Two Time USA Memory Champion, memory training expert and memory keynote speaker Ron White would like to share with you some of the things I learned while training for the U.S. Memory Championship, and is now available in my memory training seminars.

What we have learned from our first lesson in the “Think Like A Seal” series is to look at things with “Hard Eyes – Soft Eyes,” which means we look at the big picture (Soft Eyes) and then zone in on the details (Hard Eyes).  If we are to complete our mission, or goal, we need to focus on what we want as the end result (target), taking in the big picture as well as the details.

There will always be distractions, and how you deal with these distractions will foretell if you will achieve your goal or not. The only way to achieve any goal is to FOCUS! If you take your eyes off your goals, and allow distractions to divert your attention, you will not attain what you are trying to.

Take for example firefighters. Their goal is to make sure all people are safe and out of a burning building, and the fire is contained so it doesn’t do any more damage. Each member of the squad has their mission – some are to do search and rescue, some are to contain the fire so the firefighter who go in searching for victims are safe. They work as a team, each doing their part of the mission.

In order to achieve the goal of search and rescue, the some firefighters have to go into the fire. A Navy Seal calls this “Irrelevent, dismissed!” meaning that although the fire is a distraction, and dangerous, it is irrelevant in order to get the people out of the burning building. The focus is on the people – not the fire.

If the firefighters on search and rescue were to focus on the fire, it will take their attention away from finding the people they is trying to save. They have to depend on their team to deal with the fire while they attends to their mission – finding survivors.

Now we take that analogy and put it to business use. In order for you to achieve your goals you have to focus on what you are trying to achieve, and how you are going to do it. You are to dismiss the distractions that steer you away from that goal, and rely on the people around you to take care of the distractions – in other words, put out the fires. For this reason, you need to have people around you who are trained and capable of doing the job correctly. If you don’t, find those who can. You must trust the people who are your support team.

The only way a distraction would be a positive is when it presents a chance to help you achieve your goal. Navy Seals call this a “Target of Opportunity.” It can come in the form of a seminar that will provide you with more information on your business and it’s goals, or it could be a networking opportunity where you can meet people who will be able to help you achieve your goals.

The point is, in order to achieve your goals you need to know what you want, and how you are going to get there – but don’t close your mind to opportunities that may present themselves in order for you to achieve those goals, and don’t let things that are irrelevant to achieving those goals to derail you from where you are trying to go.

For more information on how you too can think like a Navy Seal, check out our “Mind of a Seal” with former Navy SEAL TC Commings CD Package.