Last week the article was about gaining more willpower and how to keep it going.  After all I think most would agree that champions do have a great deal of will power!

So what is it that keeps the champions in the front of the pack?  

What is it that each of us could be doing to be more of the champion?

But wait, we have to get up each morning, get the kids moving, get to our job, do our job, deal with the daily issues, get home and more kids, do the lawn, the laundry, cook a meal and then have the energy to get excited about our goals and being a better champion! 

Let’s get real! We are bushed and exhausted!

So how do we take more control over our lives direction and be more of the champion?

Here are some thoughts……..

The first is Focus, yes this has been mentioned before, yet the champions do have a focus that seems to take them past the noise and on to the goals.

I believe far too many of us , me included, get caught up in the whir of our daily lives, doing what everyone else is doing and feeling comfortable about it. Yes, everyone has wishes for a better life, but is their focus on conforming and being comfortable or on a large more productive goal.

I still think back to my early work encounters and how several different people looked at life. Most of us worked for a pay check so we could party over the weekend. Why, because that what everyone else was doing! Or were they?

Jay liked to party too, but he had a different focus and invested time in researching sunflower seeds, sounds boring doesn’t it.

He got married and has kids like everyone else that partied together, but his focus was different.

Soon he started a new seed company that struggled but kept growing and soon Jay sold it for millions and the rest of the party group said “Wow, how did he do that?”

Now each person in that party group had the potential to do more. IF each had focused a bit differently, what might have happened?

This does not mean you eliminate the family, kids and fun. What it does mean is you focus your energy in a different way and disallow the conformity to set in. The focus is on what you want your life to be, not what everyone else wants it to be!

Check your focus, ask yourself why you do the things you do and what is the focus in that choice. This does not mean to be so self-consumed you shut everyone out. Absolutely not, you need family and friends to help you accomplish your goals.

Just make choices based on your focus and not what we assume others might want.

This brings in the second point of Confidence. Have you ever seen someone with capability not move forward? They seem to hold back as if they were paralyzed by something.

It could be they are waiting for confidence to come along and grow so they can move forward.

The reality is one does not build confidence by waiting around. An athlete needs to practice and keep pushing the envelope to gain confidence in their ability. So does a dancer, salesperson or manager.

Does this mean jumping into a situation that is way over your head? It might, but my suggestion is to take smaller steps.

One skill many people need to build confidence in is speaking to a group or in public. It is still number one on the list of greatest fears.

So do we jump on stage with 100,000 people and fail miserably? Or would it be more prudent to start by doing the readings in church or lead a small group at work? Then take on more challenging opportunities as our confidence grows, yet each time we push that envelop?

By the way, I know of successful speakers who have done both approaches early in their career.

You see, confidence helps you to keep the focus on where you want to go. The more you are willing to push that envelop and develop the confidence the easier it is to keep the focus!

Third understand that contentment and happiness are different!

Ok, what do you mean?

I know a great many people who say they are happy, yet when you ask them what they would really need to be really happy, they always want more of something. 

So are they happy or just content?

In this great USA we can easily become content, and feel ok about being just like everyone else. We can say we are happy, yet why is divorce over 50%, bankruptcies running rampant and so many other anti-happy things happing at a growing rate? Is it contentment or true happiness?

When I am around a group of very successful people that have focus, confidence and will power they truly do show happiness!

Even when things are not going the greatest in their business or personal life, they still seem happy inside because they know their focus, confidence and willpower will get them through like it has before.

That is why I differentiate between contentment and true happiness. We can be content at times and enjoy the moment. Yet, how is the feeling different when we have successfully pushed the envelope and accomplished a new personal level? Is this contentment or true happiness?

So, with focus, developing more confidence, applying will power we can come out with more happiness in our lives versus just contentment!

Which is your choice? After all it is up to each of us to determine our own outcomes.

Consider these points and start making the changes you choose to, I’ll guarantee a different outcome for you!

Want some help in getting Happiness Strategies into your life. Vince Harris has released his new audio set with a special offer! You need to check this out. http://www.successpath.info/revealingNOW.html

Till next week, to your continued success.

Harlan Goerger

National Director of Training

© Harlan Goerger, 6/2007