As I scrolled through social media recently, a particular post caught my eye. It was simple: someone had posted the word “focus.” But what attracted my attention was how the author turned the word into an acronym, assigning each letter a term that imbued it with meaning.
The word “focus” was broken down into core ideas: F = Follow; O = One; C= Cause; U= Until; S= Success. This simple yet powerful message—meant to be interpreted and perhaps utilized by all those who share the post—sparked my interest. It conveyed that anything and everything should require your full attention. This may mean 5 minutes or a lifetime; regardless, all energies require your full attention until your efforts result in success.
While considering these ideas, I faced a simple truth: in this world, there are many distractions. From people to technology, detours are everywhere—the key is to remain focused. Too frequently, we focus on external factors as the cause or reason for why we do not accomplish our goals and fulfill our life’s vision. In my book Enemy in the Bush, I talk at length about my own internal demons, psychological barriers, and mental roadblocks that restrain me. Ultimately, what helped me conquer the “Enemy in the Bush” at every juncture was learning to live a life that is rooted in the 5 Life Principles. These principles aided me as I navigated through enormous obstacles: landmines of fear, personal roadblocks, and perceived mental limitation. This was an incredibly difficult task, especially when considering my impoverished background. Simply put, I always thought that it wasn’t God’s will for me to be prosperous in this life. But in the military, they taught us a core idea—that “we can be all that we can be.” So, I did just that.
I remember my first deployment to Germany, as I got ready to participate in a war-game exercise with myself and 800 other soldiers. I remember arriving at the bivouac area. Before I could take in the beautiful Bavarian countryside, the commander loudly announced, “You’ve got three hours to set up the camp prior to nightfall.” So, everyone started working together to achieve that goal. Together, we set up the command operations post, command sleeping quarters, troop sleeping quarters, individual work areas, food serving areas, shower and sanitation areas, and reliable communication guaranteed to transmit voice and data. Everyone—no matter if they were a senior or a private—had to work until the job was done. Even though the temperature outside was only thirty degrees, we were sweating profusely. That is how hard we were working. That is how focused we were on accomplishing the mission. Regardless if the temperature outside was freezing or blisteringly hot, we were going to MAKE IT HAPPEN! We were FOCUSED and DETERMINED TO FINISH THE JOB! Now, that’s what I call ONE CAUSE, ONE FOCUS, ONE DESTINATION.
As I started this company, I applied these values of determination. Our focus from the start was clear: to help people align themselves with their dreams, goals, and destinies. That focus expanded to include other companies and organizations. At its core, the Carolyle Destiny Group believes in starting with the young professional and helping them align themselves in accordance with their designed destiny. The outcome of this alignment will result in the synchronization of their vision, mission, and purpose of existence. We believe that each individual can determine their own destiny. You are the architect of the direction you face, the pathway you choose, and the destination you arrive at in life—our cause is to help you get there. I always return to this quote by Jim Rohn, which states, “Destination is not determined by hope, it’s not determined by wish. Destination is determined by direction.”
This applies in the workplace; we believe that people and organization can work in synchronization. Instead of the employee being the antagonist, the employee can be the protagonist working together with the company’s vision, mission, values, goals and culture. The employee becomes a valuable asset and a vital investment of the company. This is our focus; this is our mantra; this is our destiny.
Always remember to follow one cause until success. If you find that you are on the wrong pathway, change directions—now. You only have one life to live, so do it with focus. Do it with purpose and passion.
As you embark on your journey, remember these few tips:
My focus was directed to the words One Cause. To me, this did not indicate many directions, but one focal point to experience one outcome. This advocated for one purpose, allowing you to realize your success or achievements in whatever destiny you desire. I believe that you can design your own destiny, and then you must face that direction you designed. You must pool all of your resources together toward one destination. Sometimes, in order to get to that destination, you have to take small steps by setting miniature goals. Alternatively, you can take chunks and leaps toward your finish line; but you must always have your eyes on the prize that you have designed.
1. Examine your goals, and make sure that you are moving you towards your purpose and maximizing your potential.
2. Decide on one cause to place focus on.
3. Focus on your strengths, keep improving, and step out of your comfort zone.
4. To address your weaknesses, delegate to others that compliment those weaknesses. Focus on your strengths only.
“Focus on where you want to be, not where you were, or where you are.” – pictureQuotes.com
Derrick Darden, PhD
The Carolyle Destiny Group
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