The Fine Line Between FOCUS and FOCUS IN.

by Jen Gluckow

Almost everyone is talking about politics, whats on the news, what they saw on TV last night, or the next winter storm. Other peoples drama that you cannot affect.REALITY: No matter what your political view may be, its unlikely that youre going to be able to change a congressional vote or executive order unless your last name begins with a T and rhymes with rump.

And yes, there are winter storms and its cold and the bread has run off the shelves in your local supermarket (you probably dont need the carbs anyway). Ive heard it, youve heard it, weve all heard the complaints, the negative talk and the cynicism.

REALITY: You cant stop a storm or change the weather, or affect the outcome of your favorite TV sitcom.

Rather than focus on what you cant do, or the things going on around you politics, the weather, traffic, or even your competition, focus on the one person who can make the biggest difference in YOUR world and your sales world: YOU.

Ask yourself: how much time have you spent this year, this month, this week, today, on yourself? Keep reading and youll be able to claim a five-minute self-investment today.

Rate yourself: How accomplished are you in each of the categories vs. where do you want to be? Heres your must-have list to help yourself thrive.

Your attitude. Wake up happy? Happy throughout the day? Happy when something negative comes your way? Heres the test: measure your first response to a negative situation. Is your thought process negative-minded or positive minded? You may need to brush up on attitude lessons.
Your goals. What have you achieved? Are you where you want to be? (I do hope you have goals, at least!).
Your health. How fit are you? Need to lose weight? How are you feeding your mind and your body?
Your routine. Wake up and read? Wake up and workout? Spend hours a day watching TV? Or hours a day reading?
Your appearance. Taking care of yourself? Personal: I know Im not taking care of myself when I can see my grey hairs. Nothing against grey haired people, but I look better without them. What about you? What do you need to do to appear the way you want to? Are you doing it?
Your network. Making new connections? Maintaining and improving on the connections youve built? The ultimate test: getting referrals from your connections?
Your education. Self-education. How much time are you spending learning more about stuff you’re passionate about? What did you learn new last year? What do you intend to learn new this year? Are you on track? How much time a day do you spend learning?
Your abilities: Your skills plus your knowledge plus your training and your ability to respond to real-world situations.
Your mind. How much time are you giving yourself to think and expand your mind? Structured time set aside free for thinking.
Your confidence. If you want others to believe in you, then you must believe in yourself first. Hint: make a list of your 5 best qualities.
Your personal brand. Hows your social media presence? Your web or online presence? Have yourname.com? Have google dominance?
Your sleep. Yup theres a reason why fitibit and helo and the wearable devices track your sleep it makes a difference in YOUR daily self.
Your communication. Not just what you say, but how you say it.
Your sales. Got sales? Got sales skills? What are you doing every day to become even better (or the best) salesperson?
Your finances. Got money in the bank? If not, whats your plan to get out of debt?

Stop reading the news and watching TV. Start focusing on YOU. YOU are the only person who can make a difference. @jeninaNYminute #focus

But Jen, I dont have time to focus on these things Im too busy with(enter bullshit excuse here) Too busy? Too busy focusing on stuff you cannot control. Stop reading the news, stop watching TV and start investing in and focusing on YOU. Youre the only person who can make a difference and YOU are the difference. Your actions are the difference.

I get it. Its easy to get caught up in the daily rush, or rut, the news, the weather, your job, your routine, and much harder to take a step back and strategically allocate time towards yourself in the heat of the moment.

Only YOU can make that change. And when you do, youll begin to see a better attitude, better results, and more money in your bank account in a New York minute.