaker
and an author, he’d always dreamed of being a comedian and making people laugh.
Many of Patrick’s friends, peers and family, advised him to give up on this dream,
telling him quite bluntly he just wasn’t funny enough. Well, Patrick felt differently. He
believed in his dream. He believed in himself and he was determined to become a
world-renowned comedian.
My son Andrew asked Patrick one day, “Out of all the success
strategies you use, which strategy helped you the most in
achieving your dream?” Patrick responded without hesitation.
“I visualized my dream every day and I believed that it
would eventually happen.” In fact, my son Andrew went to
see Patrick performing off Broadway. When he met him,
Patrick showed him a wallet sized card that he carried
around all the time, and on this card was his Best Picture
vision. It was split up into three sections, and you guessed
it of course, they started with the words “I am,” “I feel,” and
“it’s like me to.”
The neat thing about this, what was written on Patrick’s Best
Picture vision is identical to the success he’s experiencing
today: performing off Broadway, receiving standing ovations
at HBO’s Comedy Arts Festival. It was all on his Best Picture
statements years ago before it became reality. He carried it
in his wallet so he’d be reminded throughout
the day of the dream he was striving for, and
within a few years he was living that dream.
Remember, until you have a well-written script and powerful images to magnify it, you
won’t be able to move on to the next step of the Complete Focusing System.
To help you Produce Your Best Picture vision I’ve created all the templates
for you in the seven life categories.
You can download these for FREE by clicking on the link below,
http://www.thepoweroffocus.ca/FREEtemplates.pdf
Every year, of course, certain things happen in all areas of your life: your business,
your financial situation, your health, what you do for fun during the year, the people
you spend time with, things that are satisfying personally and the types of contribution
that you’re making. All of these events every year are like the scenes in a movie.
As you are the Screenwriter, you’re in control, so make sure it’s unfolding the way you
want it to. Creating Priority-based Goals is a really effective way to do this.
There are three components. You begin with the first draft, which is simply outlining
your goals. This is followed by the second draft, which is clarifying your goals.
And the third component, the final draft, is prioritizing
your goals. See how easy those steps are? First you
outline your goals, then you clarify, and then you prioritize.
This is really simple, but it’s also very, very powerful.
And remember, most people, in my experience, don’t
do this. That’s one of the main reasons they stay stuck
in that maze.
STEPf3
The 7 Day Focus
Now you’re ready to take on the Leading
Actor role in the movie called, My Life.
By completing Step 2 you know what your
Priority-based Goals are for the next year.
Step 3 is where you actually chunk everything
down into one week timelines. Each week
you have a detailed script just like actors
do, so you can perform at your best.
How many times have you watched a really good actor’s reputation go down in
flames because he or she chose a movie with an awful script, a stupid plot and
directed by someone whose vision was scattered at best? So let’s make sure your
script is well thought out and is in complete alignment with your Priority-based Goals.
Your script is actually your Best Next Actions that you simply follow every
week. When you do, the scenes in your movie will unfold the way they’re supposed
to. And before you know it, those exciting goals will become a reality. You want a
wonderful exotic vacation this year? There are a whole series of actions you’ll need
to take to ensure a unique memorable experience. You’d like to double or triple
your current net worth? What needs to happen this year to pull that off? You want
to have two months free to volunteer for a worthy cause this summer? Again, what
The second part of The 7 Day Focus is called The Follow-Through. In movie
terms, the equivalent would be “Lights, Camera, Action!” Now you are centre stage,
the cameras are rolling and it’s time to deliver a Best Picture performance. The 7
Day Focus is all about focus and follow through, actually delivering on your promise
to yourself and your loved ones. And yes, it’s not only possible, it’s practically
guaranteed. All you need to do is stick to the script.
Create a better vision for your life. Write some exciting new scenes, those Priority-
based Goals that get your adrenaline pumping, and then discipline yourself to figure
out your Best Next Actions each week. That’s the detailed script. Then stride onto
the stage with your script in hand and deliver a great performance, week in and
week out. That’s how it works.
Final Snapshot
To get the most from this
Report, I encourage you to
read it through one more
time at least.
1. You are serious about making changes in your life. That means
a real commitment to focus and follow through.
Yes No
Yes No
3. You have a real business that you are building, not just an idea for
a business.
Yes No
4. You understand the value of having a very experienced Coach in
your corner, someone who can guide you through all the obstacles
that stand in your way.
Yes No
5. To help you achieve the results you want, you are open to blunt
feedback and are prepared to thoroughly test new strategies quickly.
Yes No
Outline, clarify and prioritize your most important goals for each of
the next two years.
Determine what your bad habits are and learn how to create
successful habits. This is a really big deal and will produce rapid results for
you. Bad habits are a major factor in keeping people stuck. By changing just
a few habits per year you can transform any area of your life you are not
happy with. I’ll show you how with The Successful Habits formula.
Support Materials
In addition to my personal coaching time with you every month, you’ll receive a
bonded leather Power Of Focus binder containing detailed handouts of all the
strategies we cover.
You will also be gifted a six month membership to my Power of Focus Audio
Club.This allows you to tap into exclusive interviews with outstanding entrepreneurs,
multi-millionaires and experts in personal and professional development. These are
inspiring and will keep you motivated as well as providing additional tools for your
long term success.
Focusing Partner
To provide even more accountability every week, I’ll show you how to set up a
Focusing Partner relationship with someone you know, who is also positive and
ambitious.
My current fee for a 3 hour workshop is $15,000 plus expenses. And that’s sharing
my ideas with several hundred people, sometimes thousands.
If you are selected as one of my 12 personal coaching clients, you receive 18 hours
of my time, one-on-one, completely customized to your needs and wants. Plus all
the additional benefits I just mentioned. And of course that doesn’t include the extra
time I will take to prepare and review your progress before and after every session.
If you are, call our office right away. Remember, the limit is 12 people.
Ask for Hildi—she will give you all the details.
P.S. If you are still weighing your decision to be one of the 12 people who
will spend an entire year with me, read the next three pages.
P.P.S. Feel free to share this report with your business colleagues, clients,
and suppliers.
“The Power of Focus has given me the tools to not only take my
business to a much higher level but to take all facets of my life to
a higher level. The program has given me more than I ever
thought possible. It was worth ten times the investment in time
and money”.
David Udy
WealthCo Financial Advisory Services Inc.
Thanks for taking the time to read this Report. I hope you
found it valuable.
If you’d like to be coached one-on-one by Les Hewitt for a
full year, phone direct (403)295-0500
toll free (Can & USA) 1-877-678-0234
email info@thepoweroffocus.ca
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