Product Description

Your ability to focus will determine your future – start now! The No 1 reason that stops people from getting what they want is lack of focus. People who focus on what they want, prosper. Those who don’t, struggle. In The Power of Focus you’ll discover the specific focusing strategies used by the world’s most successful men and women. Find out how to: Focus on your strengths and eliminate everything that is holding you back, Change bad habits into habits that will make you debt-free and wealthy, Create an excellent balance between work and family life – without guilt!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63817 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 319 pages

Kenneth Blanchard
‘Absolutely wonderful’

Synopsis
The No 1 reason that stops people from getting what they want is lack of focus. People who focus on what they want, prosper. Those who don't, struggle. In The Power of Focus you'll discover the specific focusing strategies used by the world's most successful men and women. Find out how to: -Focus on your strengths and eliminate everything that is holding you back. -Change bad habits into habits that will make you debt-free and wealthy. -Create an excellent balance between work and family life - without guilt! Your ability to focus will determine your future - start now!

About the Author
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are both award-winning motivational speakers and creators of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has sold more than fifty million books worldwide. Les Hewitt is a leading performance coach who founded The Achievers Coaching Program in 1983 which has since trained many thousands of business people.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely fantastic
I am a big fan of Jack Canfield's work, i think he is brilliant, and this is another book in a long list of great ones. It is well structured, easy to read, and full of inspirational stories. Moreover it's enjoyable, useful, and most importantly practical, the advice given can be used by anyone whatever their situation. This is one book im going to be re-reading this summer, and for anyone who is unsure, I would highly advocate buying this book, its worth every penny.

Adequate
First published in 2000. An old book already. This book has some good pointers to put you on the right tracks. However I dont believe it is as good as the other reviewers are saying it to be. Must be self marketing from the makers of the book. Why not?! It is a decent supplement to my collection of self help success books, as Jack Canfield is a good mentor to learn from, however I can't say it was a great read that got me all enthusiastic but it is more of a book that offers practicality. I have read two other books before this and to me, the power of focus was the weaker in terms of easy to read and fun. Not saying it is difficult, requiring a high IQ or anything. However some information in the book I have come across before. Starting to think if you read a good self help book on success you've read them all. Some parts of the book is to be honest...boring. Especially the tasks or checklist you have to do daily to know that you have a balanced day. It certainly doesn't teach you about what business to go in whether they recommend real estate etc. For entertainment it lacks. As I mentioned it probably ok for practical, as in improving all aspects of life. However the writing style is a little boring and layout of book is basic like your reading a novel. Again am comparing to my first two books I have read. To sum it up dull but practical, this book certainly needs the Power of Focus to read it!

Out of Focus...Out of Reach
Long ago when I was a child, I purchased a large box of Crackerjacks and the prize within was a small plastic magnifying glass. I recall using it to burn holes in leaves which demonstrated the power of focus. I thought about that as I read this book. Here is one of its core concepts: "Negative habits breed negative consequences. Successful habits create positive rewards." I agree. However, as the authors fully understand, replacing negative habits with successful habits is very difficult. A sincere and sustained commitment is imperative. However, as the authors of this volume correctly point out, something else is also needed: focus. "You must invest most of your time every week doing what you do best, and let others do what they do best....When you focus most of your time and energy doing the brilliant things you are truly brilliant at, you eventually reap big rewards." Within organizations, this is the essence of alignment: getting the right people in the right places, doing what they do best to achieve whatever the organization's goals may be.

Canfield, Hansen, and Hewitt recommend and then explain ten different strategies to develop and sustain successful habits, focus on strengths, see "The Big Picture," balance career with personal life, build excellent relationships with others, eliminate (or at least significantly reduce) fear and anxiety, ask for what you want (the authors provide a seven-point system to achieve prosperity), sustain consistent persistence, take decisive and appropriate action, and finally, how to simplify one's life without compromising one's purposes. A set of specific "Action Steps" is provided at the end of each chapter. If implemented effectively, the ten strategies can enable almost anyone to "hit" their business, personal, and financial "targets" and in many (if not most) instances "with absolute certainty." First, however, each reader must determine what her or his "targets" are. My own experience suggests that, over time, people change their targets. Also, whatever they may be at any given time, the little rascals tend to be moving.

In their Final Words, the authors note that "there are no shortcuts to building a life of substance. It's an ongoing process. It takes time, real effort and a desire to become more than you already are. It's a worthy challenge. However, your biggest challenge starts tomorrow. How will you apply what you have learned between the covers of this book?" As suggested earlier, reading this this book reminded me of a large box of Crackerjacks. The material it provides reminded me of that little plastic magnifying glass. Both the box and the book offer the same "gift": an understanding and appreciation of the power of focus. I join with the authors in wishing their readers "an abundance of health, joy, and prosperity in the years ahead."

If at all possible, read this book in combination with Bossidy and Charan's Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done; Hammer's The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade; Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; and finally, Connors, Smith, and Hickman's The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability.