Eye of the Tiger

Success requires passion and focus. We should not seek to be all things but rather should focus on things that are critical to achieving our goals. I like to think of being focus in the same way as having the eye of the tiger. You may recall the theme song "Eye of the Tiger" for the 1982 movie Rocky III written and directed Sylvester Stallone who also starred as the lead character Rocky Balboa. The theme song “The of the Tiger” was written by the group Survivor and became a smash hit single, topping the US Billboard music charts and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

In the movie Rocky was challenged publicly to a fight by James "Clubber" Lang (played by Mr. T), a ferocious new boxer. During his preparation Rocky was distracted when he learned that all his fights since winning the title were selective matchmaking with lesser opponents. He was visible upset and refused to accept the factor. Instead he promised to live in the gym. However in contrast to the challenger, Lang who was more focused, Rocky could not resist the allure of his fame and indulges himself with his fans. He trained publicly in an environment filled with distractions. Rocky essentially set himself up for failure and consequently was severely beaten by Lang. In his re-matched with Lang, Rocky was helped by his former nemesis Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) to rediscover the fire and the eye of the tiger Rocky had when he fought with Apollo. Rocky's new determination and focus helped him to defeat Lang in the re-match.

Unlike the Rocky during his first fight with Lang, we do not want to attempt to be all things to all people. We don’t want to be beaten and unsuccessful. We don’t want to be perceived as seeking to exploit every potential opportunity that is presented to us. In my early days as an immigrant I was told to accept the first job that was offered to me because it would provide me with Canadian experience. I was told to view certain jobs as opportunities to enter the Canadian job market. In my early days as an immigrant I was confused, disoriented and distracted just like Rocky during his first fight. However I resisted the temptation of putting both time and effort into doing lots of different things that would simply result in me being a jack of all trades and a master of none with little or no competitive advantage.

Instead, I decided to focus on my personal and career goals and dreams which ultimately led to the establishment of Mark McKenzie Consulting. Success requires a laser like focus on pursuing the tasks required to fulfill our dreams and goals. It requires that we focus on developing the necessary skills and acquiring the knowledge and experiences that are prerequisite for pursuing our goals. We have to be like Rocky during his preparation for his re-match with Lang. We have to be focus and have the sharp eye of the tiger.

Success requires big dreams with focus on the small things. Very often we hear that we should focus on the details. The big things are usually clear for all to see but the small issues required focus and detail attention. For example, I focus on my ability to acquire the skills that are required to pursue my goals by asking myself “how can I enhance my skills today or over a specific period of time?”

Staying focus is difficult because it is easy to be distracted by competing interest. For example, I might get a call from an executive recruiter about role which creates a sense of excitement that this might be the right opportunity for me. It ignite excitement and may cause me loses focus momentarily on the things I need to do to grow by consulting practice. Focus however helps to instill diligence and the discipline necessary to pursue my dreams and goals.

Today I encourage you to focus on the things that you are passionate about and the things will make you accomplish your goals to be successful and happy. You have to develop the sharp eye of the tiger like Rocky Balboa.

Are you focused on your dreams and goals? What are the things you do to be focused?

Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor.  He can be contacted by email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter @mackynacky. Connect with me on www.youtube.com, Google+, Facebook and Linkedin.