The Focal Point |
This is the third post on my books I have read and been reading.
If you miss the other posts, here they are
The Focal Point by Brian Tracy
From the book
Once upon a time, there was a major technical problem at a nuclear power plant. This
malfunction was slowing energy generation and reducing the efficiency of the entire
operation.
As much as they tried, the plant's engineers could not identify and solve the problem. So
they brought in one of the nation's top consultants on nuclear power plant construction and
engineering to see whether he could determine what was wrong. The consultant arrived, put
on a white coat, took his clipboard, and went to work. For the next two days, he walked
around, studying the hundreds of dials and gauges in the control room, taking notes, and
making calculations.
At the end of the second day, he took a black felt marker out of his pocket, climbed up on a
ladder, and put a large black "X" on one of the gauges.
"This is the problem," he explained. "Repair and replace the apparatus connected to this
meter, and the problem will be solved."
He then took off his white smock, drove back to the airport, and flew home. The engineers
disassembled the apparatus and discovered that, sure enough, this was the cause of the
problem. It was soon repaired, and the plant was back up to full capacity.
About a week later the plant manager received a bill from the consultant for $10,000 for
"services rendered."
The plant manager was surprised at the size of the bill, even though this was a multibillion-
dollar facility and the problem had been costing an enormous amount of money in lost
generating capacity. After all, he reasoned, the consultant had come in, stood around for a
couple of days, written a black "X" on one of the gauges, and then returned home. Ten
thousand dollars seemed like a high fee for such a simple job.
The plant manager wrote back to the consultant, "We have received your bill. Could you
please break down and itemize your charges? It seems that all you did was to write one 'X'
on a single gauge. Ten thousand dollars appears to be excessive for this amount of work."
Some days later, the plant manager received a new invoice from the consultant. It said, "For
placing 'X' on gauge: $1.00. For knowing which gauge to place 'X' on: $9,999."
This simple story illustrates the most important single principle of success, achievement, and
happiness in life. Knowing where to put the "X" in each part of your life is the critical
determinant of everything you accomplish.
This "X" is your focal point. This is the one thing you can do in that area, at any given
moment, to get the best result possible. Your ability to choose the correct time, place, and
activity to place your "X" on has a greater impact on your life than any other factor.
malfunction was slowing energy generation and reducing the efficiency of the entire
operation.
As much as they tried, the plant's engineers could not identify and solve the problem. So
they brought in one of the nation's top consultants on nuclear power plant construction and
engineering to see whether he could determine what was wrong. The consultant arrived, put
on a white coat, took his clipboard, and went to work. For the next two days, he walked
around, studying the hundreds of dials and gauges in the control room, taking notes, and
making calculations.
At the end of the second day, he took a black felt marker out of his pocket, climbed up on a
ladder, and put a large black "X" on one of the gauges.
"This is the problem," he explained. "Repair and replace the apparatus connected to this
meter, and the problem will be solved."
He then took off his white smock, drove back to the airport, and flew home. The engineers
disassembled the apparatus and discovered that, sure enough, this was the cause of the
problem. It was soon repaired, and the plant was back up to full capacity.
About a week later the plant manager received a bill from the consultant for $10,000 for
"services rendered."
The plant manager was surprised at the size of the bill, even though this was a multibillion-
dollar facility and the problem had been costing an enormous amount of money in lost
generating capacity. After all, he reasoned, the consultant had come in, stood around for a
couple of days, written a black "X" on one of the gauges, and then returned home. Ten
thousand dollars seemed like a high fee for such a simple job.
The plant manager wrote back to the consultant, "We have received your bill. Could you
please break down and itemize your charges? It seems that all you did was to write one 'X'
on a single gauge. Ten thousand dollars appears to be excessive for this amount of work."
Some days later, the plant manager received a new invoice from the consultant. It said, "For
placing 'X' on gauge: $1.00. For knowing which gauge to place 'X' on: $9,999."
This simple story illustrates the most important single principle of success, achievement, and
happiness in life. Knowing where to put the "X" in each part of your life is the critical
determinant of everything you accomplish.
This "X" is your focal point. This is the one thing you can do in that area, at any given
moment, to get the best result possible. Your ability to choose the correct time, place, and
activity to place your "X" on has a greater impact on your life than any other factor.
Booksale
How i came across this book is a result of one of the random things in life I do. I was wasting time in National Bookstore and was going through a pile of books on sale. If you are familiar with this bookstore, you know that occasionally they have these set of old books dumped together in a box. They don't have a listing of books included in that sale and you just got to go over the books one by one and pick something that interests you. Randomly, i saw this blue book and bought it. It was just around P100 so there's no harm in buying a cheap and an unknown book (at least for me).
After reading it, it turns out to be a gem. There are couple of life lessons one can pick from the book.
Accepting Responsibility
The book reminds us that everything that we are and everything that we will be is our own responsibility. A cliche for some but a good reminder nonetheless. The book reiterates the back that accepting responsibility for our lives means that we refuse to make excuses or blame others for anything in our life that we are not happy about. It tells us to refuse to criticize others for any reason, refusing to complain about our situation or what has happened in the past. Lastly, it tells us to eliminate our if-onlys and what-ifs and focus instead on what we really want, where we are going and taking action.
What it means to me
Same with the other books, life does not get better by knowing and learning things, it is about taking action. What i like about this book, it suggests revisiting different aspects of our lives, identify goals on it and take action. A bit tedious exercise but it is really a good thing to do as it provides a new point of view on how we deal with life.
If you are interested, the book is available in amazon.
Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals
