Focus is key to master any skill. And where we spend our money tends to get a lot of attention which is why I choose to invest my money in whatever I am interested in learning.
When I wanted to learn magic I went out and spent over a $1000 in a short period buying training DVDs, cards, trick decks and whatnot.
Each time something arrived in the mail I would get excited and sit down to try to learn it.
Some tricks absolutely amazed me so I spent the time to master them while others didn’t really appeal to me so they got looked at for a few minutes then put away.
But regardless of whether I loved it or just found it ok each time I saw a new package in the mail my mind focused on magic.
As some of you might already know I stopped studying magic a few years back and turned my focus to success, business and investing.
I wanted to free myself from having to work a 40-hour work week and thought that the best way to do that was to understand those three topics.
So, again I applied my belief that where we spend our money tends to get the most attention and bought book after book.
I invested in audio programs and some DVD programs.
I started using the time I had spent learning magic to learn about the principles I write here and along the way I started thinking about my future, and ultimately, my death.
At that time what will I leave behind? Whatever I have built (in the form of a business or house), money (hopefully) and all the things I have collected over the years.
And what better things to leave behind than the following:
- My photos (to capture the precious moments in our lives)
- My books (to share my philosophy with my family and others)
- My ideas (which is why I write)
- My stories (which is why I record so much of what I teach)
- My money (to help our son build his own better future)
Of these, money is merely a bonus as I hope that my son will succeed in building his own fortune.
And while photos, stories, and ideas might not seem that valuable right now but one day they will become priceless to your family.
When our family members are alive we sometimes can’t wait for them to shut-up but when they’re gone we wish we could hear them one more time.
Two years ago I asked my father to start writing down some of his stories because I wanted to capture them to share with my own family.
Sadly a few months later he left us suddenly, but I will always have those pages he wrote to share.
Collecting things is fun but if used correctly it can be used to harness the power of focus.
And what we focus on, we tend to get more of or better at.
So look into the future and imagine who you want to be, what you want to do and what you want to have and then start collecting good things today.
Adrian Shepherd