FOCUS is Vital

In Be Your Own Hero... among other things, I offered up three thoughts from Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus around the practice of Initiative. With that said, I am reminded that as wonderful a Virtue that Initiative is...

... it is best served by direction. We can practice Initiative as best we can, but without direction... where are we going? Indeed, motivation requires both, plus Commitment. Then, this morning, I happened to come across these words from Seneca himself.

• “To be everywhere is to be nowhere.”

Indeed, these very words got me thinking to sharpen the blades on focus, as a means for both Purposefulness and Zeal....

... in "getting there"; wherever we most Soulfully determine "there" to be.

If we are to bring IT... bringing our best selves to our lives at home, school, work, business, play and community... then I humbly suggest that that requires a focus and attention that is sharpened and fortified against the abundant forces of distraction. That in mind and heart, I invite you to give Consideration to these words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Yes, please consider... "Thus it is necessary to focus one’s thinking on a single point, so that it will become an effective force." Necessary, indeed.

So how might we sharpen our focus? Yesterday, I posted on LinkedIn...

• "Next leg" of the Boxing and Workout journey in the FOXhole begins. :) I typically wear two pendants around my neck. One represents my Faith. The other represents "Do the Work". Both are at play as I continue towards leaner, stronger... healthier. ??

My personal and winding road back to a leaner and strong health matters much to me. It is an integral "part" to where I am ... and am headed. But therein lies a bit of a problem. Allow me to explain. In What Comes Natural. I offered 4 "Pillars of Meaning" for my Life, if you will. Health was one of those 4 Pillars.

I remain committed to same. That has not changed. These 4 Pillars very much matter to me. That said, this morning I ever better realize that our best Health is physical, mental, emotional and spiritual... and it has to do with the intention of being who we desire to be, in our doing. I may have multiple Pillars of Meaning, but Congruence matters... in bringing them somehow together, united and strong. Focusing on 4 is but another source of potential distraction. The practice of Congruence can help me (and all of us) find Unity and Strength of Purpose, forward.

Congruence is best manifested and practiced when we find the central "theme" to our focus. It helps us sharpen our focus by finding that theme. For my own focus on same, I considered...

... that there is my consciously chosen Baha'i Faith, my Boxer Health, my Epic Engage Service, and a renewed and strengthened sense and practice of Love.... and Character. Still, if I am to focus my thinking "on a single point, so that it will become an effective force"... then I must needs consciously choose The Barry Unit, as my focus... ever forward. In so doing, I am moving from "4 Pillars" to "1 Building". The focus is on the construction of the Building. The Pillars are but part.... but they are not the Mission.

I am the focus. I am the work in progress. The Pillars are part of the construction, but they are not the Building. Having grown up in a construction family, I understand that the Mission is the Building. Everything else is about building it. So, we are the Building; we are the focus.

If the chief task in life is discerning and deciding upon that for which we truly have control ... and do not... and focusing on the former over the latter... then we are indeed the focus and the work in progress ... in response to Life.

We are our own best focus. This is not a selfish thing nor an ego-driven thing. By sharpening the blades on being and doing our best selves, we better serve the a world and future in need... and those who matter most to us. That is real meaning and Just Cause.

That stated, the forces of Character, Purpose and Unity connect here. Character is our best sense of BEING. Purpose is our best sense of DOING. And Character + Purpose = a healthy and robust internal Unity we might otherwise call Integrity.

Integrity can be a powerful focus, for us. Back in July of 2022, I posted on When She Finds Me... and, at its core, it is about being and doing who we are at our best... so the "right" people can find us. This is true in all arenas of human endeavour. That in mind, being and doing such is less about multiple goals... and more about 1 Commitment...

... to be that work in progress... to see every situation as an opportunity to work on who we are and what we do... whether at home, school, work, business, play or community.

As I type this, I smile. I smile because I know the man I am and want to be. I know my essence of Faith, Health, Service and Love. It is now and always about the execution, daily. It is about being and doing my own kind of Simple Man.

So, I will be praying and meditating on same. I will be reflecting on the man I am and intend to be.

That in mind, I am considering these almost rhetorical questions.

• What if our best focus is on building our best selves?
• What if centering ourselves, finding our highest middle ground and moving forward on that... was our sharpened focus?
• What if we are the piece of art that most needs our focus so that we can bring our best to the world?
• What if the focus is less on the Pillars or goals... and more on the Commitment to the Building we are indeed building?

For me, I now consider this Baha'i, Boxer, Business Guy who knows who and what he loves ... and what being and doing everyday looks like to that Guy. I humbly believe and contend that these are questions worth exploring... and executing on the answers. Having just reached the 6-4, I am ever more focused on being and doing that "Barry Unit" thing... loving who and what I most Love.

Seneca said, “To be everywhere is to be nowhere.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, "Thus it is necessary to focus one’s thinking on a single point, so that it will become an effective force." That considered, focus is vital.

I have a Life to Live and Love. I will be that Stoic Baha'i. I will be that Boxer Barry shape and Health. I will be The Unity Guy. I will be that Guy who loves fiercely. Because, I am. And I am my own work in progress. Therein I find my best focus.

Yes, I do have a Life to Live and Love ... so do you. Exploring our best sense Character, Purpose and Unity can help with focus.

Justice, Peace and Unity...

Barry Lewis Green, aka The Unity Guy with Epic Engage

• My work and Service is that I am a Leadership Educator, Speaker, Coach and Creator helping Educators, Entrepreneurs and Emerging Leaders working to build a better world at school, work, business and community... through the advancement of Character, Purpose and Unity. I help nobilize leadership, mobilize mission and humanize culture. I hold conversation around same, and advance action towards. It is what unites us... and I am The Unity Guy. Let us Aim High.

• The LECturn is a more random initiative offering up thought for Leaducators, Emergents and Communitrepreneurs around Character, Purpose and Unity as 3 fundamental forces for leadership at home, school, work, business and community. The articles are relatively shorter, surgical and value-driven for real time and the real-world.... drawing on 44 years in leadership training and development.

• Through my work, I offer what I call Free Thought, including random and regular blog articles, two newsletters, and TUGtv... all free and ad free. They serve who I call Leaducators, Emergents and Communitrepreneurs.

Some Other Thoughts, Ideas and Books to Ponder...