Get Money: 5. Laser Focus

Once you have a mental controller – the overall “I” – you will become far more empowered in life...

Most people’s attention is scattered. They’re all over the place. That’s why they max out credit cards, take out loans on their mortgages, and buy flashy cars on credit. In other words, they’re dupes and will never get rich (because they’re so damn stretched paying off interest). They’re a good little wage stiff and do what they’re told.

Out of fear they manage to hold down their job so they can pay their mortgages and loans. Otherwise they just take what life brings and never become master of their ship. They never decide what they want, never mind going out to get it.

But if you want money, you need to have focus, set your goals, and brush everything else aside mercilessly. That way you stand a fighting chance of achieving your ambitions, and are far more likely to get your hands on a fair bit of filthy lucre.

So how do you get focus?

Well, let’s start with the washing up. You can use this humble (and arguably dull) activity to develop sharp, one-pointed focus. If you’re like most people you’ll daydream while you wash your dishes. You won’t pay much attention to what you’re doing. You’re on autopilot.

You could of course get a dishwasher. But that would defeat the point. The idea is to focus your attention on every aspect of washing your dishes. When your attention wanders (and it will) bring it back to scrubbing the caked-on egg from your plates.

“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Bruce Lee (1940-1973),martial artist and actor

Doing this is a very powerful way of training and disciplining your mind to do what you want it to do.

You could object by saying “my mind is me,” it’s not separate. In a sense it is. But it’s better to see your mind as a computer that needs instructions and shouldn’t be allowed to run on its own (well it can some of the time, but it’s good to be aware you’re doing it). You essentially create a higher self, if you like. And overall “I” or ego-self that directs the action and gives the orders.

If you don’t do this your mind wanders all over the place, and often indulges in a lot of negative thinking patterns. These are your enemy, as they tend to hold you back, and often make your life miserable.

Once you have a mental controller – the overall “I” – you will become far more empowered in life. You’ll be able to monitor your thinking processes, and when they seem detrimental, you’ll be able to consciously change them to more useful patterns.

This mental controller will also engage in “conscious awareness”. This means not drifting into the all too common hypnotic trance of daydreaming, which most people do throughout the day. This is basically daytime sleep. You sleep all night and all the day. If you maintain conscious awareness, at least for some of the day, you’ll soon see how true this is.

It might come as a revelation, and you’ll think “I’ve spent most of my life asleep.” Well you have.

To practice conscious awareness, you’ll need to learn the art of not-thinking. Or more accurately, not-thinking in words. Once you “stop the word” you’ll become aware of the input of your senses a lot more. You’ll hear sounds you don’t normally hear. Smell scents you typically don’t notice. You’ll also savor your sense of taste by paying attention to what you eat (as a by-product you’ll probably eat less). As to what you see, if it doesn’t happen naturally, direct some of your awareness to peripheral vision.

All this, believe it or not, will make you feel good. Really good. You’ll also find your whole body relaxes and mental tension evaporates.

OK, you ask, what the hell has this to do with money?

A lot. Number one, you’ll be able to handle a lot of stress without it bothering you. You’ll stay calm and be in a better position to carefully weigh up options to deal with whatever your problems are, then decisively sort them out. If you can’t, like say you’ve got a bullying boss, you’ll be able to keep your mental balance and not react emotionally. By calmly taking it on the cheek, you’ll be well equipped to stop thinking about the unfairness or sheer nastiness of your boss until the time comes you can do something about it – like taking him or her down or being in a position to move on to another job or starting your own business.

If you do take revenge, just remember to do it calmly. Don’t allow angry thoughts to go over and over in your mind. This not only tenses your body, it also makes you miserable. So stop those thoughts and get your own back with cold deliberation and quiet satisfaction.

The other big benefit of mental control and conscious awareness is you will be able to plan money making projects a lot more effectively. Your mind won’t be dancing around all over the place. It will be one-pointed on the job in hand. You’ll be able to dismiss thinking patterns that distract you and get back on track.

By doing this you’ll be far more productive and get things done in half the time.

In essence you’ll learn to think when it’s useful to do so, then stop thinking. Really thoughts are like the tail wagging the dog. They need to be put on a leash. You don’t want your random thoughts controlling your life. It should be the other way around with your higher self, or mental controller, dictating the action.

Sure you can daydream, just be aware you’re doing it. Decide when you want to daydream and allocate a set amount of time to it. Often great ideas can come from doing this – flashes of inspiration.

It’s all about being in control. Being master of your mental ship. The truth is, your mind is the only thing you do have total control of. It does take effort. But the pay off is you gain a lot of willpower. And this is one of the most important things when it comes to making money.

Focus On The Flame

To train your mind to focus more, get a packet of birthday candles. Sit quietly in front of a table. Put a birthday candle into a holder and secure it. Light the candle and look at it. Let your body relax as you gently breathe in and out. Focus your mind exclusively on the candle flame until it burns out. Do this each day for a week and you’ll find your mind will waver less and less, and you’ll be able to keep your attention focused on the flame. Over time you will be able to concentrate on anything with one-point focus.