The Power of Focus
Notes
Transcript
The Power of Focus
The Power of Focus
Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet set up the doors in the gates.
So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But I realized they were plotting to harm me,
so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?”
J.P. Morgan “. . . has one chief mental asset—a tremendous five minute’s concentration of thought.”
J.P. Morgan “. . . has one chief mental asset—a tremendous five minute’s concentration of thought.”
John Rockefeller observed, “Do not many of us who fail to achieve big things . . . fail because we lack concentration—the art of concentrating the mind on the thing to be done at the proper time and to the exclusion of everything else?”
John Rockefeller observed, “Do not many of us who fail to achieve big things . . . fail because we lack concentration—the art of concentrating the mind on the thing to be done at the proper time and to the exclusion of everything else?”
In the 1870s, Rockefeller inspected a plant in New York City. He observed workers soldering barrels of oil using 40 drops on each can. He asked if they had ever tried using 38 drops. They experimented, but cans with 38 drops occasionally leaked. When using 39 drops, however, no leakage occurred. The first year of using 39 drops saved the company $2,500. Over time, it saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rockefeller’s ability to concentrate on the matter at hand made him the wealthiest person in America.3
In the 1870s, Rockefeller inspected a plant in New York City. He observed workers soldering barrels of oil using 40 drops on each can. He asked if they had ever tried using 38 drops. They experimented, but cans with 38 drops occasionally leaked. When using 39 drops, however, no leakage occurred. The first year of using 39 drops saved the company $2,500. Over time, it saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rockefeller’s ability to concentrate on the matter at hand made him the wealthiest person in America.3
The Shadow of Focus -Peter Scazzero
The Shadow of Focus -Peter Scazzero
A.W. Tozer was one of the most powerful and insightful preachers of God’s word. He could see golden nuggets in Scripture that electrified his audiences. He poured himself into other young ministers who could multiply his efforts. But in his passion to preach and teach God’s word, he often neglected his wife, Ada. After Tozer died, his widow married a businessman named Leonard. When people asked her what it was like to go from being married to an esteemed man of God to being married to a businessman, she replied, “I have never been happier in my life. Aiden (Tozer) loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me.”5 The ongoing challenge for married people with children is focusing their full attention on their work while they are on the job and then giving their undistracted attention to their family when they return home.
A.W. Tozer was one of the most powerful and insightful preachers of God’s word. He could see golden nuggets in Scripture that electrified his audiences. He poured himself into other young ministers who could multiply his efforts. But in his passion to preach and teach God’s word, he often neglected his wife, Ada. After Tozer died, his widow married a businessman named Leonard. When people asked her what it was like to go from being married to an esteemed man of God to being married to a businessman, she replied, “I have never been happier in my life. Aiden (Tozer) loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me.”5 The ongoing challenge for married people with children is focusing their full attention on their work while they are on the job and then giving their undistracted attention to their family when they return home.