Focus

Elizabeth Carpenter wrote a phenomenal article today about the entrepreneurial spirit. (Read it here.) It convicted me so strongly that I had to chime in on FOCUS. As we all know, FOCUS stands for:

Follow One Course Until Successful

That sounds simple enough, but if you are like me (born with a brain that acted like it was on a permanent sugar-rush) and have the tendency to be distracted by the bright and shiny then you have wrestled with focus in the past.

I have been part of many numerous businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. For your entertainment, I will list a few:

• a children's book company
• website design and video production (our first client being a horse dentist)
• a biofuel additive that helped increase MPG by 20% (the "pill" in the gas tank)
  
• a rotisserie chicken glaze flavor company (hows that for a niche?)
• land developers
• a travel representative
• a medical savings plan
• a non-denominational church plant (which is more entrepreneurial than anything else I have ever done)
• and healthy coffee (my personal favorite product!)

It has been a wild ride, to say the least. I have learned a TON about myself, about business, and about relying on God!

Focus is VERY important. I learned this lesson with the Travel company mentioned above. I and my mentor, Terry Kruse, and a group of us from the church were involved with this company. It had a decent product, but it just didn't have any momentum. Finally, we tried to take our travel discount cards to Disney World and had to end up finagling to get in. It didn't work that great.

However, just a few years later the company went public on the stock exchange and is doing well despite the rough beginnings.

Would focus have increased our chances at lots of cash, or a stream of income to underwrite ministry? Perhaps.

Common people will tell you to stick with one thing through thick and thin! Press through and it will pay off. Entrepreneurs know better. Some things are just sinking ships, and the first person to the door gets a life vest. If not, we hope you brought your water wings.

The entrepreneur will state "it wasn't moving fast enough" or "the product wasn't that great." Now any smart-alec with sense will reply, "but are you any further along now?"

The answer to this question, and the question of what is worth focusing on as an entrepreneur are subjective.

Am I any further along?
If you ask me: You bet! You should of seen the mistakes I was making BEFORE this! I am so much wiser now. If you ask the smart-alec, they will not see a thriving businesses with x amount of dollars in income a month, so by their standards the entrepreneur is not further along.

WHAT does an entrepreneur focus on? Which course do you follow until successful? If you ask the smart-alec, "just stick with anything!" The answer varies for the entrepreneur. Focus on the product. Or focus on the pay plan. Or focus on the system. Or focus on the trend. The variables are as endless as the number of entrepreneurs on the field! You could focus on any of these!

What Elizabeth Carpenter's article today reminds us of is this: the only thing to stay focused on if you are an entrepreneur (or if you are just breathing) is to focus on God.

Follow the One-and-Only's Course and U are Successful

Can you really go wrong?

You may not always know which business will go public.
You may not always know which system will put the money in your pocket.

But by FOCUSing on God, and what He is doing, you will always know what to do, and the dividends pay out forever!