Last week, my brother, Les came by for a visit. He spent over 30 years as a telephone linesman in Indiana. Basically, he spent a lot of time up in the air working! Most times it was 80 feet or more in the air.

My wife Barb asked him if he ever was scared of heights at some point, and if so, how he overcame that fear. Les’ answer was fascinating.

He said, “Yes, I was very scared at first. Then I realized that I needed to focus on the work in front of me. I had faith in my lines (fall protection) and faith in the pole. I never looked down; just focused on getting to my spot and then the work that was directly in front of me. I might as well have been on the ground.”

Les focused solely on the work right in front of his eyes. He didn’t allow the fact that he was 80-100 feet i the air distract him. This is an excellent lesson for us in business. Too often, it’s easy to let things “on the ground” distract us away from being focused and disciplined of what’s in front of us. How many times has an e-mail popped in and distracted you away from your work? How about a phone call? I regularly hear from people who I call that ask if they can call back because they are in a meeting. Why answer the phone?

Being focused on your current task and then moving on to the next takes real discipline. The people who can commit to doing this will find they get more done and end up with more free time than those that don’t.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS FROM A COSTLY CYBER DISRUPTION.

Download your copy now!

You have Successfully Subscribed!