Chapter 185

"I know what I have to do, and I'm going to do whatever it takes. If I do it, I'll come out a winner, and it doesn't matter what anyone else does." ~ Florence Griffith Joyner

There are two critical elements here; clarity and determination. 

Clarity is the first and most difficult part. Seeing what the situation is, what is required, what the next steps are, how this all fits into what you are accomplishing, the big picture, the fine details, whatever and however you want to describe it, clarity is difficult for everyone. Clarity about whatever you are deciding or trying to understand is a rare gift. One I seek all the time. It is more valuable than you can imagine. But most of our lives and much of our thinking is murky and fuzzy and very vague. Tell me you don’t feel it too!

But when you find clarity, then you have to act on it or the value drains away. That is where determination comes in. Determination to take action more precisely. This is the grit, the unstoppable persistence that makes your life happen regardless of what you are handed. Makes your life happen in ways that you choose — because this is the only choice remaining much of the time — how we will respond. Few of us get to choose what happens to us.

Finally there is reflection, a weighing of the results, a decision that if I follow my two critical elements here, what others do won’t matter one bit to me. This is a declaration and explanation of the intensity of our focus. This is why FGJ was such an incredible winner.