“I’m fully-focused, man, my mind on my money, my money on my mind, got a mill’ out the deal, and I’m still on the grind.”

50-cent

Have you ever been completely “in the zone”? What does that feel like? You feel invincible, unbeatable and unstoppable. You are dialed-in. Nothing can distract you from the task at hand.

I’ve felt this in the middle of an engineering exam. I’ve felt this on the baseball field. I’ve even felt this shooting 3-pointers in the middle of a basketball game. Nothing could stop the basketball from going in the basket. How do you recreate these feelings to make them a daily occurrence?

Being “in the zone” is a mindset. It is confidence and a bit of carelessness. Carelessness in the sense that you are not really concerned with results. You are performing an action without fear of failure. You are shooting 3-pointers as if you can’t miss. You are unafraid of mistakes. You have a belief in yourself. You are fearless.

Being fully-focused means you have prioritized. You know what is important and what is not. For 50-cent, being fully-focused means that he is focusing 100% of his efforts on growing his business, his record label and his empire. He isn’t worried about the critics, or songs that are not resonating with his fans. He is using all feedback to improve his methods. He is focused on the things that are in his control. He is fully-focused on building momentum and creating better products.

A lot of times, when we are lacking focus, it is coming externally, from outside influences that we should be ignoring. Being fully-focused means staying true to your vision. When you have a dream or a burning desire to accomplish something, you can’t listen to everyone. You have to trust your own instincts. Most people will never fully understand your dreams, therefore, their opinions are worthless in that respect. A lot of people will try to belittle your ambitions, whether consciously or subconsciously. The only real remedy for overcoming this, is action. It is focusing and prioritizing.

You have to really drill down to find a controllable and manageable goal. Something that can be executed on a daily basis that will create momentum in the direction of your dream. Something that is small and measurable. For athletes, this might be 250 free-throws a day. For a writer, it might be writing 1000 words a day. For a dancer, it might be 1 hour of dedicated practice every day. These are all actions that are controllable, that create focus and momentum. Where a lot of people fail is in their daily habits. They neglect activities because they are not seeing results immediately.

Results always follow good habits. Your habits are truly the only thing that you have total control over. You can’t control a lot of things in this world but if you continue to work and develop yourself, you will create uncontrollable momentum in a positive direction. This is what being fully-focused means. It means not listening to others and doing the things that are profitable for you. Ignore meaningless emails, shut your phone off for an hour a day, skip happy hour and go to the gym and dedicate time to building your empire.

Find something small to add to your daily routine. Build a powerful new habit relative to your long-term goals. Repeat it over and over again. Watch yourself slowly transform into a master of your craft. This is the key to accomplishing any goal that you desire. Forget any criticism or the results that do not seem to be manifesting and stay fully-focused. One day you will look up at something amazing that you have created. Trust me. I’m right there, alongside you, doing the exact same thing.

Matthew Harris