You don’t need to master the latest neuroscience1 to appreciate the enormous leverage the right moments can provide. In essence, those moments permit you to tap into sources of inner power that are usually submerged beneath the everyday bustle. It’s like the difference, in marketing, between accumulating impressions (the number of times an ad gets seen) and actually changing consumer attitudes in one dramatic moment.

From “Get Out Of Your Own Way: The 5 keys to Surpassing Everyone’s Expectations”2 by Robert K Cooper, PhD:

Direction, not motion

Focus, not time

Capacity, not conformity

Energy, not effort

Impact, not intentions

Trying harder is a prescription for disappointment and dissatisfaction; it’s trying differently that changes everything.

The true warrior knows that it’s not about trying harder; it’s all about trying differently. Many times we look around and think, “If I could only do more in the time I have available, I could get more done.” That’s the trap of trying harder. When you find yourself in this situation, try different. Do something differently! Stop beating your head against the wall, and break through to a new paradigm. Do it differently, and do it differently sooner rather than later. Fail quickly. Stop doing what you are doing sooner, and start doing differently sooner!

Remember, we make it all up. All we do, all day long, is tell ourselves stories. We lie to ourselves and the only defence is objective data—not our fanciful subjective opinions.

We should focus on direction, not motion. As we have discussed, another way to look at motion is as busywork or housekeeping. Having direction is using your objective parameters to gauge your progress towards the agreed upon goals, and only doing those things that take you where you want to go. Follow your direction! There is less stress when you just follow directions! Waste not; doing anything other than following your direction is waste!

Do not forget about impact. We all know about the best of intentions—which are usually followed by a long list of excuses. Instead of worrying about intentions, a true warrior focuses on the empirical evidence of the impact they have on the world they occupy!

You are warriors, and you have impact. You have developed tremendous focusing capacity through rigorous training, personal development, belief, and faith, all of which produce boundless energy that allows you to follow your direction through to the point of ultimate impact. Impact produces results—the kind you will like. So it has been written.